Trust Isn’t Helped by Needles

You know you’re in for a great time when you show up at a team-building exercise morning (which are now weekly, by the way) and the new motivational speaker starts with “I know trust falls are clichéd, but we’re going to make them fun again!”

Their method of fun was to make us fall after a set period of time, and while the countdown was going, your partner had to blow up an inflatable camp bed. You yourself were wearing earplugs so you had no idea how far along in the process they were until you were signalled to fall. It was intended…so it was said…to start relying on people to complete tasks instead of simply holding out their arms and catching you. Also, I think there were a few workplace boundaries violated last time that happened.

None of it is helping, so they change it up every single week. Next Monday we’ve all been signed up for a trigger point dry needling course. Apparently, the boss thinks that dry needling will be a useful skill for us to help relieve pain from our patients. It’ll also tech us the valuable lesson of being gentle with each other around the office. Somehow.

I mean no disrespect to dry needling, and maybe I can even use what I learn to finally get out of this place before the ship properly sinks, but I just don’t know if this is a place for us to be ironing out our workplace grievances. People are here trying to learn about needling and whatever, and we’re using and abusing the space because management has no idea how to make us get along.

We’ve given suggestions! We’ve SAID that we need better facilities, maybe an office makeover so it’s not so drab, or at least a coffee machine that works. Maybe someone to organize some actual fun events. But nope. We’re being sent to one of the best providers of dry needling courses Melbourne physical therapists recommend. If you ask me, it’s going to solve nothing. Except the reduction of various aches and pains. Those are important too.

-Malma