The affair (part 1)

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 Joan is the Chief Executive of Age Aid, a small organisation providing advice and assistance to older people in Millcaster.  Age Aid has a helpline and an active befriending service. Most of the services are provided by volunteers. A new Trustee, Ashok, joined the Management Committee last year. 

Rumours are flying

Rumours have been spreading around Age Aid for some time that something may be going on between Joan and Ashok. Joan's assistant, Pam can be quite indiscreet and has mentioned to colleagues that Joan takes a lot of calls from Ashok – far more than from the other Trustees. 

Pam also knows that Joan has been having problems at home.  Her husband has a new job which involves him being away at least one week a month.  Joan once confided in Pam on a day when she came to work exhausted and near to tears that she finds juggling the family, home and work really hard during these weeks.   

Management Committee meetings are held on site.  Some people have noticed Joan and Ashok leaving together and they have also been seen having lunch in the local pub and as someone said “looking pretty friendly”. 

A compromising position 

Sunita, the Services Manager, has picked up on the rumours and isn’t sure how to deal with them. 

If she mentions what's being said to Joan, she may be furious and say that it is no one’s business but her own. But if she doesn’t mention it and the rumours escalate, Joan is likely to discover that Sunita knew about the gossip but kept it to herself.

Sunita is worried. She has confided in her partner at home. He thinks she should just get on with it and tell Joan. But Sunita is worried that Joan will be livid (whether or not the rumours are true) and it will affect their future working relationship which is so far not great. Their working styles are very different. Sunita likes dealing with facts and figures and finds the people issues in her job challenging. 

As Sunita drives to work on Monday with a feeling of foreboding. she wonders: “Can things get much worse?”

Have your say

• Should Sunita talk to Joan or keep out of it?
• What are the implications if Joan and Ashok are seeing each other? Does it compromise their positions?
• Is listening to or spreading gossip ever right?

Have your say on the Millcaster Tales forum.

Other episodes

Find out what happens next in the affair? (part 2).

Catch up with past episodes.