Lately, I’ve been wondering how many relational paper cuts we experience in our interactions.
Paper cuts are the worst.
They’re tiny. You can barely see them. Yet somehow, they hurt ten times more than they should.
Lately, I’ve been wondering how many relational paper cuts we experience in our interactions.
The little, ordinary moments:
- Someone squeezes in front of you at the grocery store without making eye contact.
- The driver behind you lays on the horn before the light has even turned green.
- The person at the coffee shop slides your drink across the counter without looking up or saying a word.
- You spend twenty-two minutes on hold with customer service only to have the representative disconnect the call before your question is answered.
None of those moments seem like a big deal on their own. But by the end of the day, you find yourself wondering…
Have people always been this impatient?** Has everyone gotten a little more cranky?**
Maybe you’ve noticed it too. Those little interactions seem to be everywhere. They’re slightly exhausting. And oddly contagious.
Leadership
Work has its own version of those paper cuts.
An email lands in your inbox:
- “Can we talk?”
- A coworker answers your question with a flat, “How would I know?”
- Someone walks right past you in the hallway without saying good morning…even though you’re pretty sure they saw you.
- A teammate presents your idea as if it were their own.
- Someone rolls their eyes during a meeting.
- A sarcastic comment gets a laugh.
None of those moments will show up in this quarter’s report.
Most people won’t remember them by next week.
But they happen dozens of times every day.
Little interactions. Little comments. Little moments that sting.
And it makes me wonder…
Have workplaces always felt this way? Or are we simply carrying more than we used to?
More change, pressure, notifications, uncertainty, things competing for our attention, the list goes on and one.
Maybe that’s why the email feels a little snarky.
The exaggerated sigh comes a little quicker.
The benefit of the doubt disappears a little sooner.
We hit “send” before rereading.
We answer before listening.
Gallup continues to report elevated levels of workplace stress and stagnant engagement.
And it’s funny, we don’t just see those trends in survey results, we see them in the little interactions that seem insignificant on their own…
…but slowly shape what it feels like to work there.
This week, keep an eye out for the paper cuts.
The little “ouch” moments.
The ones you receive.
And the ones you accidentally hand to someone else.
Life
A few weeks ago, I was waiting in line at an amusement park while my kids rode an attraction. A second line started forming nearby, and the woman behind us muttered that if anyone tried to cut in line, she wanted to punch them in the stomach.
Not long after that, my family had a sticky candy wrapper to throw away while we were walking through town. We spotted a dumpster behind a business, tossed it in, and immediately a man stormed out yelling that it wasn’t our dumpster and to get away from it.
Though surprising, neither interaction ruined the day…they just stung a little like a paper cut.
Here’s the part that gives me hope.
Every day also includes someone who genuinely asks how you’re doing.
Someone who smiles.
Someone who waves you ahead in traffic.
Someone who holds the door a little longer than necessary.
Someone who gives you the benefit of the doubt.
Those moments are contagious, too.
Every interaction leaves something behind.
So my goal this week isn’t to avoid every paper cut.
It’s to make sure I’m not the one handing them out.
I’d rather leave a good ripple effect.
Have Good Ripple Effect,
Lisa