Please read the story in advance. We will share our thoughts during our discussion session
Brenda’s new job
Brenda walked into her bedroom and started pacing the floor. Tomorrow was her first day of work at her new job and she could not stop thinking about it. She was going to be a support Engineer and she was excited. She enjoyed talking to people and she was good at solving technical problems. She was a hard worker and was determined to do an outstanding job. She planned on waking up extra early to take the train downtown. She set her alarm and checked it twice before falling asleep.
In the morning everything went as planned. She put on her new navy blue dress and styled her hair into a neat ponytail. Everything was going as planned but she started to feel really nervous as she walked to the train stop. She called her friend Sandra and confessed that she was afraid she would not be up to the job, maybe customers would yell at her because she wouldn’t be able to solve their problems. She knew that she was being crazy but it was okay to be real with Sandra. Sandra said. “Girl, listen to yourself!. You worked so hard to get that job. You went to events and networked and you learned new technologies, you were committed! The job is going to be easy compared to all you went through to get hired”. Brenda felt better. She felt relaxed now. Sandra was right. She deserved this job, she had worked hard to earn it and she could not wait to start her work!
After orientation she was taken down to meet her team. Her boss welcomed her and walked her around the floor introducing her to the other two team members. She settled into her desk and tried to follow the directions to set up her email.
Suddenly there was a commotion and she saw Tim, one of her teammates was lying on the floor and her boss was bending over him on the phone with 911. She felt shocked, she had hardly had time to remember names and now this. She hoped he was going to be okay. An ambulance arrived and her boss went to the Hospital with Tim. She was left alone with her other co-worker Grace. Grace looked petrified. She told Brenda that she was new herself, she had only been there two weeks and she didn’t know how to handle things with both Tim and their boss out.
“It’s okay, Grace”, she said with a smile. “You and I got this! but Grace just looked stoic and went back to her desk.
Tim’s phone started ringing. Grace put on her headphones and looked away so Brenda walked over and answered the phone. It was a customer, she learned that he had entered a ticket about a report that had incorrect data and wanted to know if it was fixed. She explained that there had been an emergency but she would take his name and number and get back to him with an update as soon as possible. The customer asked if Tim was alright. She explained that she didn’t know. She felt touched that the customer asked about Tim. Have you worked with him long? She asked, revealing that it was her first day and she was trying her best to deal with having to be backup for Tim without warning. The customer told her that he could always count on Tim so he felt that something must be wrong since he hadn’t heard from him yet about the report.
The conversation felt comforting, the customer’s concern for her and for Tim was touching and she felt a little better about the situation she had found herself in. She felt annoyed at Grace. “The least she could have done is help me, it’s my first day!” She thought. She felt motivated to figure out how to log into the support system to see if she could mark the ticket for Tim. She wanted to do what she could for him till he was able to get back to work.