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A Workplace Hypothetical

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 6:59 pm
by Infected Mushroom
Please consider this hypothetical:

You work at Basic Psych (a licensed, for profit organization where a team of therapists work in one building... and patients come in for one on one therapy). The manager decides the workload for each therapist every single day in the form of printed schedules.

All therapists are paid X monthly (based on seniority) REGARDLESS of how many or how few patients they have the sessions with.

Your Manager prints off your work schedule for the next day and then leaves office. The Manager doesn’t work on the next day since it’s their day off.

You walk in and you are horrified at your day’s schedule. A horrendous 8-9 patients back to back. Meanwhile, you find out that many of your colleagues are chilling for the day.

Did the Manager mess up?

Are they singling you out?

What’s going on?

A young ambitious therapist comes to you and says “hey pal, I saw the schedules you’ve got a busy day. I can offer to take some of those patients. If you want, you can call the Manager and tell them I don’t mind helping.”

The Manager is off (and off days are precious).

Do you call the Manager? If so, how would you phrase things?

Or do you “man up” (to avoid appearing like a complainer/slacker/not a team player) and just do the 8-9 patients? What if this type of unfair scheduling becomes regular practice?

I’m terrified of Managers and the power they wield so I’d just quietly do the assigned work. I don’t want to appear unreliable.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 8:13 pm
by Victorious Decepticons
None of that. Open your own office immediately upon getting your therapist credential, so you never have to deal with some manager at all. Do it out of your house if you have to!

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 8:17 pm
by Infected Mushroom
Victorious Decepticons wrote:None of that. Open your own office immediately upon getting your therapist credential, so you never have to deal with some manager at all. Do it out of your house if you have to!


Hmmm but is it easy to get clients?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 8:40 pm
by Krasny-Volny
If you like your job, do what you’re told and don’t complain. So what if nobody got half the amount of work assigned to you that day? Life ain’t fair. So remember that one day you’ll get a chill day too, and suck it up.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 9:32 pm
by Heloin
I unionise the workplace and go on strike.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:04 pm
by The Free Joy State
Victorious Decepticons wrote:None of that. Open your own office immediately upon getting your therapist credential, so you never have to deal with some manager at all. Do it out of your house if you have to!

Technically, you'd already have to be fully licensed and accredited to be working there.

I'm with you. Quit immediately. Poach as many of your client list as will go (they already know and trust you, so why not). Work out of your house.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:05 pm
by Infected Mushroom
Heloin wrote:I unionise the workplace and go on strike.


lol

Because you got assigned too much work relative to your colleagues for one time?

...

Do strikes generally work out?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:06 pm
by Tinhampton
Infected Mushroom wrote:You work at Basic Psych

Did I get removed from management because of my reaction to the therapist that was playing on his Nintendo Switch at work?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:07 pm
by Infected Mushroom
Tinhampton wrote:
Infected Mushroom wrote:You work at Basic Psych

Did I get removed from management because of my reaction to the therapist that was playing on his Nintendo Switch at work?


I was thinking this was more of a prequel to the Switch scenario

So before you made it up to management

But yeah, I like the sound of Basic Psych so it will be used as the main workplace for workplace related hypotheticals

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:11 pm
by Kombinita Socialisma Demokratio
I'd be way too terrified to do anything remotely like confronting my manager. I'd just have a bad day and try to get a different job convince myself to try to get another job.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:11 pm
by Infected Mushroom
Krasny-Volny wrote:If you like your job, do what you’re told and don’t complain. So what if nobody got half the amount of work assigned to you that day? Life ain’t fair. So remember that one day you’ll get a chill day too, and suck it up.


Fair enough

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:44 pm
by Heloin
Infected Mushroom wrote:
Heloin wrote:I unionise the workplace and go on strike.


lol

Because you got assigned too much work relative to your colleagues for one time?

They’re not being given jobs and I’m being over worked.

Do strikes generally work out?

