Navigating Workplace Complaints: A Personal Reflection

Before getting into the main topic of the day, I would like to address a realization that I am starting to come to terms with.

I complain about my job a lot more than I would like, and I think I am slowly realizing that some people can acknowledge that you are not in a position you’d like to be in but do not want to hear you complain about it.

To put it plainly, every time I complain about an issue or how I intend to approach a situation at work, it seems like the people I confide in either do not understand or do not wish to understand the situation. It feels like I am speaking to someone who simply doesn’t get it. But I guess this is the realization I need to come to terms with.

From now on, anytime I am asked about my job, I will just say it’s going well and keep doing my own thing. At the end of the day, if I’m going to do what I want to do anyway, what’s the point of seeking opinions from people who aren’t necessarily trying to understand where I’m coming from?

On to the main topic of the day.

I am currently in a position where I share the same role with someone, but we do not have a similar approach to the tasks we’ve been assigned. To be honest, I’m not sure how to navigate this.

How do people deal with co-workers they like but who take on tasks in a way they wouldn’t necessarily agree with? Am I being too strict and need to be more flexible? Is this co-worker just not understanding the situation as much as I do?

Yes. Most likely, that is what I’ve decided to do. I will watch my own back from now on and take note of this because I cannot keep going back and forth on an issue when I have better things to focus on. But then again, my family has mentioned that I can be really rigid sometimes, so I don’t know if this is a reflection of an issue I need to work on within myself.

My question to people out there: Have you ever shared the same or a similar job with someone and disliked how they carried out their tasks? And what did you do about it?