Mary’s story

Mary is 36, single refugee women with two kids.

Mary is looking for job. She urgently need it in order to be able to take care of herself and her children.

With the help of a social worker, she manage to find a responsible job in a good company, and she is now having her first week there.

At her first days Mary is nervous. It is difficult for her to overcome her strong emotions of fear for not being accepted by her new colleagues. She is also afraid that she will be looked as a “risky employee” because of her situation of vulnerability – single refugee mother with a two kids.

During her first week Mary thought she’s being criticized too much  from her supervisor. She felt that he does not like her because her working attitudes were different. Because she was sure in her expertise, she decided to show her supervisor that her way of doing things is better. This decision of her lead to new conflict situation with her supervisor.

Mary now is considering to look for another job, which is not an easy task for a single mother in a foreign country.

Mary is too focused on her point of view and does not allow any other scenario than what she thinks is real. The decision to demonstrate her approach instead of first discussing her concerns causes her even more trouble.

What she might do if she was informed about the perspective thinking, is to start work trying to rethink the perspective of her employer and supervisor, trying not to bring her own fears to bear on their actions.