Rescripting the Workplace: Producing Miracles with Bosses, Coworkers, and Bad Days

By Pam Boyd

Tutored by her own painful journey out of confusion and disappointment with bosses, coworkers, and the work environment, Pam Boyd in Rescripting the Workplace delivers powerful, down-to-earth strategies for transforming your life at work not in the distant future, but right now.

This book is for you if you have ever...

- dreaded

• Language: English
• Publisher: Atmosphere Press
• Release date: Apr 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781944785802

Pam Boyd

Pam Boyd is an international speaker and consultant, as well as the author of The Two-Minute Tune-Up and The Essential Handbook for First-Time Managers and Supervisors. She has written three screenplays, self-produced one of them, and spends her spare time plotting ways to help people create better lives for themselves. She lives in Addison, Texas. (Follow her blog at pamgboyd.wordpress.com)

Book preview

RESCRIPTING

the

WORKPLACE

Producing Miracles with Bosses, Coworkers, and Bad Days

Pam Boyd

Other Books by Pam Boyd

The Essential Handbook for First-Time Managers

and Supervisors

The Two-Minute Tune-Up

The Miracle I Almost Missed

RESCRIPTING

the

WORKPLACE

Producing Miracles with Bosses, Coworkers, and Bad Days

Copyright © 2016 by Pam Boyd

Published by Atmosphere Press

editygroup.com/atmosphere

Cover design by Nick Courtright

No part of this book may be reproduced

except in brief quotations and in reviews

without permission from the publisher.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Rescripting the Workplace: Producing Miracles

with Bosses, Coworkers, and Bad Days

2016, Pam Boyd

www.dramaticconclusions.com

www.pamboyd.wordpress.com

dedicated to Bernie,

my co-producer of workplace miracles

Contents

Learning a New Script                        3

Act One:

Where We Meet the Boss                     13

1:   What Does the Boss Want?                  16

2:   The Bad Boss                               31

Act Two:

Where Things Go Wrong with Workload      47

3:   Short-staffed or Systems and Equipment Fail   48

4:   Unrealistic Quotas and Deadlines            53

5:   So Much Work You Can Never Catch up         57

6:   Your Audience Isn’t Clapping                  64

7:   Boring or Tedious Tasks                     67

Act Three:

Where Things Go Wrong with the Team      73

8:   Jealousy and Unhealthy Competition            74

9:   Lazy People                              82

10:   Mean Girls! (and Boys!)                     87

11:   Email Terrorists                           100

Curtain Call                                 105

Learning a New Script

Many of us go through life feeling as an actor might feel who does not like his part, and does not believe in the play.

–Mignon McLaughlin

This quote might describe you at work. I hope not. But, it did describe me for many years and it was quite a miracle when things changed for the good. I use the word miracle in the sense of the second definition entry for that word in Webster’s English Dictionary:

mir·a·cle ˈmirək(ə)l/ noun a highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences.

Although, some of my bosses might insist that the first definition in Webster’s Dictionary describing divine intervention might very well apply to the unlikely changes that took place in my behaviors and performance, the miracles most definitely were improbable, and the consequences, very welcome: changes such as my cessation of gossip, sarcasm, excuse making, criticism of leadership, and the improvements I made regarding my own accountability. Then, there were also communication breakthroughs with coworkers, customers, and bosses, and other success milestones that I could have never reached before.

The word miracle doesn’t come up for most of us when we discuss our jobs. We may have made our initial appearance on stage, happy to have work. We’d auditioned (interviewed, jumped through hoops), probably had to study (researched or networked) for the role, maybe had some call-backs (second interviews, third interviews, phone interviews, skype interviews, group interviews, peed in the cup) before we finally got the part. We were so excited that we told everyone and went to sleep euphoric.

But the euphoria went away quickly for many of us. Somewhere in the first thirty to ninety days, disillusionment, boredom, or frustration becomes the new way of life. It happens in a variety of ways, but here are some of the most common experiences:

The role wasn’t what we expected

There was too much or not enough training

The paycheck was less than we thought it would be

The boss yelled, ignored, or blamed us for someone else’s screw-ups

The other employees didn’t like us

The customers or clients were mean or rude

We had to work while others were playing

We thought the other employees were negative, stupid, boring, or lethargic

So, the thrill disappeared and we found ourselves in the rut of survival, getting by, collecting a pay check, and hoping the whole thing would soon be over.

I asked attendees in one of my business seminars to raise their hand if they had complained about work within the last twenty-four hours. Everyone raised their hand, except for one woman.

I used to complain about my job, but not anymore, she said.

I asked what had changed that behavior and she replied, I lost my job and was unemployed for almost a year. It took a miracle to get another job. Now, I kiss the ground every day. You really don’t know what you’ve got until it is gone.

After her comment, the tone of the class changed.

On good days, most of us realize that just having a job is a sort of miracle, as is keeping a job at a time when downsizing, mergers, and market variations are so common. Nonetheless, complaining about work is an international pastime.

I am ashamed to say that I was more than a hobbyist at this endeavor. Beginning with my first real job at sixteen and continuing well into my thirties, complaining about the hours they made me work, about how difficult or boring the job was, about my coworkers, or about my stupid boss was par for the course. I was fired two times before realizing that I was a big part of the problem. Duh. After that, work became more rewarding and I started playing a part I enjoyed with people who liked to work with me.

You may have had similar experiences in your work history. It’s not that uncommon. Most of us can use breakthroughs at work, whether in the area of relationships with bosses or coworkers, or in matters such as getting promoted, appreciated, a better schedule, or even in areas as basic as equipment that will work consistently. The good news is that hope is much more accessible than we may have imagined.

The other day, a clerk at the grocery store appeared completely bored while scanning and sacking my groceries. I told him that he looked as if he didn’t want to be there.

He said, I don’t.

I said, So where would you rather be?

He looked puzzled and said, I don’t really know.

Really? This guy was similar to those of us who have simply given up, deciding that work is always going to be something to be dreaded and avoided. A radical contrast to the woman with mangled hands and an unstoppable attitude who had scanned my groceries the week before, he watched the clock as if doing a jail sentence and waiting for his pardon.

Been there?

behind bars

A 2014 study done by Forbes magazine found that 52.3% of employees are unhappy at work, just toughing it out, regarding work as a necessary evil. Other studies show the unhappy rate to be as high as 80 percent! What a terrible way to live!

But, the really scary thing is that choosing to live like this is not just about us. It may be a private decision we make, but the ramifications go way beyond our own mental health, as indicated by the very complicated and technical Ugly Progression diagram that follows:

book illustration

The Ugly Progression…

Key:

You in the First Circle:

You don’t really enjoy your work but decide to tough it out because…

You feel you have no other choice

You are afraid of change

It’s just easier to do what you’ve always done because being unhappy has evolved into a state of normalcy

Your Boss, Coworkers, and Customers in the Second Circle:

You, consciously or unconsciously, make it difficult for others at work:

You don’t share their enthusiasm for the work

You don’t trust your boss or coworkers

You just get by

You don’t engage or get involved

Your Family, Friends, and Love Interests in the Third Circle:

You go home tired or drained, and

You bury your emotions

You complain

You resent others who have