A Workplace Hypothetical

[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.

[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!

[Infected Mushroom]

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?

[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.

[Heloin]

I unionise the workplace and go on strike.

[The Free Joy State]

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.

[Infected Mushroom]

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?

[Tinhampton]

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?

[Infected Mushroom]

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

[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.

[Infected Mushroom]

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

[Heloin]

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.

[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.

[Infected Mushroom]

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?

[The Free Joy State]

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)

[Infected Mushroom]

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

[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

[Infected Mushroom]

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

[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.

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.

[Page]

I'll let the young ambitious therapist take what he wants and I'll talk to the manager the next day.

[Infected Mushroom]

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

[Infected Mushroom]

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?

[Heloin]

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.

[Infected Mushroom]

It’s interesting that so far no one has voted to call the manager

[Nobel Hobos 2]

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"