The following is a post that I wrote for a message board where I am anonymous to most people. However, I decided that although I appreciate their input, I also want to know what the people I know in real life actually think about this situation (so please excuse the fact that I'm talking to you like I don't know you...I am too tired to make the language more 'familiar'):
I am a pretty sensitive/nostalgic person, I'll be the first to admit it. I didn't have the best job for the past couple of years, but I started an amazing position in January and have been so grateful and enthusiastic to be there that some people probably think I'm crazy.
That being said, I completed an 8-week training program with 13 colleagues, and I even became teary when the training was over and we had to move upstairs to our actual floor and positions. Silly, I know!
Today one of the trainers, and one of my favorite guys on the team, announced that he was leaving, and since he is going to a competitor, he had to basically pack up his things and go immediately. I will admit that I had tears streaming down my face. I had gotten to know him well during our training, and we had the same sarcastic/dry sense of humor. Some of the sales directors on the floor saw me and looked at me like I was a freak. One of my friends there said it's just because I have a big heart, and when I called Jeff he said, "Awww, you probably cried, didn't you?"
I'm not sure if it shows weakness to become upset in a professional position, but I find it hard to detach myself from good, intelligent, and witty people that you interact with on a daily basis. Am I wrong?
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3 comments:
I've cried when some of my lab mates graduated; when you're around these people and learn about their personal and professional lives over an extended period of time, it's difficult to become detached instantly. Your tears show you care about the person and that you will sincerely miss them ... that means a lot to them, too.
I read this a few times and couldn't think of any times I'd cried because colleagues were leaving, but ...
... then I remembered that I have when a really good boss of mine wasn't going to be my boss anymore. I had to work HARD to hide it ... so I feel you on this!
I don't think it is a sign of weakness at all. Think about all the hours you spent with this person each day. I get sad at the end of each school year because I know I won't see my work friends every day -- on the last day of school I furiously run around the cafeteria at our last faculty meeting to "say goodbye" to the friends I won't be seeing the next day. Even though I know I will talk to and spend time with these friends at different points in the summer, I feel sad at knowing I won't be spending 8 hours a day with them!
I think maybe it's not only that you are sad because you will miss your colleague, but also because it is a change --change is always a bit jarring. In any case, I do not see it as a weakness at all. Society stamps a big fat W on the forehead of anyone who is sensitive and feels things deeply, but I disagree with that. You care about people and make connections to them, and there is nothing weak about that!
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