Escaping Workplace Drama-Part 1

It was a brisk day in the City of Brotherly Love—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was serving as a technical consultant for a prominent firm that, for the sake of privacy, will go unnamed. As my fellow consultants and I approached the client’s site to begin our day, the tension in the crisp morning air seemed to thicken, and one colleague exclaimed with irritation, “I wonder what circus acts we’ll witness today.”

Upon entering the building, our manager suddenly called an impromptu meeting and jumped straight into persecutor mode, demanding, “Who messed up last week’s report? This is completely unacceptable!” Another colleague immediately felt targeted and slouched in his chair like the victim, thinking, “Why am I always the one blamed?”

Another colleague swooped in as the classic rescuer, and declared, “Actually, it’s my fault. I’ll fix the issue immediately.”

As I sat back and watched what was happening, I felt the tension mounting up within me. “What on earth was happening?” I called it unnecessary stress, but psychologist Stephen Karpman would recognize it as a classic workplace drama triangle. And, drama, it was.

If you’ve worked in corporate America or a professional workplace for any length of time, chances are you’ve experienced it, too, the dreaded drama triangle. The persecutor passes blame, criticizes, and micromanages. The victim feels helpless, attacked, and points fingers at others.

The rescuer steps in as the enabler, taking on too much responsibility and rushing to solve everyone’s problems. When these three roles are in motion, nothing gets solved, everyone loses.

But, there’s a better way.

If the workplace drama triangle feels all too familiar and you are ready to move beyond the drama, I invite you to join me over the next three articles as I share strategies in upcoming blogs for breaking free of the triangle.

Need help managing workplace stress? I am here and happy to help. I invite you to schedule an appointment today!

Written by: Angell Berry, MA