Learning to Fly - Post 7
Quote of the Day:
"...yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often. Best to say nothing at all, my dear man."
- Albus Dumbledore
I'm sorry that I haven't written in a while. Things have been crazy busy lately (aren't they always?).
And tonight, my residents have just lost it...it's only 11:30 PM and we've had 4 documentations already: 1 noise violation, 2 underage drinking, and 1 smoking pot...the resident, who was smoking pot, even got ARRESTED because he wasn't compliant. WHAT A NIGHT!!!
But this wasn't what I wanted to talk about tonight. I'm struggling with finding a balance between being flexible and holding staff accountable. If they have a really good excuse or I see that they're struggling or stressed out or sick, I feel bad and I don't want to hold them accountable for not fulfilling all their job responsibilities. But then again, this is a job and I need them to do it well.
My grad for example...she's a music performance major, so this job is really "just a job" for her. She also has a VERY time-consuming major and is currently in a show. So basically, she doesn't have time to get everything done. She's been sick a lot this semester and lately, she's looked really stressed out and has really been struggling to get everything done. She's been missing classes, was so tired that she didn't do well on a midterm, and has had her voice coaches "talk" to her about her performance and commitment. She is a student first, so I've been trying to be supportive and encourage her to focus on her education. But at the same time, she hasn't really been doing her job either. I'm not sure if she works 20 hours a week...to be honest, I highly doubt that. She is barely in the building. She's done the minimum of what she needs to do but she hasn't really done anything else. I have tons of tasks that I could need help with, but how can I ask her when she's so stressed out?
We talk so much in our field about balance, but what's more important: balance or fulfilling your job responsibilities? And her not being here has affected the community, from the residents to the RAs to me. I've been dragging these past two weeks because I just haven't gotten enough sleep. When every meeting with a central staff member starts with the question whether or not I'm okay because I look like crap...that's a sign for me that I need to change something. And I moved into my new apartment three weeks ago now (I think it was three weeks...it may have been more...I don't remember) and I still haven't unpacked completely.
But at least, this week I'm getting AWAY from campus: first a regional conference, then an RHA regional conference. Lots of fun! Let's just hope my building will still be standing when I return from all these conference.
"...yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often. Best to say nothing at all, my dear man."
- Albus Dumbledore
I'm sorry that I haven't written in a while. Things have been crazy busy lately (aren't they always?).
And tonight, my residents have just lost it...it's only 11:30 PM and we've had 4 documentations already: 1 noise violation, 2 underage drinking, and 1 smoking pot...the resident, who was smoking pot, even got ARRESTED because he wasn't compliant. WHAT A NIGHT!!!
But this wasn't what I wanted to talk about tonight. I'm struggling with finding a balance between being flexible and holding staff accountable. If they have a really good excuse or I see that they're struggling or stressed out or sick, I feel bad and I don't want to hold them accountable for not fulfilling all their job responsibilities. But then again, this is a job and I need them to do it well.
My grad for example...she's a music performance major, so this job is really "just a job" for her. She also has a VERY time-consuming major and is currently in a show. So basically, she doesn't have time to get everything done. She's been sick a lot this semester and lately, she's looked really stressed out and has really been struggling to get everything done. She's been missing classes, was so tired that she didn't do well on a midterm, and has had her voice coaches "talk" to her about her performance and commitment. She is a student first, so I've been trying to be supportive and encourage her to focus on her education. But at the same time, she hasn't really been doing her job either. I'm not sure if she works 20 hours a week...to be honest, I highly doubt that. She is barely in the building. She's done the minimum of what she needs to do but she hasn't really done anything else. I have tons of tasks that I could need help with, but how can I ask her when she's so stressed out?
We talk so much in our field about balance, but what's more important: balance or fulfilling your job responsibilities? And her not being here has affected the community, from the residents to the RAs to me. I've been dragging these past two weeks because I just haven't gotten enough sleep. When every meeting with a central staff member starts with the question whether or not I'm okay because I look like crap...that's a sign for me that I need to change something. And I moved into my new apartment three weeks ago now (I think it was three weeks...it may have been more...I don't remember) and I still haven't unpacked completely.
But at least, this week I'm getting AWAY from campus: first a regional conference, then an RHA regional conference. Lots of fun! Let's just hope my building will still be standing when I return from all these conference.
posted by StudentAffairs.com at
8:56 PM
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