A few of you know that I work for our small, family business. We have two employees that aren't family - one full and one part time. I work with both of my parents, a girl close in age to me, and then one of my best friends' mother.
My mom started the business back in 2005 and hired her first employee in 2007 - the girl close in age to me. We got along from the get go, even though we weren't close.
I started working for the business in 2009, after I graduated from college and decided that banking was not my thing. This girl, we'll call her K, and I got along great. In fact, she was one of my closest friends when AJ and I split up. She was there for me to call and to hang out with any time of the day. We talked at work, we hung out after work, we hung out on the weekends, we planned trips out of town together.
Then I started dating Josh. Josh and K got along at first. But, they both have super strong personalities. Unfortunately, they started to clash big time. She would say things to push his buttons. He would say things to push her buttons. They never outright argued, but it was obvious to anyone that they really didn't get along.
I noticed shortly after Josh and I started dating that K would say things that would be derogatory or negative in nature, under the excuse that she was just looking out for me. Things about Josh, house-hunting, buying a car, etc. It got to the point where I just didn't want to tell her things anymore for fear that she would turn it into something negative.
Then, one day, a few months ago, my parents were out of the country, and I have the "Office Manager" position when my mom isn't there. I blatantly told K not to do something, she said, "Okay" and then did exactly what I asked her not to. I confronted her at the end of the week, and she claimed she mis-understood, but the damage was done on my end. She blatantly lied to me, and that bridge had been burned.
Ever since, being at work has been a double-edged sword. I love my job. I love the business. But the directions that she and I had in mind for our careers were two completely different ideas. She has always wanted to be a partner. Our family business will never be a partnership - it wasn't meant for that from the start. K & I have pretty much gone from close friends to acquaintances to coworkers. Lately, it seems that every little thing K has done has rubbed me the wrong way and gotten under my skin.
I was ecstatic to head on an 11 day vacation with Josh. Just to be away from the office and K.
This morning, K put in her two-weeks notice. I am not surprised in the least. I don't blame her for the decision as the position that she's taken has better immediate benefits. It's no surprise that in the independent insurance industry, the money is in being a principal and owning an agency, not in solely being an agent, and due to the fact that this is a family business, as long as we can help it, the family will own it.
I'm nervous because for the time being, I will fill her shoes. A lot of her clients are extremely needy, and require a lot of time and energy.
I'm sad that I will now be the only person in our office younger than 50. That regardless of our differences, sometimes you just want to talk to someone close in age to you, and there won't be anyone around for that (for now).
I'm glad that she has found a job that seems to suit her needs better. I hope she's happy with it.
I'm glad that my workplace will hopefully not be a place of stress anymore. That we can go back to being laid-back, instead of having to have tons of rules in place because people take advantage of the system.
I'm excited for the changes that this will bring and for the opportunity to bring in a new employee.
So, to K, I wish her luck in all that she does. For every thing, there is a season, right?
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