Transcription
Well, that's the housekeeping finished with Kathleen, so perhaps you'd like to tell me a bit about what brings you here today?
Well, actually, uh, Wendy, I, I'm having a lot of trouble coping with, with my job. Um, the, the hours I'm working are, are supposed to be 8:30 to 3:30, and lately I've just got so much work given to me, I, I'm having difficulty getting through the whole day with it. And, um, I, I've got a couple of teenage boys that I pick up after school every day because they're so naughty, they're not allowed to go on the bus. And, and so I've made my hours 8:30 to 3:30, so I give them a chance to, to get out of school and, and then at 3:30, I'm, I'm supposed to be there to pick them up. But lately it's been later and later. I'm getting there sometimes 4:30, the other day it was 5, and the boys were just, oh, they, they're naughty boys, you know, this, and, and they, they're everywhere, they're all over the school, they're getting into trouble. And, and then I'm late home preparing dinner for my husband, and then he gets annoyed, and on it goes. It's all getting too much.
It's, I don't, you're supposed to finish at 3:30, the hours you're do. Why do you think you're not finishing at 3:30?
I've got too much work.
And who's giving you the work? What's happening?
Well, well, the one, do I work in a doctor's surgery? I don't know if I mentioned that. One doctor employed me, but there are four within the practice, and I'm, I'm doing work for all of them when really I should only be doing work for one.
Right, so, so that's really the problem, that there are four people giving you work and it, there's no way you can fit it into the, the times that you're employed to work?
No. And, and I, I, I just can't say no to them. They put the, they put the work in my inbox and, and then, and then it's not getting to my health tray, and the day goes by, and it's there the next day, and, and, and it's, it's, it's just all too much for me.
Yes, I can see that, and I can see you're getting quite stressed about it. So have you had any thoughts about anything you might be able to do about this, Kathleen? Is there anything you think you could do?
Well, apart from just, I, I, I don't want to leave, it's such a good job, but I'll probably have to. I'll have to, I'll have to tell some, I'll have to tell her. I think I'm going to have to tell her.
So you, you really, you do feel that you need to talk to the, the boss that employed you and explain what the problem is?
Good. Is this something you feel comfortable about doing?
Oh, no, no, no. Oh, well, she's so busy and, and, and she's so lovely, and, and I just don't, I don't, I don't want to annoy her.
Okay. She said she was lovely there. So do you think that if you were able to go and talk to her, that she'd actually be quite receptive to listening to you?
Well, well, of course she would, wouldn't she?
Okay. What I'm going to suggest, Kathleen, is that we do something called a role play. And what that is, is that we act out the situation, whatever it is. And in your case, it's going to be you going and talking to your boss and trying to explain to her that you've got a problem trying to fit your work into the, the hours that you're supposed to be working. So you'll be playing you, and I'll be playing your boss. Now, obviously, you're not going to get exactly the same responses from your boss that you'll get from me today, but it does give you a chance to think about the way you might approach it, to practice it, and to get a response that you can then react to and practice your way through a possible scenario. And what this could do is give you a bit more confidence. Okay?
Practice? What do you mean?
Well, we'll practice it right now. Oh, okay. What we'll do, all right, is you'll be you, and I'll be the doctor that you're going to see. Let's just think about a couple of things to, to get it started. So I pretend that I'm going to be coming into her to talk to her about what the problem?
Okay, okay. What, what do you think would be the best time of day to do it?
Oh, time of day, time of day. Um, so busy, so busy during the day. Um, probably early, early morning might be the best.
First, first thing in the morning sounds like a good idea because then you don't have to worry about it all day.
That's true, that's true. Is okay. So have you had any thought, got any thoughts about what you might say? How are you going to introduce it?
Um, I suppose I could say to her, "Is this a good time to talk?"
That's fantastic. Okay, because that gives her the chance, the opportunity to say, well, no, it isn't, could you come back in five minutes, I'm sorry, or to go straight into it. But that's a really good opening. Should we give it a go?
Okay. All right. So I'm going to get you to stand up and pretend that you're knocking on her door. Is that what you'd do?
Yes.
Right. All right. Excellent. So I want you to get up. Uh-huh. And just move that and then come back in as if you're coming to see your boss. I'm your boss, and you're going to tell me what the problem is. Okay?
Okay. We, we'll do the role play now. Okay.
Oh, hi. Oh, good morning. Is now a good time to talk?
Yeah, sure.
Oh, good. Thank you. Have a seat.
Oh, thank you. Um, well, the problem is, Maryann, I'm, I'm having, I'm having problems coping with my workload at the moment. Um, mainly because it's putting me here too late in the afternoon. Remember when you first put me on and my hours were 8:30 to 3:30? Well, now I'm finishing later and later. Um, 4:30, sometimes 5. You think that I've got too much work and, and I like to finish on time because I have to pick my boys up from school, and you know what they're like. So, um, I'm, I'm just wondering if, if we can work.
Well, obviously, you're employed 8:30 to 3:30, Kathleen, and those are the hours we want you to work. So we don't want you working back. So first and foremost, it's important that you know that we want you to leave at 3:30, and that's what I want you to do, okay? But from what you're saying, the work you're being given doesn't fit into those hours, is that it?
No. You know why? What's happening? Yeah, I'm getting too much work from the other doctors. Right. I, I, I don't like dobbing anyone in, but, but I didn't think that I'd be getting work of four because there's four doctors here and I thought I was only doing your work.
I think I've got the picture. Um, I don't, I don't like saying no to them though. I'm glad you came to. I really need this job. Look, I'm really glad you came to see me, but obviously 8:30 to 3:30 is long enough. It's a long day. There are the hours you're supposed to work. So I need to have a look into this and, and see what's going on. Kath, it's only half my day. The other half starts when I pick my boys up, and they're so naughty.
They are, they are. Well, certainly, Kathleen, yes, I'll have a look at it. But I want you to make sure that you do leave at 3:30 every day, okay?
Oh, well, that's out of that. How did that feel?
Oh, well, I think because I've done that little role play, I feel a little bit better about probably going and seeing her now. Obviously, the responses that I gave are not going to be the ones you'll get from what probably will because she is, well, this is what you said, she is. There'll be something similar. The important thing is, I think, um, to work out that first opening gambit, isn't it?
And that's true. And, and to do that, and then, uh, to flow on. Um, so that's something I want you to think about. Perhaps if you, you're going to come and see me next week, in about a week, perhaps?
Okay. In the. Should I practice at home?
Well, let's look at it. What I'd like you to do is think about what we've done today. Yes. But, but don't, don't overdo it. Don't sort of keep it going through your mind.
Well, exactly. That's what I was going to say. I can see that you're getting a bit, yeah. Just so I don't like confrontation. I don't like, right, telling people what to do. Yeah. So having the right words is a help, and that will help you to get a bit of confidence there. But importantly, I think we need to relax a bit, don't we? And there are some very simple relaxation exercises that I can teach you.
Oh, good. Um, that I'd like you to go away and practice so that, all right, by next week when you come, you'll practice those relaxation exercises because they're things that you can use anyway in any situation.
Time. They're lying on the floor?
Or well, I'll, I'll tell you what they are. No, you don't have to lie on the floor. Um, not for these because that's not very practical, just before you go and buy. Um, so what I suggest is we look at you coming back in a week's time, and you'll have practiced the relaxation exercises. We'll go through them again, and we perhaps do another role play, and then maybe we might be ready to go and do it for real. What do you think?
Okay. That's, that sounds. I feel a little bit more relaxed just thinking about it, actually.
Well, thanks for that.