One of the downsides of loosing already built trust is that it takes time to build it back up, that's if you're willing to even make the effort.
Working in a factory, warehouse or any such places which require operations on a large scale can be quite fun socially as you get to meet different people from different parts of the country all with their own different experiences.
You learn quite a lot working on such scale even though a lot of times these same jobs are marked with stress and lesser pay.
I had an opportunity working in one of such places and one of the things I appreciated the most was the work culture. There were ranks, but almost no one pulled the seniority card unless it was absolutely necessary.
We all knew our place and trusted everyone to do the right thing.
I signalled to the drivers "Hey guys, let's go fuel for the vehicles so we won't delay today's operations."
About fifteen minutes later, we were back from the fuelling station fully ready to go deliver the goods ordered for the day.
Everyday as the fleet personnel, I had to confirm the status of every vehicle before operations and after operations at the end the day.
Having confirmed there were no new repairs needed, I was set to send my report but lo and behold my phone was nowhere to be found.
Guys is anyone here with my office phone?"
I asked and the answer was the same for everyone NO.
I had gone out with my personal phone when we went out and left my work phone behind.
What I initially believed to be a prank from my colleagues soon turned out to be a full scale search involving the companies security personnel and the I.T department. The device was confirmed to be switched off.
The problem wasn't the fact that someone had stolen the phone, it was the fact that I couldn't pick out one person as a suspect. We all trusted one another and someone had broken that trust.
Are you sure someone here could've stolen your phone?" was the question on everyone's lips.
Operations still had to continue for the day and thankfully another colleague was willing to share his own device pending when I got another one.
I didn't mention this to most of my colleagues, but subconsciously I began to read double meaning into everyone's behavior. Was that smirk or that hasty glance an admission of guilt.
Not having anyone to suspect for the crime means that you start to suspect everyone.
I eventually had to pay for a new one from my salary and this more than anything else left a bitter taste. Knowing the person sees you everyday and probably responds to your greetings with a full smile.
I was actually hoping the culprit would come meet me in confidence and admit they were guilty, but it never happened.
It took awhile to build that trust within ourselves again, but it was like holding together a broken plate with glue. It might make it whole, but it just isn't the same plate anymore.
Oh so sad, what you thought was a prank eventually was a big deal, it is really hard to trust any of your colleague again.
Thankfully it got better after awhile, but it was never the same again.
That's a very unfortunate thing to happen in a workplace, where you believe you have built trust. You used a really nice analogy with the broken plate — it can be glued back together, but will never be the same plate.
Thank you for sharing your story in The Ink Well, and for reading and commenting on the work of other community members.
One tip: This story could have used a bit more development. For example, you could describe some of the "characters" in the workplace and some of their gestures in more detail.
What if you described how people seemed to be looking away from you more quickly than usual, and if someone who you will call "Charlie" (not his real name), shrugged and walked away. Sometimes just a few more details can take a story from good to great!
I'll put this to good use on my next posts. Thanks for your continued feedback.
It's very hard to trust, but not trusting anyone makes you feel insecure, and that deals a lot with your mind, making you think that everyone that comes to you would hurt you.
Trusting is hard, but trusting after it was broken is even harder.
Thanks for your comment.
It’s not that difficult to trust your colleagues but when that trust broken, it will only take grace and love to built it back.
In situations like this I’ll give it an excuse, and become more careful.
It was quite an eye opener for a lot of other staff who weren't expecting such. I guess it was a lesson well learnt for everyone.
This betrayal of trust can be so painful eeeh! It's not that the Phone flee away, it was taken by someone there.
In as much as one tries to build the trust,it can never be the same
It got better eventually, but it was never the same. Whenever I forgot my phone for a few minutes, I would immediately go back to pick it up.
I get this feeling.
Not letting affliction to arise again
This is actually very terrible. Being in such a situation especially in a place where you thought everyone was a friend. Such experiences make people have a mindset reset.
Thankfully I was able to move past it.
Thanks for stopping by @wongi 🤗
Youre most welcome✨
One thing that is very hard to rebuild once it is broken is trust.
It must have been really frustrating because now you will never know.
It was quite frustrating because everyone seemed nice and I had to judge a large number of people by the mistake of one person.