The Brochure on Navigating Workplace Triggers

Send us a text

Have you ever had that coworker whose energy completely threw you off balance? The one who talks non-stop, interrupts conversations, or - and imagine this in a professional setting - sings? Until you're ready to scream? You're not alone.

In this deeply relatable episode, I dive into the complex world of workplace triggers and how to navigate them with grace. Drawing from a recent personal experience, I explore the delicate balance between maintaining your professional composure and addressing potentially disruptive behavior. Rather than simply reacting with frustration, I share how stepping back to understand the underlying causes changed my perspective and also calmed me down.

Beyond workplace triggers, I explore fascinating parallels between effective leadership and good parenting. Both roles require providing guidance, direction, and constructive feedback without micromanaging. The secret ingredient? Communication. The best leaders I've encountered throughout my career have all been exceptional communicators who created cultures of transparency where team members felt valued and included. This stands in stark contrast to the "wall of secrecy" too many organizations hide behind, leaving employees feeling disconnected from decisions that directly impact them.

Whether you're dealing with difficult workplace dynamics or aspiring to become a better leader, this episode offers practical insights to help you navigate professional relationships with greater awareness and effectiveness. Listen now, and let me know if you've faced similar situations in your workplace journey. How did you handle them? I'd love to hear your stories and continue this important conversation.

For the Only Child Diaries:
Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/onlychilddiariespodcast/
or
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/onlychilddiaries/
or
Threads
https://www.threads.net/@onlychilddiaries
and now on
Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/onlychilddiaries.bsky.social

Episode Transcript

Tracy (00:05):
Let's just say it that they were high.
Welcome to the Only ChildDiaries podcast.
I'm your host, Tracy Wallace.
Have you ever felt like youdidn't receive the how-to
brochure on life, that youdidn't get enough guidance about
major life issues?
So did I.

(00:25):
You don't have to be an onlychild to feel this way.
In my podcast, we'll exploresome of the best ways to better
navigate adulting, while doingso with humor and light.
Welcome everyone to the OnlyChild Diaries podcast.

(00:50):
Today I'm going to talk about,well, the workplace and triggers
.
Triggers in the workplace.
There's a lot to say abouttriggers.
Triggers are an emotionalresponse to things around you,
right?
A trigger.
Well, let's say, you lost aloved one or you lost a pet, or

(01:18):
even you lost a job andsomething reminds you of that
loss and you feel sad.
That's a trigger, right.
So there's also triggers.
I guess that's kind of, in mymind, the basis of PTSD or

(01:39):
post-traumatic stress syndrome.
It's a trigger, right.
But sometimes in work orwherever you are, there's going
to be people or things thattrigger you in maybe, yes, a
positive way, but also anegative way.

(02:00):
Positive triggers are okay,like anything else, but a
negative trigger is not so good,and especially when you're in a
work environment, a negativetrigger can be challenging and
frustrating.
Now a negative trigger can comefrom a coworker and I have to

(02:26):
say that I experienced thisrecently and I wanted to kind of
explore how I approached it.
I haven't quite figured it allout yet, but I thought that it
was a worthy conversation forthe podcast.
It was a worthy conversationfor the podcast.
As I've aged, I've become moreintuitive, I guess, as to why

(03:01):
people are the way they are andwhat's really going on, because
what you see on the surfaceisn't necessarily what's really
going on.
So this particular personobviously triggered me.
I was kind of upset andfrustrated and ticked off and I
had to kind of well, I had tostep back because I was getting

(03:24):
too irritated and I don't liketo be irritated and I don't like
to be irritated and I don'tlike to act irritated and I just
don't want to be in that space.
So I stepped away and later onI thought about it and I
realized that the personnecessarily wasn't doing or
saying anything negative, but itwas the energy that they were

(03:48):
projecting and I haven't quitefigured it out.
But I suspect that what wasreally happening was either that
this person was on some sort ofsubstance, or let's just say

(04:08):
that they were high or thatthere's something else going on,
like a manic episode, becausethat's really how it presented.
There was a lot of talking,there was a lot of chatter,
there was, to an extent that Ihadn't seen before, there was

(04:33):
interrupting, there was singingto the overhead music and to the
point that it was distractingand not professional certainly.
So, while I was irritated bythis behavior, I couldn't really

(04:55):
fault this person because itwasn't necessarily negative.
There were no insults, therewas no negative comments per se,
negative comments per se but itwas the energy and certainly
some of the behavior wasn't,again, necessarily professional.
How do you handle a triggeringincident or experience in the

(05:18):
workplace?
Because, again, it's not like arelationship, right, that would
be a different response.
A work experience, aprofessional environment is
different.
You have to carry on with yourown work, focus on your own work

(05:50):
and try to put that behavior orthat experience out of your
mind as best as you can and atthe same time, sometimes if it's
distracting to clients orcustomers, you have to take that
into consideration and theremight be an opportunity for you
to go to your supervisor.

