One of the downsides of loosing already built trust is that it takes time to build it back up, that's if you're willing to even make the effort.
Working in a factory, warehouse or any such places which require operations on a large scale can be quite fun socially as you get to meet different people from different parts of the country all with their own different experiences.
You learn quite a lot working on such scale even though a lot of times these same jobs are marked with stress and lesser pay.
I had an opportunity working in one of such places and one of the things I appreciated the most was the work culture. There were ranks, but almost no one pulled the seniority card unless it was absolutely necessary.
We all knew our place and trusted everyone to do the right thing.
I signalled to the drivers "Hey guys, let's go fuel for the vehicles so we won't delay today's operations."
About fifteen minutes later, we were back from the fuelling station fully ready to go deliver the goods ordered for the day.
Everyday as the fleet personnel, I had to confirm the status of every vehicle before operations and after operations at the end the day.
Having confirmed there were no new repairs needed, I was set to send my report but lo and behold my phone was nowhere to be found.
Guys is anyone here with my office phone?"
I asked and the answer was the same for everyone NO.
I had gone out with my personal phone when we went out and left my work phone behind.
What I initially believed to be a prank from my colleagues soon turned out to be a full scale search involving the companies security personnel and the I.T department. The device was confirmed to be switched off.
The problem wasn't the fact that someone had stolen the phone, it was the fact that I couldn't pick out one person as a suspect. We all trusted one another and someone had broken that trust.
Are you sure someone here could've stolen your phone?" was the question on everyone's lips.
Operations still had to continue for the day and thankfully another colleague was willing to share his own device pending when I got another one.
I didn't mention this to most of my colleagues, but subconsciously I began to read double meaning into everyone's behavior. Was that smirk or that hasty glance an admission of guilt.
Not having anyone to suspect for the crime means that you start to suspect everyone.
I eventually had to pay for a new one from my salary and this more than anything else left a bitter taste. Knowing the person sees you everyday and probably responds to your greetings with a full smile.
I was actually hoping the culprit would come meet me in confidence and admit they were guilty, but it never happened.
It took awhile to build that trust within ourselves again, but it was like holding together a broken plate with glue. It might make it whole, but it just isn't the same plate anymore.
