In this post I am aiming to use narrative practices to firstly, externalise conversations in relation to a recent disruption at my workplace. Secondly, I will be using re-membering techniques such as re-organising membership status in my “club of life” in relation to this story. Lastly, I will emphasise the value of outsider witness conversations and how this practice has helped with self-definitions and realising links between the story and my life as a whole.
What is the problem?
Recently my workplace had a fast and unexpected disruption due to a covid positive customer visiting the store and my workplace being classified, by NSW health, as one of the hotspots in the Illawarra. The customer visited the store for five minutes and I fortunately was not working when this happened. Nevertheless, I was directly impacted by the fall out of this disruption. This news resulted in half the staff having to get tested, an increased pressure to clean more consistently and it heightened my fear of coming into work. “The central concept behind externalizing conversations in narrative therapy is that ‘you are not the problem, the problem is the problem,’” (Schreiner, 2015). Fear is the problem. I am not the problem for experiencing this fear.
Re-membering conversations
When I first heard this news I had multiple conversations with co-workers. They seemed to have a lot of objective reality status in this particular story as they were the local wisdoms who were experiencing the disruption alongside me. Co-workers described how staff reacted to the news, “As soon as they told her she just ran out of the store,” he said and “I saw John, go through the camera footage to see who talked to them,”. I was slightly overwhelmed with these conversations, it increased my fears. I did not reflect on whether or not they were valuable.
Upon reflection, I first told my mum and this was a valuable conversation. She has a high status membership in my ‘club of life’ . She called and asked if I was okay, when I was working next and what I planned to do. Re-organising the status of people in this story made me feel more connected and supported by valuable people in my life despite the initial belief that this problem did not involve them directly. It made me feel less alone in facing this problem, thus reducing the fear.
This is emphasised by Russell and Carey (2002, p.3) “Re-membering practices are based on the poststructuralist understanding that our identities are forged through our relationships with other people.”. With this understanding in mind, it makes sense that when focusing on our valuable positive relationships we feel our identity is more valued and thus supported by those relationships. It again emphasised that the fear was not my identity.
Naming my actions
I ended up working the day after staff were notified of this issue. This shift was incredibly understaffed, surprisingly busy and very unfamiliar as workers from sister stores were brought in to cover the missing staff. I seriously considered calling in sick despite feeling fine and getting tested just to be sure, before I went to work. Ultimately, I am glad that I didn’t. There would have been even less staff, my co-workers would have been swamped and in an even worse position. Being reliable is one of my work values, as well as being empathetic towards my co-workers who value me as a member of their team. I put aside fears of coming into work because of these values. These are soft skills that help me navigate disruption.
I can link the work value of being reliable back to the conscientious attitudes I had in school and in team environments. I did a lot of extracurriculars, sports, choir, debating, ect. and a lot of these commitments required attendance to improve skills and it is this desire that makes me value reliability. If I were to link the value of being empathetic towards others to a relationship it would be my mother who is definitely a role model in this respect.
Outsider witness conversations
An outsider witness is a third party invited to listen and acknowledge narrative conversations. In the context of this story the outsider witnesses were my sisters who observed a text exchange with my mother and I on a group chat before commenting on the story. My mother had already drawn out the key information and I voiced the decision to go to work. Having my sisters view the conversation meant that I had further accountability to this decision and was more likely to translate it into action. This reflects what Carey and Russell (2003, p.3) state, which is that “Outsider-witness practices enable a link to be made between what happens in the therapy room and the rest of a person’s life,”. An outsider’s interpretation and definitions are thus valuable and provide in the narrative practice.
References:
Carey, M & Russell, S 2002, ‘Externalising – commonly-asked questions’, Dulwich Centre, weblog post, viewed 28 August 2021, < https://dulwichcentre.com.au/articles-about-narrative-therapy/externalising/>
Carey, M & Russell, S 2003, ‘Outsider-witness practices: some answers to commonly asked questions’, The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, no.1, pp.1-22, <https://narrativepractices.com.au/attach/pdf/Outsider_Witness_Common_Questions.pdf>
Doyle, A 2021, ‘Top Soft Skills Employers Value With Examples’, The Balance Careers, weblog post, 22 July, viewed 30 August 2021, < https://www.thebalancecareers.com/list-of-soft-skills-2063770>
Leading Effectively Staff, 2020, ‘The Importance of Empathy in the Workplace’, Center for Creative Leadership, weblog post, 28 November, viewed 30 August 2021, < https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/empathy-in-the-workplace-a-tool-for-effective-leadership/>
Mind tools content team, ‘Understanding Workplace Values’, viewed 30 August 2021, <https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/understanding-workplace-values.htm>
Russell, S & Carey, M 2002, ‘Remembering: responding to commonly asked questions’, The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, no.3, pp.1-13, <http://narrativepractices.com.au/attach/pdf/Remembering_Common_Questions.pdf>
Schreiner, M 2015, ‘Externalizing Conversations’, Evolution Counselling, weblog post, 19 January, viewed 30 August 2021, < https://evolutioncounseling.com/externalizing-conversations/>
Serafimovska, N 2020, ‘The Importance of Reliability at Work’, Career Addict, weblog post, 28 Decemeber, viewed 29 August 2021, < https://www.careeraddict.com/the-importance-of-reliability-at-work>
Smith, M & Robinson L 2021, ‘Coronavirus Anxiety: Coping with Stress, Fear, and Worry’ Help Guide, weblog post, July, viewed 28 August 2021, <https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/coronavirus-anxiety.htm#>
White, M 1997, ‘Re-membering and Professional Lives’, Narratives of Therapists’ Lives, Dulwich Centre Publications, viewed 29 August 2021, < https://supervision.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Re-membering-and-professional-lives-by-Michael-White.pdf>
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