Wednesday, February 18, 2015
I'll Take the Blame for That! The Proverbial Scapegoat
Is it just me who feels like the secretary is always the fall-guy/gal?
What about attorneys who wait until the last minute to meet deadlines? When was the last time you heard one of them say, "Hey, Susie, that's my mistake. I should have looked over that agreement before vacation?"
Don't hold your breath.
And there's something that many secretaries, yours truly, inevitably do and that is to take the blame even when it's not our fault.
It might have something to do with the fact that we need to keep our jobs. And the customer (i.e. attorney) is always right.
I'm really working on not internalizing it all. Which is super hard for me to do. Even though, I may know in my heart of hearts, it's not my fault, there's something about the way (women especially) are raised to shoulder the burden of whatever goes awry.
Thank God for all the wonderful vendors who have provided me with a nice collection of stress balls over the years.
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1 comment:
Been there! Done that! Have hypertension to prove it! I've learned the hard way to not internalize stress for others procrastinating or sheer refusal to appreciate my urgency pleas.
I own up to any delays I've caused or contributed to, but I only share the blame for attorneys who themselves have to wait for approval from a client who fails to timely provide information for a filing or submission. For all others, I've learned to nudge him or her to get moving towards completion. Then, if deadline is not met, I simply say "Well, I filed/submitted immediately upon receipt of final document from you at 5:05 p.m. Hopefully, it will not be challenged or rejected." I then move on. However, I never verbally nudge, all of my nudging is email tracked.
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