Jeanne needs to realize that this is not her family. She needs to understand that people at work place a higher priority on your responsibilities on the job than your personal issues. After all, if you don't come to work, come late or do a poor job, they are the ones who have to work harder. Put yourself in their position. Imagine you were shopping at Wal-Mart or waiting to check out at the grocery store. The person waiting on you suddenly turns around, walks away from the cash register, grabs her coat and heads for the door. You, and the other four people in line, say, "Hey, where are you going?" She turns around and looks at you angrily,
"I'm going to get my daughter from preschool. She's only three years old and will be sad if I am late. Don't you people care?"
What goes through your mind as you stand there?
"What a selfish woman! Doesn't she realize all these people in line have places to go, too?"
"Maybe she should have thought about her daughter before now. Did she just remember she had a daughter while we were all standing in line here?"
"Look, all I want to do is pay for these apples, so I can have something to put in my daughter's lunch box for a snack tomorrow."
The Sioux people, like most Native Americans, have a tradition of honesty and generosity. Putting your needs before everyone else, not meeting your commitment to be at work and do the job you agreed to do, is selfish and dishonest.
Sandi needs to change, too, if she really wants to keep her employees on the job. First of all, employees like Jeanne have often been raised in families where there are very few rules and little discipline. We have often observed young parents say to a child, for example, climbing on to a table, "Stop that". The child keeps climbing. The parent may say, "Stop that" three or four more times, but never do anything. Sandi did the right thing in pointing out the need to maintain office hours to Jeanne the first day when she was late and when she left early. However, she also needs to be just as conscientious, if not more so, in pointing out the things Jeanne does right.