A pretty useless broad stroke question. In this situation? Probably, no company wants to advertise how shit they are by firing a bunch of highly qualified therapists.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:47 pm
by Purpelia
If I am uncomfortable with how my workplace is managed I'll complain or just find another job. It's not like jobs are hard to find. And it's not like anyone can punish let alone fire me for complaining because I live in a civilized country.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:49 pm
by Infected Mushroom
Purpelia wrote:If I am uncomfortable with how my workplace is managed I'll complain or just find another job. It's not like jobs are hard to find. And it's not like anyone can punish let alone fire me for complaining because I live in a civilized country.


So you would call the Manager on their off day?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:52 pm
by The Free Joy State
Heloin wrote:
Infected Mushroom wrote:
lol

Because you got assigned too much work relative to your colleagues for one time?

They’re not being given jobs and I’m being over worked.

Do strikes generally work out?

A pretty useless broad stroke question. In this situation? Probably, no company wants to advertise how shit they are by firing a bunch of highly qualified therapists.

You're too public-spirited, Hel. :)

I wish you good luck on your strike, but I'm calling my stable client list and inviting them to move with me to my new premises. As a healthy therapeutic relationship is an important part of the counselling process, I think most of my clients will want to stay with me (especially as they may be farmed out to other therapists without warning, if they stay with this large corporation, which I would mention to them in my pitch)

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:54 pm
by Infected Mushroom
Kombinita Socialisma Demokratio wrote:I'd be way too terrified to do anything remotely like confronting my manager. I'd just have a bad day and try to get a different job convince myself to try to get another job.


I see...

Makes sense

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:57 pm
by Gandhian India
Let the young therapist take however many he wants without bothering to run it by the manager. No one has to be the wiser

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:58 pm
by Infected Mushroom
Gandhian India wrote:Let the young therapist take however many he wants without bothering to run it by the manager. No one has to be the wiser


That’s interesting

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:01 pm
by Purpelia
Infected Mushroom wrote:
Purpelia wrote:If I am uncomfortable with how my workplace is managed I'll complain or just find another job. It's not like jobs are hard to find. And it's not like anyone can punish let alone fire me for complaining because I live in a civilized country.


So you would call the Manager on their off day?

If it happens once I probably wouldn't care. But if it became a trend than I would quit or complain.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:02 pm
by Page
I'll let the young ambitious therapist take what he wants and I'll talk to the manager the next day.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:03 pm
by Infected Mushroom
Purpelia wrote:
Infected Mushroom wrote:
So you would call the Manager on their off day?

If it happens once I probably wouldn't care. But if it became a trend than I would quit or complain.


Fair enough

Makes sense

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:04 pm
by Infected Mushroom
Page wrote:I'll let the young ambitious therapist take what he wants and I'll talk to the manager the next day.


This works for the day but won’t you be scared of the manager’s response the next day regarding the passing of work without their go ahead?

Unless you calculate that they’d be alright with it?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:08 pm
by Heloin
The Free Joy State wrote:
Heloin wrote:They’re not being given jobs and I’m being over worked.


A pretty useless broad stroke question. In this situation? Probably, no company wants to advertise how shit they are by firing a bunch of highly qualified therapists.

You're too public-spirited, Hel. :)

I wish you good luck on your strike, but I'm calling my stable client list and inviting them to move with me to my new premises. As a healthy therapeutic relationship is an important part of the counselling process, I think most of my clients will want to stay with me (especially as they may be farmed out to other therapists without warning, if they stay with this large corporation, which I would mention to them in my pitch)

If I succeed then I’ve created a better environment for the therapists and the clients and make it a useful part of the healthcare system. If I fail then I bring down a awful for profit patient farm that would be doing more harm then any good it could ever do.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:11 pm
by Infected Mushroom
It’s interesting that so far no one has voted to call the manager

PostPosted: Thu Sep 24, 2020 3:13 am
by Nobel Hobos 2
Infected Mushroom wrote:It’s interesting that so far no one has voted to call the manager


OK. Call the manager.

Tell the manager the office is on fire
Set the office on fire, starting with the manager's office
When the manager arrives, hit them with a fire axe
Tell police you are very stressed and "sic semper tyrannis"