One of the hardest things about this place, is that when you see something that needs to be done, you can't just do it. This is not a culture where efficiency is accepted and appreciated. On the one hand, you have to follow an unwritten code of pleasantries. There's this way they have of constantly blowing smoke up one another's asses that seems to be the order of the day. Anybody that knows me even just a little knows that this is not a skill I possess. On the other, nobody has respect for you unless you are the boss. It takes one square move by your superior to effectively neuter you in the eyes of the masses. There's no coming back from that. If they have determined that you have no power, or they perceive that you have no power, you are pretty much useless here.
It sometimes causes me great amounts of grief that you can't just expect the staff to do what they are asked to do. If you try to push someone into doing what they should be doing, they just bounce off in the opposite direction and nothing gets done. In a perfect example, I can speak the plainest Creole or English and they will nod their heads and walk away and still not do what you asked them to do, nor any of their other tasks. It's a real pain in the ass. I still haven't unlocked the code for the necessary pleasantries that are expected when you tell someone to go fly a kite. It continues to cause confrontations between some of the bolder ones.
Add to the fact that communication is strained at best and EVERYone has a hidden agenda. It's hard to tell who is actually on your side and who is TELLING you they are on your side, all the while scheming in the background and plotting an uprising against you. It isn't all that uncommon for individuals to despise you but placate you because they aren't willing to go live on their own.
Some days there's just not enough vodka to numb the pain! lol
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