Читать книгу Above and Beyond - J.S. Dorian - Страница 72

“Fear makes men ready to believe the worst.”

QUINTUS CURTIUS RUFUS

You’ll be going back to work in a couple of weeks, and you’re more nervous than on that day five years ago when you were first hired. You are not afraid that you can’t do the work; it’s not that. Nor are you afraid, as you were back then, that your performance won’t match the promises on your resume.

What does concern you is how your co-workers will react to your illness and behave toward you. Will they treat you as before? Or have some of them fallen prey to such myths as: Cancer makes workers less efficient. Cancer is contagious. Cancer is a death sentence.

Here again, as with so many aspects of illness, careful planning and clear communication can smooth the way, solve any actual problems, and forestall potential new ones.

If you haven’t kept up contact during your treatment and recovery—a few phone calls will ease your co-workers’ concerns about you and give you the chance to dispel any misconceptions they may have—once you’re back at work, you may want to schedule a get-together with fellow employees. This get-together will allow them (and you) to air concerns, correct wrong ideas, and decide the best ways to work together again.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

I will ground my thoughts in reality, imagining the best rather than the worst.