How Can This Practice Fix Persistent Coworker Tension?

“GOOD GRIEF, KATE. What is wrong with our opticians?!?” Dr. Richardson said to her associate, Dr. Oliver, as she sighed and sat down.

Dr. Oliver’s eyebrows perked up, and she turned to Dr. Richardson, “Dare I ask?”

After quietly thinking for a minute, Dr. Richardson replied, “How can I explain it, other than … they all just look pissed off.”

Confused, Dr. Oliver asked, “Pissed off?”

“Yes, they all have wicked RBF—like I walked in right after an argument…” Dr. Richardson trailed off.

“We haven’t even opened yet, so we know it isn’t patient-related,” Dr. Oliver thought out loud. “We’ve addressed this snarkiness before with them. Let me go poke around and see if it’s anything.”

As Dr. Oliver walked to the front, she didn’t hear any talking. Upon reaching the optical, she sighed to herself when she saw three opticians most definitely looking irritated. “Good morning, y’all,” she called out.

“Hey, Dr. Oliver,” “Good morning,” “Hi, Dr. Oliver,” they each said in a happy tone with forced smiles as they continued working.

Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, Dr. Oliver walked back toward the exam rooms.

“They definitely all have RBF, but everything seemed fine,” she said to Dr. Richardson.

“Perhaps we should come in through the front door more often—we usually come in through the back—so we can see what our patients see.” Dr. Richardson continued, “I thought we nipped this in the bud a while back.”

Not reading too much into it, both doctors went about their day but made a mental note to keep eyes and ears on their opticians.

The next morning, Dr. Oliver entered through the front door and saw that all three of the opticians had grim faces again. She had a few words with them before heading back to see Dr. Richardson. “They are ALL pissy looking again! I told them that despite the fact they supposedly don’t have any ‘issues’ with one another, their demeanor portrays otherwise and we absolutely cannot allow this,” Dr. Oliver vented.

Over the next few days, both doctors kept their eyes on the opticians and reconvened at the end of the week. “I observed that the opticians only seem to be catty with one another—not toward anyone else in the office or to patients,” Dr. Richardson said.

Dr. Oliver replied, “I agree. It’s like they’re siblings that hate each other!”

“They have no reason to be so defensive with one another,” Dr. Richardson said. “And without any of them earning commission, this doesn’t make any sense.”

“We have a great team and office culture overall, but the opticians seem to single themselves out and target each other.” Dr. Oliver continued, “Remember, last time this was an issue we had each of them choose their own schedule and we moved their workstations. It seemed to help.”

Dr. Richardson commented, “I’ve even spoken with them individually and they all insist there is no beef between any of them.”

“They’re all high-performing opticians and otherwise great team players who fit in perfectly in our culture. We don’t want any of them to be unhappy. What else can we do?” Dr. Oliver asked.

​Amanda W.
Pueblo, CO​

The doctors are acting like their opticians are dogs, not people. If there’s an issue in our office, instead of being demeaning or talking about employees like they aren’t even real people, our doctor pulls each of us aside and talks with us. Because we know he cares about us as individuals, we trust him and are willing to open up. These doctors should open communication and treat their employees like people, instead of looking down on them. I’d be snarky too.

Rick R.
Girard, PA

Opticians are not “another breed.” If it is interpersonal, and what else could it be unless all three hate their job, then they need to figure it out, or the doctors will figure it out for them. If they are such great employees, they would not have RBF every day. Great employees don’t bring that to work.

Whitney H.
Missoula, MT

There is always a little competitiveness among opticians. That said, they should be professional enough patients don’t see it. In this case, even though they claim there is no beef, something is obviously going on. It’s the office manager’s job to figure that out. If it’s procedural, i.e. one or more doesn’t believe they need to follow an SOP, then reworking things so everyone feels heard and comfortable may alleviate the problem. If it’s ego … then a team-building exercise or opticians meeting with management might help. Reiterating the importance of internal and patient perceived morale to the health of the practice would also be in order.

Caterina G.
Wellington, FL

Outline duties so no one feels their “toes are stepped on” and they can have pride in their individual tasks. Meet with staff monthly, hear and validate their complaints, ask for feedback. Have an open-door policy and be there when they need you. That differentiates a leader from a manager.