(06:11):
And if your supervisor hasn'texperienced it or seen it, that
you report it to them, becauseif it's impacting clients or
customers they should know right.
But I think it'll beinteresting, at least from my
perspective, to see if thisperson exhibits this behavior

(06:36):
again, because there would be ahistory and I think one incident
maybe is something that you canoverlook, but if it's a pattern
, then that's another story.
I've done a lot of thinking inthe past week or two about

(06:59):
leadership in the workplace andtrying to be a leader, and I
know from my experience thatrecently, especially as I've
matured or, let's say, gottenolder, that the feedback that
I've received from people that Iwork with has been positive

(07:21):
because I've tried to be aleader, I've tried to assist my
coworkers and I've tried toincrease the productivity of
where I am.
And I think, to a certainextent even though you can't put
a personal spin on this right Aworkplace is not a personal

(07:47):
relationship, it's a workrelationship.
That leadership in aprofessional environment has a
lot of similarities to aparenting relationship, I think,
because when you're a goodparent, you in a way provide

(08:08):
leadership, you providedirection, you provide advice
and you provide oversight toyour child or to the children
that you have.
Again, I'm not a parent so Ican't say, but in leadership,
professional environment, theboss, if you will, or the

(08:29):
supervisor, provides oversight,advice, guidance a lot of the
same qualities that a parentwould provide.
So in that way, leadership, orgood leadership, should provide
that same sort of direction andinput that a good parent would

(08:52):
right.
Just some thoughts.
There's a lot more to say aboutthat, but I have given it some
thought because it looks likethere's a possibility, a strong
possibility, that I might be aguest on another podcast talking
about leadership and talkingabout working with others and

(09:16):
providing leadership, and Ithink that there's a lot of
similarities between my podcastconcept giving the brochure on
life or the brochure ondifferent topics that have to do
with life, and it's kind ofadvice.

(09:39):
It is definitely guidance andhow I perceive being a good
leader in a work environmentcomes to fruition.
I've often felt that goodleadership is also about good

(10:00):
communication.
Think about it.
Who have been the good leadersthat you've worked with?
Have they been goodcommunicators?
I suspect that they have,because good leaders do spend
time talking to you or givingyou guidance, and that is about

(10:25):
communication.
Right, I don't see in my head,a way to be a good leader
without good communication, andso I think that the two parts,
the two sides, have to meetsomewhere.
I know, when I was studyingbusiness way back in college,

(10:49):
there's a book that had justcome out.
It's called, or it is called,in Search of Excellence.
It talked about how to havebetter relationships, if you
will, with employees and how toempower employees to create a
more productive work environment, and I looked it up recently

(11:13):
and it's still available forsale.
I'm sure it's gone throughseveral edits since the 80s, but
I was heartened to see that itis still available.
What I think is frustratingthese days in many work

(11:46):
environments is that there tendsto be a wall of secrecy between
things are working or puttogether or the decisions that
are coming up, even if peopleare going to be impacted by them
.
I think a culture ofcommunication is so important

(12:09):
because it makes the employeesfeel that they're part of the
team.
They're part of the success ofthe team, and that's a way to
make employees feel better abouttheir jobs, and when they feel
better about their jobs, they dobetter at their jobs.

(12:29):
About their jobs, they dobetter at their jobs.
Just my two cents.
Anyway, folks, that's all I'vegot for today.
Next week, tackle another topictogether.
I hope you'll join me.
If you like this episode,please follow the Only Child
Diaries podcast on Applepodcasts or other platforms you

(12:50):
might listen on and considerrating Only Child Diaries and
writing a review.
It helps others to find us.
Please share it with a friendyou think might like it as well.
Visit my Instagram page OnlyChild Diaries or Facebook Only
Child Diaries podcast.
Thanks for listening.

(13:11):
I'm Tracy Wallace and these arethe Only Child Diaries.