By Christina Györkös
Christina Györkös is Scientific Officer at the LIVES Centre since 2019. She presents a dialogue between two colleagues combining the notions of communication in organisations, well-being at work, and individual vulnerabilities.
Christina also highlights the importance of resources, which are cultivated delicately, little by little, like a plant.
This story is told in French.
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Gilda and Luc’s cabinet
We’re at the cabinet where Gilda and Luc work. Gilda has gone through long studies to become a chiropractioner. She fought hard to overcome her dyslexic difficulties and to pursue her dream. She understood that she had to be a warrior and make more efforts to achieve her goals. Although sensitive in nature, she’s also very perseverant.
Today, she’s a chiropractioner, owns her cabinet and has built a solid network with her associate Luc, with who she shares the cabinet. He takes care of most of the administrative tasks and she provides the care for most of the patients. In exchange of this arrangement, they both have the same salary, in a 50-50 professional partnership.
Today, her associate requested a meeting with her to discuss various things. They hold these regular meetings to update each other about their patients and the overall management. However, this time, Luc’s tone is more serious and his gaze more severe than usual.
Luc: « Listen Gilda, I’m going to be honest with you. You forgot an invoice on your desk for about 3 months and now we’re in trouble.
Gilda: I don’t see. Which invoice are you talking about?
Luc: The invoice for our equipment… the two new massage tables. We have a big late fee on this purchase now and need to pay within 5 days.
Gilda: But, what was the invoice doing on my desk in the first place? I don’t remember having even opened that enveloppe.
Luc: Ok, maybe it’s a mistake from your part. It’s not a big deal. This can happen one time. »
Luc looks at Gilda for a few seconds, hesitates. Finally, he says:
Luc: I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I’m worried about you. You seem more distracted and you’ve made other mistakes with patients just last week.
Gilda: Are we in court here? I feel like I’m in front of my dad and 10 years old again. Give me your list of mistakes, shoot.
Luc: You forgot to note the insurance number of a patient. She’s now not answering our letters, emails or phone calls. Result: we have no way to get paid for the two appointments she came for.
Gilda: I remember the day I did that mistake. The receptionist was absent all day. You weren’t there either. I had to handle the reception and the cabinet with a lot of patients alone.
Luc: Ok. I hear you. Then, there was the flood in the kitchen when the coffee machine automatically started with no coffee pot installed. The counter and floor were drowned in coffee when I arrived that morning. I had to clean up everything.
Gilda: That wasn’t my fault. Artificial intelligence messed up that time.
Luc: Ok, but, there’s more.
Gilda: You’re not done?
Luc: I just want to know if you’re ok.
Gilda: Yes, I’m fine. What’s not going well is the fact that I’m sometimes confronted with too many unexpected things that I don’t manage.
Luc: But, there will always be unexpected things.
Gilda: Yes. Exactly. We need to live with uncertainties. End of story. Live with it, Luc. I’m not perfect and neither are you. The difference is that I don’t come to you with a list of all your mistakes, because I tell myself that just like me, you’re human, and for the most part of our collaboration it’s working out pretty well. »
On this last word, Gilda looks at Luc for a few seconds, with kindness. She has gone through many storms in life. She won’t allow a little list of mistakes upsetting her.
Gilda: « Let me tell you. I think we make a good team you and I. We complete each other with our weaknesses and strengths. We talk regularly and we even have plants at the cabinet that stay alive and bloom! The day they’ll no longer make flowers, you’ll have a good reason to be worried. That would mean we did not meet the expectations and failed to nurture our collaboration. It would also mean that we’re out of money to repot our plants as we should. On that day, you will have good reasons to be worried. Look at what we did together Luc. Our patients are loyal, they refer us to their friends, family and work colleagues. That’s an incredible sign.
Luc: When you look at it like that, you’re right. Maybe I’m too focused on the day-to-day tasks and am forgetting the bigger picture.
Gilda: You know what I think? You need a vacation. We’re closing the cabinet for 2 weeks in December for the holidays.You should go down South like you always wanted and free you’re mind a little. It’s been at least one year since you’ve taken a real vacation. I suggest you even take one more week off. I’ll take care of the cabinet with the receptionist during your absence. We’ll book a little less appointments with patients to make sure we don’t over-work.
Luc: Yes, it’s true, you’re right. And thanks! »