Drama

This is something I tweeted before that I really believe but need to adjust. I said,

Expect drama from family, sometimes from friends, always from soap operas. But drama at work is a waste of resources.

This was inspired by a podcast by Andy Stanley regarding healthy work culture. When asked about what were the signs of an unhealthy work culture, the first thing he said was drama. He then began to describe the negative effects, the wasted time and energy, and the far-reaching repercussions of dealing with office drama. Having experienced and observed this in many situations, I agreed. That’s where my tweet was coming from. And I was wrong.

Not totally wrong, mind you, but a little wrong. I should’ve been clearer. Drama can’t be totally eradicated from the workspace because it involves the source of drama: HUMANS. For as long as we work with people, there will be emotions, wills, expectations, and all kinds of sticky things that create drama. Staff members not getting along, home issues entering the work place, conflicting personalities, different styles, relational dysfunctions – these are all part of the (fallen) human experience. And unless we’re building computers that we sell to robots, we will have human interaction. So it comes with the territory.

And drama isn’t just a sorry fact of life. It isn’t even a necessary evil. It has its good uses too. Drama helps us see what really lies beneath. So when we encounter it, it is a good chance to see where the other person is.

When it is resolved well, there is actually a chance to catapult the relationship into deeper, richer levels as forgiveness and humility are mixed into the interaction. I’ve personally benefited so much from healthily-resolved drama in the work place. Whether it’s me forgiving someone else or receiving forgiveness.