Interpersonal Communication: Advantages and Challenges of Having Friends at Workplace
COMM 150 – Interpersonal Communications
Assignment – Benefits and Challenges of Work Friendships
Professor: Christina Michura
By: Joni Rundblom
March 22, 2014
Being apart of a large organization such as the Department of Veterans affairs became a great benefit to this assignment. There are many departments and people you can reach out to nationally. However, there are office politics present in every department. I was able to interview three individuals in different departments whom I do not work with directly.
The first person I interviewed is a customer service representative for the prosthetics department. She assists veterans with obtaining prosthetic equipment for their needs and have been doing so for over 5 years. Her department is small and consists of 8 people such as two orthosist, three other customer service representatives, an administrative officer and chief of the service. When I interviewed Katie she stated that she usually has great relationships with people within the workplace. She treats everyone equally and does whatever she can to help out her team members. Being in a small office allows her to be closer to her co-workers. The administrative office and chief are both her supervisors and she maintains a professional relationship with them. Kathie stated the only challenge she has in the workplace is it’s a small office and gossip travels very quickly. Otherwise, she stated she has not had many problems within her current office environment.
The second person I interviews is a Greg Reynolds, a biomedical engineer that works for the engineering department. He has been employed at the VA for over 20 years and has seen vast changes within the VA system. The Biomedical Engineering office consists of four engineers, one technician and the supervisor. During his 20 plus year career at the VA, he has had good friendships with a couple of co-workers. However, there are some individuals that he
Assignment – Benefits and Challenges of Work Friendships
Professor: Christina Michura
By: Joni Rundblom
March 22, 2014
Being apart of a large organization such as the Department of Veterans affairs became a great benefit to this assignment. There are many departments and people you can reach out to nationally. However, there are office politics present in every department. I was able to interview three individuals in different departments whom I do not work with directly.
The first person I interviewed is a customer service representative for the prosthetics department. She assists veterans with obtaining prosthetic equipment for their needs and have been doing so for over 5 years. Her department is small and consists of 8 people such as two orthosist, three other customer service representatives, an administrative officer and chief of the service. When I interviewed Katie she stated that she usually has great relationships with people within the workplace. She treats everyone equally and does whatever she can to help out her team members. Being in a small office allows her to be closer to her co-workers. The administrative office and chief are both her supervisors and she maintains a professional relationship with them. Kathie stated the only challenge she has in the workplace is it’s a small office and gossip travels very quickly. Otherwise, she stated she has not had many problems within her current office environment.
The second person I interviews is a Greg Reynolds, a biomedical engineer that works for the engineering department. He has been employed at the VA for over 20 years and has seen vast changes within the VA system. The Biomedical Engineering office consists of four engineers, one technician and the supervisor. During his 20 plus year career at the VA, he has had good friendships with a couple of co-workers. However, there are some individuals that he