The Drama Triangle
The inevitable outcome of involving yourself in other people’s business
My general manager began making sexual innuendos to the younger girls on staff at the restaurant in which I bartended after a recent separation from his wife. For instance, if a young woman asked for the keys to the office, he would tell her to grab them from out of his front pocket with her hand. Or he would ask them to drink with him after their shift. This placed the young females in an awkward position that infuriated me.
My workplace was fraught with dysfunction, and the example of my GM harassing the staff was one of many situations to manifest during the course of my time working there. We would be short-staffed, or someone would receive favoritism. People would drink on shift. Employees sold drugs in the back. Every day at happy hour, the owner would come in wasted and accuse certain staff of stealing from the bar. Plus, he only hired pretty women and expected them to flirt with his golf buddies as a job requirement.
This dysfunctional work dynamic played out long before I arrived, but as always, I wanted to be the rescuer.
Therefore I entered into what is known as a drama triangle. One does not have to go far to witness these dramas play out: they are constantly present in television, family dynamics, interpersonal relationships, and the workplace.
