By Geneva Mew
Staff Writer
I never truly heard myself when complaints were spewing out of my mouth about how I didn’t get the class I wanted, or when I was exaggerating my impatience for processing academic forms. Now that I’ve caught only a sliver of the countless tasks our staff members have to manage, my own attitude has shifted entirely from assuming they purposely thwarted my goals, to treating them with genuine empathy in my thoughts, words and face-to-face interactions.
Many students depend on our staff members to handle time-sensitive affairs, such as AP test fees, athletic clearances, schedule changes and college application deadlines. However, these requests frequently escalate to a customer service mentality, with staff members enduring the frustration from students after receiving an answer students didn’t want to hear. Everyone agrees that school staff deserve respect, but when students feel exasperated and expect an instant solution to their problems, their behavior doesn’t always reflect that belief.
From the lens of a student, personal institutional responsibilities feel urgent. But on the other side of the desk, a staff member is trying to fulfill a request on demand while balancing other duties and following policies that bind them from satisfying the student’s wishes. “It would be great if people understood what goes on behind the scenes before they’re angry,” Activities and Athletics Office Manager Dianne Blank said. “But that doesn’t always happen because we don’t have the knowledge.”
By nature, we feel strongly motivated to secure what we want—from first-choice elective courses to limited student parking spaces—without ever opening our eyes to the crude body language or the angry comments we’re putting a well-meaning staff member through. More often than not, relationships between staff and students are positive and productive, until conflict redefines where respect is directed. Without a doubt, students should go to front desks for legitimate concerns, with respect flowing both ways.
Empathy shouldn’t mean students have to accept poor treatment or academic burdens quietly on their own. However, the issue begins when people expect special treatment and perfection from underpaid, overworked staff. Students end up misinterpreting their lack of flexibility as personal cruelty, which leads to unnecessary retaliation.
Instead of letting our own preferences dictate how we treat others when we don’t receive a desired outcome, we should demonstrate respect and empathy regardless of whether that staff member can help us achieve our goals. We should be fully valuing staff members by seeing them as actual people rather than how useful they are to us, and start by replacing transactional relationships with empathetic interactions no matter the circumstances.