Not
too long ago, I was going through a list off a friend’s page on the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’
in a workplace environment and one of the ‘don’ts’ struck a chord within me and
a song of remembrance began to play in my head and certain incidents which
happened many years ago, as in over a
decade and a half years ago came to mind.
Before I go on, a paragraph as cited below on the list read:
Never be too dependent on a colleague. If you have a
colleague who has a car while you don't have one and go your direction, don't
always make it a point of duty to follow them every single day of the week. You
get a salary and part of the expenses you need to incur is your transportation
so don't be too miserly. Even though the need to save is understandable, don't
make anyone believe they are doing you a huge favor. There's nothing wrong if
you decide to take public transport even while your colleague is heading
towards your direction. That way they will not only respect you, but also
realize you can do without their favors.
Now
let’s go on.
Many
years ago, while working in a services providing firm, I had a colleague who
would give me and about two other colleagues a ride home every day as we all
lived in the same part of town at the time so it wasn’t like we were taking him
off his route. He did take us for a couple of weeks without complaints until
one day when he started complaining about fuel and some other things I can’t
even remember now.
After
several complaints which we initially laughed about, one day during lunch break,
I met him alone in the canteen and he brought up the issue of fuel and how it
was eating into his ‘pockets’. We talked for a while and then I agreed to
support him by giving him some money every week as part of my contribution for
the ride and also asked him if he could talk with the others but he refused and
said one of the other two persons had said she wouldn’t give him a dime after all
she wasn’t taking him off his route. Knowing the kind of person that lady was, I
just advised him not to bother with her as she was known to be very nasty by everyone
when she chose to, so he let the issue slide.
Everything
went on as usual until about two weeks after our discussion when the guy
strolled into the office and when he was asked if he drove, he said “no” and
when he was asked why he didn’t, he said it was cheaper for him to come by
public transport and besides he couldn’t continue giving free rides while
others saved their money and above all, get insulted whenever he complained
about how much fuel the car was consuming. He continued to work by public
transport and interestingly on the days he drove, he would sneak off before the
close of work just so nobody would hitch a ride with him *laughs*. On a few
occasions of such sneaks, he would hint me that he was leaving so I could hurry
up, nevertheless, there were days he would be gone even before I got out for
fear that I may have hinted the others if I took a few minutes longer than he
could spare in waiting. The trend
continued until he resigned not too long after to start his own business. Just wondering
where he is at this moment.
Now
fast forward to a couple of months after the guy resigned, some of us were
offered loans to buy cars but ‘yours sincerely’ had plans to leave before the
loan was offered so did not take it. However that same lady who was nasty to
the ‘resigned’ guy got the loan and bought a car so it was her turn to
give ‘free rides’ to those who lived in
her axis.
Not
too long after, drama started which was just after a couple of rides and our ‘queen
nasty’ started giving attitude and complaining worse about the same things the
former guy used to complain about *laughs*, did I hear anyone say “karma is a
b**ch”?
It
didn’t take long before everyone stopped hitching rides with her as you would
get not just insults but more annoying remarks before you get to your
destination, so the best thing you could do was either get used to having your
ears filled with insults or stopped hitching and so I chose the latter and I was
free from unnecessary remarks until a new way of life, by way of another job
came my way.
So
I was done with her but not without learning the lesson as stated at the beginning
of this write up that one should “Never
be too dependent on a colleague. If you have a colleague who has a car while
you don't have one and go your direction, don't always make it a point of duty
to follow them every single day of the week. You get a salary and part of the
expenses you need to incur is yours transportation so don't be too miserly.
Even though the need to save is understandable, don't make anyone believe they
are doing you a huge favor. There's nothing wrong if you decide to take public
transport even while your colleague is heading towards your direction. That way
they will not only respect you, but also realize you can do without their
favors”.
Trust
me; never be too dependent on your colleagues!
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