Help! I put in two months' notice… two years ago!

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**SPEAKER_2** (0:29)
Okay, let's get real about health care for a second. I think we can all agree it doesn't always work the way it should. If you've ever waited on a prescription refill or had a hard time getting the care you needed, you know what I mean. The system should just work better for everyone. That's exactly what the people at Optum are trying to do every day. They're a health care company linking patient care and pharmacy services and using data and technology to drive the whole system. So care is connected, not complicated, for patients and providers.
Things like making it easier to get care that looks at the whole person, from primary care doctors to mental health support and even in-home care, and then using technology to make sure they all work together. Technology designed to help doctors spend less time on busy work and more time with their patients. And those prescriptions? Optum is bringing costs down, saving patients money and making it easier to get refills. Little by little, Optum is helping make health care work as one for everyone. Head to business.optum.com to see how.

**Alice Wilder** (1:29)
Does anyone else think these people are having an affair? Because that's when I first read this, I was like, I think they're sleeping together, maybe.

**Reema Grace** (1:37)
I'm Reema Grace, and you're listening to This Is Uncomfortable, the weekly podcast from Marketplace about life and how money messes with it. This week, we've got more work drama for you, and there's some weird ones. We've got favoritism in the office, shady bosses, and kickball. Joining me to help give advice are two of my Marketplace colleagues, correspondent Kristin Schwab, and host correspondent Sabri Ben-Achour. Hey, Kristin. Hey, Sabri.
So before we get into our listener questions, I want to know what role do you all usually play when there's drama at work? Do you try to avoid it and keep your head down? Are you someone who gets sucked into it?

**Kristin Schwab** (2:20)
I feel like I stay out. Maybe I text Sabri sometimes on the side.

**Sabri Ben-Achour** (2:26)
I think perhaps earlier in my career, I would describe my role as participant. And now I just text people on the side about it.

**Reema Grace** (2:35)
Yeah.

**Sabri Ben-Achour** (2:35)
Sometimes while it's going down.

**Reema Grace** (2:38)
You just don't want to be involved in the mess. I think that's how I was too. When I first started at Marketplace, I had my nose in everything and now I'm like, I just want to do my own thing, stay in my little bubble.

**Sabri Ben-Achour** (2:49)
Oh, you're talking about Marketplace right now. Oh no, there's no drama ever on Marketplace.

**Reema Grace** (2:54)
Right. Not anymore. Right.

**Kristin Schwab** (2:56)
It's just not worth it. It's not worth it.

**Reema Grace** (3:02)
All right. Let's go ahead and get into the questions. Here to read them is our producer, Alice Wilder. Hey, Alice.

**Alice Wilder** (3:08)
Hi, Reema. Hi, Kristin and Sabri.

**Sabri Ben-Achour** (3:10)
Hi, Alice.

**Kristin Schwab** (3:11)
Hello.

**Alice Wilder** (3:12)
I'm excited to have you all here. Are you ready for our first question?

**Kristin Schwab** (3:15)
Ready.

**Alice Wilder** (3:15)
Okay. What do you do when your coworker keeps asking you to join their kickball league? Me and my coworkers have all said no already, but they keep asking and showing me the videos they create. Signed, not a jock.

**Reema Grace** (3:29)
That's it. That's the message.

**Sabri Ben-Achour** (3:31)
Invent a child or if you can't do that, invent a hobby or get a hobby and just be like, I am so sorry. What time is that? Oh yeah, that is the exact time of my weaving class.

**Kristin Schwab** (3:51)
Every Tuesday at six.

**Sabri Ben-Achour** (3:54)
But also there's a variable weaving class that can happen at any moment, depending on what time you tell me your kickball practice is.

**Reema Grace** (3:59)
Because I actually lead the classes.

**Kristin Schwab** (4:02)
But you're right.

**Reema Grace** (4:02)
Child, best excuse.

**Kristin Schwab** (4:04)
It's not a bad idea.
I've always thought, what if I became one of these people with a mysterious child that no one ever sees a picture of? But I wonder if it's just that this person wants to spend a little bit more time with you. Maybe you could suggest something else that is not ongoing. Maybe it's not a weekly appointment like kickball. Maybe it's like a lunch, a coffee, something else. There might be something else going on there instead.