Correlaciones entre el consumo de cannabis y la depresión

Regarding the relationships with colleagues, the findings show that there are more positive aspects than negative ones. Most of the respondents discussed how important colleagues' support can be. This is of particular interest to new representatives who do not have experience in the role and are overwhelmed with the amount of work and the difficult situations they might encounter. Having this support increases their confidence in the role, they become more positive and more motivated (R3, R1, R7).

At first, I was practicing [the welcome meeting presentation] a lot before [the welcome meetings] so that I become more confident. Practice in front of my colleagues before, getting some advice on what works for them when they're delivering the presentation and these sorts of things (R3).

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You always have to have a strong relationship with your colleagues, and that's just a working relationship. And that's because then your work is a lot easier, it's smoother (R1).

Like I said, the people that I was working with were the best thing. I got on really well with everyone. I was really good friends […] I think that definitely affects your mood (R7).

There is also evidence on the fact that these good relationships can lead to 'extra- role behaviour' between the colleagues. As R20 commented:

[The company] said that if I and the other rep wanted we could have gone to another resort for a week [whilst solving the pandemic in the hotel] […] But leaving people who’d become friends to sort of fend for themselves it didn’t seem fair […] we felt like we should be there to help them. That’s when we decided that we would stay [and] we would get involved with the cleaning and we knew it wasn’t sort of our daily responsibilities or anything like that but it felt that it was the right thing to do (R20).

In some cases, it is the colleagues that provide the training for the new holiday representatives. 'Shadowing' their colleagues is very helpful, but also makes them feel welcomed and better prepared for when they are on their own (R9).

I arrived [in the resort] a little bit late into the season. There were two girls who I worked with who have been there [in the destination] for I think a month or so. So, they were already quite established on the island, they knew a lot of the hotelier and they knew their way around. They took me under their wing and showed me around […] they’d teach me. As part of my training, I went around with the two girls for the first week on their visits. So, I was sort of shadowing them to see what they did so that next week when I went on my own I’d know what I needed to do. It was very accommodating and helpful (R9).

Some respondents referred to their colleagues as their overseas 'family' as a form of support. This happens because they are always together, they are facing the same problems at work, and they live and socialise together (R11).

You almost have a little family going on because you see each other every day; you are all in the same situation you all want to be around another (R11).

Therefore, an important role that the colleagues have is that of emotional support which can be essential especially when there might not be enough support from management (R17).

Talk about it [emotional hardships] with colleagues, they all have similar experiences and feelings. The team are your best friends and family when overseas […] as I said earlier, your colleagues are everything to you, you need them to cheer you up, to entertain you, to advise you, and just to be your mates (R17).

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There can be differences between the personalities of the colleagues. It can make some representatives less positive and feeling down because they are misunderstood by their peers. As R15 commented, sometimes she had to socialise with her colleagues just to be accepted by them.

Relationships with colleagues could sometimes be hard for me. Especially as I generally lived my own life outside of work. I used to try and socialise with the rest of the team every so often. Otherwise, they could see me as all work and no play […] Sometimes, I felt down when colleagues misunderstood how I am as I felt they would focus on one thing and not the whole picture (R15).

Although these strong relationships are formed it can get too intense too quickly and differences can occur (R12). For example, it can be hard for the representatives to remain professional when the relationships are so close because of working and living close to one another. Some representatives simply do not get along and they end up fighting with each other which can affect the dynamic of the whole team and others can even get withdrawn from their colleagues (R2, R5).

They are quite strange relationships [with colleagues] because it’s very full on very quickly (R12).

Obviously, you have personality clashes. You have people who are having relationships with their colleagues and then the relationships break down and causes divisions in the workplace as well (R5).

Although the representatives have their own differences they need to leave these aside as the holidaymakers do not need to know about this. Therefore, as R16 commented, they need to keep smiling to their customers although they are angry with their colleague next to them.

There were some [holiday representatives] that I didn’t get on with. It’s hard when you have to be with someone every day [and] you don’t get on with, but you just make the best of it [and] keep smiling. Yes, always keep smiling. Obviously, you can’t let the customers know that you’re not getting on because then you give them a bad impression (R16).

These differences can occur between colleagues because it is a competitive environment where they all have to meet the same targets. This competition is enforced by management and it can lead to a lack of trust between the representatives (R5).

These [people] were your colleagues, [they] were your friends [and] they were your enemies; all at the same time (R5).

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When there is lack of trust between colleagues and jealousy involved, some representatives must refrain from discussing about certain things in order to avoid being hurt. As R2 commented they cannot be entirely themselves because they are in a competition:

It makes your life easier if you refrain from talking about certain things and doing certain things [...] You can’t really be 100% yourself cause at the end of the day they’re doing the same job as you […] It’s still [a] competition with everyone. You can be friends, but you have to be careful that they don’t stab you in the back either (R2).

Some representatives might experience issues with colleagues, but they understand the situation by putting themselves in their shoes. For example, R15 commented on her problems with her colleagues who were undermining her authority:

I found it difficult if we had team members who would turn up without the correct uniform, paperwork, not well from a late night out etc. This would cause a knock- on effect to the airport operation. But [because] I was considered a non- management member of the team I had to report this to the relevant manager to deal with and could have repetitive situations occurring weekly. My colleagues were my equal, but then I was the one in charge, so it could be difficult to have them separate the personal and work (R15).

On the other hand, R20 mentioned confronting his colleague when having a problem with their working relationship which lead to a positive outcome in relation to their job performance as a team.

In the end, I spoke with him [colleague] and I told him I didn’t think it was fair. He was perfectly honest he held his hands up and he admitted that yes, he probably wasn’t pulling his weight he was probably leaving things to the last minute (R20).

Some respondents who were in a position of power/ having more responsibility in their job recalled differences with some of their colleagues who had authority issues. Having to deal with these situations can lower the motivation levels and the customer interaction as although they might be frustrated, angry or in a negative mood, they still need to show happiness to their customers. As R16 mentioned, for her, this made customer interaction harder.

My last season I did find it really hard. Actually, I didn’t get on with [colleagues]. I’ve been promoted to children’s rep in charge in my last season and one of the girls in the kids' club would not do anything that I asked […] If I said we should start a session at a certain time she’d say, ‘no we should have it another time’. It might be down to my management skills. I don’t know, but that was horrible. I used to dread going into work because then I would [see the children coming in] [you had to be] smiling and be friendly, and you have to be bouncy, and you have to be happy (R16).

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In addition, the respondents also discussed about the importance of the size of the team for their role and the level of job support. According to some respondents there seemed to be more support in a larger team where the tasks were divided between different members. For example, having more than one representative working and being responsible with one hotel made the job easier (R10). Whereas working in a smaller team was harder as there was more pressure in terms of performing well (R7).

As much as you are individually at your hotel you’re in a massive team, like when you’re in the airport you are in a team. Some people work together. If you have a massive hotel there would be two of you representing because you [can't] do it all single headedly (R10).

If you are in a small team it might be harder. I think [this will] always to be that sort of job where it is…pressure, a lot of focus on you and your performance (R7).

One respondent highlighted the influence that a ‘bad team’ can have on some representatives. A bad team, more specifically a bad team dynamic, can make people depressed. Being in a team where a representative cannot bond with his/her colleagues can lead to loneliness, feeling isolated and even deciding to quit the job (R4).

[It's] horrible if the reps don’t like you. You just feel isolated you'd probably end up going home. If you don’t have many friends and you're not outgoing [you] end up going home in a week […] If you’re not working with a good team you end up in a really bad place. You’d be depressed. They’re a lot of reps getting depressed (R4).