I Am Not As Strong As You Think I Am
[b]Of Workplace Weirdness[/b]
[i]OR[/i]
[b]Is it Okay to Lie to a Coworker?[/b]
[Edit - removed three paragraphs to save reader's time/eliminate potentially identifying details]
Anyway, "How's it going, friend?" she asks this morning. Pleasantries and words and stuff. Then she asks the question I keep dodging from her, and everyone else: any variant of, "are things improving?"
No, they're not. I'm actually seeking [b]*another*[/b] referral because my last care team decided they couldn't help, and the referral they gave can't get me in for four months. Which, you know, I'd rather not wait that long if it could be avoided. A lot more can go wrong in that time frame.
She asks from a good place, of genuine concern, which I appreciate; this isn't a thinly veiled, "when will you be back at work, no one understands your job at all," sort of thing. I also don't want her, or anyone else on the fringes (read as: not an immediate part of my life/not fully informed of my current health situation) to worry unnecessarily about me.
Is it okay to lie, or at least provide a positive-spin on the situation that is accurate, but incomplete? Something like, "I'm seeking new specialist care, but no major changes in the situation overall," and immediately changing the topic.
I'm not even a little bit optimistic, though. The very select few who know what's going on, also not under the impression that I'm optimistic. They know that if I'm any kind of optimistic, it's some extreme variant of "cautiously optimistic" wherein the optimism is so minimal that it warrants no mention...and that "caution" is something I lack at the moment as well.
I'm strong, and I can handle a lot, but I kinda sort of need the correct medical care to, you know, live. I'm every bit as terrified now as I was three weeks ago when shit got real. Actually, probably more terrified now. Either way.
But yeah, is it okay to just lie a little bit?
Oh, the workplace weirdness is that she was assigned to be my friend by my manager at a team lunch at one point, because he didn't want me to just bail, as I'm known to do on such things. She's actually pretty rad, though. I mean, obviously, if we talk outside of work said individual is pretty rad.
[i]OR[/i]
[b]Is it Okay to Lie to a Coworker?[/b]
[Edit - removed three paragraphs to save reader's time/eliminate potentially identifying details]
Anyway, "How's it going, friend?" she asks this morning. Pleasantries and words and stuff. Then she asks the question I keep dodging from her, and everyone else: any variant of, "are things improving?"
No, they're not. I'm actually seeking [b]*another*[/b] referral because my last care team decided they couldn't help, and the referral they gave can't get me in for four months. Which, you know, I'd rather not wait that long if it could be avoided. A lot more can go wrong in that time frame.
She asks from a good place, of genuine concern, which I appreciate; this isn't a thinly veiled, "when will you be back at work, no one understands your job at all," sort of thing. I also don't want her, or anyone else on the fringes (read as: not an immediate part of my life/not fully informed of my current health situation) to worry unnecessarily about me.
Is it okay to lie, or at least provide a positive-spin on the situation that is accurate, but incomplete? Something like, "I'm seeking new specialist care, but no major changes in the situation overall," and immediately changing the topic.
I'm not even a little bit optimistic, though. The very select few who know what's going on, also not under the impression that I'm optimistic. They know that if I'm any kind of optimistic, it's some extreme variant of "cautiously optimistic" wherein the optimism is so minimal that it warrants no mention...and that "caution" is something I lack at the moment as well.
I'm strong, and I can handle a lot, but I kinda sort of need the correct medical care to, you know, live. I'm every bit as terrified now as I was three weeks ago when shit got real. Actually, probably more terrified now. Either way.
But yeah, is it okay to just lie a little bit?
Oh, the workplace weirdness is that she was assigned to be my friend by my manager at a team lunch at one point, because he didn't want me to just bail, as I'm known to do on such things. She's actually pretty rad, though. I mean, obviously, if we talk outside of work said individual is pretty rad.
SW-User