Alice is the only daughter in her family. She has two elder brothers, one of them a lawyer and the other a businessman. Being the only daughter and the youngest in the family, Alice’s parents naturally loved her the most and showered her with the most affection and attention. In spite of all this, Alice was not a spoilt and snobbish child but full of care and understanding that made her very popular and easy to get along with among her friends and classmates. After Alice graduated from college, she applied for a job as a nurse in a hospital and she successfully got the job she had been yearning for since young. As a new nurse, the chief nurse, Mrs. Wong, assigned two other senior nurses, Brenda and Carissa, to assist and guide Alice in her daily job routine in the hospital. The personalities of Brenda and Carissa were completely opposite; Brenda was friendly, outgoing and extrovert-like whereas Carissa was cold, reserved and introvert-like. Alice became good friends and colleagues with Brenda after some time while her relationship with Carissa remained merely at the work acquaintance level.
After a few months later, Alice checked out that she would be on duty for a particular Saturday which happened to coincide with her father’s birthday and that the whole family had agreed to go to a restaurant for a birthday dinner celebration. Thus she approached Brenda and asked her if she could help her with her duty for that day and Brenda replied no problem. On that day itself, Carissa called Alice and questioned her why she was not at the hospital as Alice was supposed to take over from her at the shift change interval. Alice was surprised that Brenda was not there yet so she contacted her through phone and SMS but she got no reply from Brenda. At Carrisa’s demand, Alice had no choice but to report for work reluctantly and as a result, her family members especially her father, were displeased that she was not able to turn up for this important family function. Even her brother, who was on an overseas business trip, took the effort to rush back for the birthday dinner.
Subsequently, Alice confronted Brenda to check with her why she never turned up on that day and Brenda lied to her that she was not feeling well on that day when she actually went out for a movie with her friends. Alice probed further why she did not return her call or message and Brenda simply said that she was resting at home the whole day and so she did not turn on her mobile phone as she was sleeping. Alice was vexed with Brenda’s attitude and irresponsibility and so she walked away in silence.
How should Brenda have responded when Alice confronted her regarding her absence from duty when she had made the promise to her earlier on so as to prevent any strains on their friendship?
Possible causes: Dishonesty, Insensitivity and Lack of accountability of one’s actions.
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2 comments:
This situation is pretty common during my army days!
I feel that Brenda shouldn't have agreed to replace Alice in the first place if she wasn't even sincere about helping. She should simply tell Alice that she is unable to cover her duty for that particular Saturday as she already has something planned. I am sure Alice will be able to accept the reason and move on to look for another nurse to cover her duty. Even if she has agreed to help but had plans at last minute, Brenda should have the decency to inform Alice in advance so that she has ample time to find another replacement.
Next, Brenda's lie to cover up her own wrong doing is unprofessional. If she treasured the friendship with Alice, she should have admitted her mistakes bravely and apologized sincerely. Alice may be remain angry, but I am sure if Brenda was sincerely sorry, she will forgive Brenda after cooling down.
Personally, I cannot tolerate dishonesty. I believe that the act of lying lowers one's creditabilty as a person towards others. Honesty and accountability of our actions are vital in gaining trust of others.
I have had numerous encounters with such people during army. I have learnt through experience and I guess the best solution is to inform your superior or whoever you are accountable to regarding the replacement of your duty by another person. Also, as far as possible, make the replacement of duty official on pen and paper. In this way, if things go wrong, we are able indentify the correct people involved. =)
Hey Zhi Lian!
Well, I think it is not fully Brenda's fault when it comes to this issue. Alice should have call Brenda to check if she could really cover her duty on Saturday. It is an over-sight on her part to not follow-up. If she were to call Brenda up on Friday and Brenda said she is not free, then Alice could have find someone else to do it. She could have gone for the birthday celebration.
Like what Edwin said, Alice should report to her supervisors on the change in duty so that when this happens, Alice wouldn't be caught in the middle.
Brenda, on the other hand, is very irresponsible. From this incident, we could see that having fun is more important and keeping a promise. I believe that such a person is not worth it to help. If she is heartless enough, she could have said that Alice didn't inform her about the change in duties.
In any case, if Brenda wants to back out at the last minute, she should at least call or find someone to take her place so that the incident wouldn't happen. Moreover, with her extrovert character and her experience, she would have known many other nurses who could have helped her.
I guess in the end, if Brenda tells the truth, their relationship will be over. However, when Alice asked about the it. Brenda should apologise profusely and be remorseful. She should also agree to cover Alice's job if the need arises.
Well, if she breaks her promise again, i guess Alice should consider her as an acquaintance. Brenda is not a worthy friend.
In any case, it is always good to maintain good relationship with people around so that it would be easy to approach others for help when it is needed.
Good story!!
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