WE GOOD?
A Workplace Story Experience
This story is called… “We Good?”
A workplace story about an organization called Northline and the people who work there. Over thirteen chapters, you'll follow Northline through the ninety days leading up to a workplace incident and the ninety days that follow.
But this isn't really a story about the incident. It's about everything around it. The meetings. The conversations. The questions people ask. The things they don't say. The assumptions they make. The mistakes they own. And the small, everyday moments that quietly shape how people work together.
Northline is fictional. But hopefully, parts of it feel familiar. Before we ask you to examine trust, speaking up, accountability, feedback, ego and psychological safety in your own workplace, we're going to give you another workplace to look at first.
There are no questions to answer yet. Nothing to write down. For now, just listen. Meet the people. Notice… whatever you notice. We'll come back to all of it later. Enjoy!
Chapter One.
(DAY -90)
[Car pulls up, locks door, footsteps to building.]
ALEX (Narrator)
There’s this weird moment before you start a new job. You’re not really an employee yet. Technically? Sure… They’ve got your banking information. You’ve signed seventeen different forms promising not to steal anything. There’s probably already an email address with your name on it. But, you don’t belong there yet.
So… what are you? You are the person standing outside the building twenty-five minutes early wondering if eight-thirty five is too early. It is… So you wait sixteen more minutes. Eight fifty-one? Perfect!
[Walks into building, automatic door opens, workplace ambience rises: distant conversation, phones, movement, printer.]
RECEPTIONIST: Good morning!
ALEX: Morning. I’m Alex. I’m supposed to be meeting with someone.
MAYA: Alex! Alex!
[Quick footsteps approaching.]
MAYA: There you are. I’m so sorry! I was going to meet you downstairs and then somebody needed something… and then somebody else needed something else because apparently… that's how mornings work here. Anywho… Hi! I’m Maya.
ALEX: Hi! I’m Alex.
[Handshake.]
MAYA: I know. That would've been pretty weird otherwise… (laughs)
ALEX: (Laughs) Fair.
MAYA: Welcome to Northline. Come on… Let’s get you a coffee before we throw you out to the wolves!
[Alex & Maya walk, grabs coffee cup, begins making coffee.]
MAYA: How was the drive?
ALEX: Easy.
MAYA: Good. Give it two weeks. You'll learn exactly which intersection ruins your morning…
[Coffee maker completes, pours coffee into mug and begins walking.]
MAYA: Okay. SUPER quick tour. Washrooms, through there. Kitchen. Emergency exit. Oh and our printer... he only works when he feels emotionally supported. One sec...
[Bumps the side of the printer and it makes a mechanical noise.]
MAYA: There it is.
ALEX: Sounds healthy…
MAYA: We don't talk about Kevin.
ALEX: The printer's name is Kevin?
MAYA: You'll understand soon enough…
[Walks through doorway, knocks on door]
MARCUS: Is this a new human?
MAYA: Alex, Marcus. Marcus, Alex.
MARCUS: How new?
ALEX: Uhh… About four minutes new.
MARCUS: You still time to get out ya know…
MAYA: Ignore him.
MARCUS: They all say that at first… Marcus.
[Handshake.]
MARCUS: Operations. Seventeen years. Three office renovations. Five managers. Same… printer.
MAYA: I think Kevin’s older than my Dad…
MARCUS: Uh… He’s eligible for retirement before I am, I know that...
[Alex laughs.]
MARCUS: Seriously, welcome. We're good people. Mostly...
MAYA: Mostly?
MARCUS: We're like a family.
MAYA: Uhh… the “functional” kind.
MARCUS: Hey… Let's not oversell it… (laughs)
MAYA: Come on. Before he tells you where the bodies are buried.
MARCUS: (whispers) Shhhh… That's Day three. Company policy.
[Maya & Alex walk away.]
ALEX (Narrator): First impressions are weird. You notice everything because you don't know what's important yet. Who has an office? Who doesn't. Who people stop to talk to. Who gets waved at from across the room? Which doors stay open? Which ones don't. And you start collecting little pieces. Subconsciously, mostly. The mission? Trying to figure out: where do I fit?
[Maya & Alex enter another workspace, knock on door.]
MAYA: Priya?
PRIYA: One second.
[Typing continues quickly. Sends email.]
PRIYA: Okay. Hi. Sorry. Alex, right…?
ALEX: That's me!
PRIYA: Priya. Welcome.
MAYA: Priya's our Senior Project Lead. If something here seems impossibly complicated, she probably understands it, no problemo.
PRIYA: That's an irresponsible amount of pressure to put on somebody before nine-thirty, isn’t it…?
MAYA: (Laughs) Okay but… tell me I'm wrong though…
PRIYA: You're not.
MAYA: See?
[Maya laughs.]
PRIYA: What are you coming in as?
ALEX: Project Coordinator.
PRIYA: Oh, thank God.
ALEX: That bad?
PRIYA: No. We're just… busy.
MAYA: We're “growing”.
PRIYA: That's the positive way of saying it.
MAYA: And what's the negative way?
PRIYA: Uhh… We're “busy”.
[They laugh.]
PRIYA: You'll be working with me quite a bit. I've got Harbour House, Stratford, North Shore—
MAYA: Don't do this to them yet.
PRIYA: Right…. Sorry! First day...
MAYA: Coffee first. Existential crisis: AFTER lunch!
PRIYA: Yes… food first! (nervous laugh) As I was saying… Welcome to Northline.
[Handshake.]
PRIYA: Honestly! This place is awesome.
ALEX: Yeah (laughs) thanks!
PRIYA: You'll love it here.
[Maya & Alex walk through an automatic door.]
MAYA: And Devon should be—
DEVON: Here.
MAYA: Perfect. Alex, Devon. And vice versa. Devon leads one of our field teams.
DEVON: Hey.
ALEX: Hello, hello.
[Handshake.]
DEVON: You office or field?
ALEX: I think… both?
MAYA: Both. Alex is going to help coordinate between projects and Operations.
DEVON: Oh… Good.
ALEX: That sounded loaded.
DEVON: No. No, no… Just— good. You'll see...
MAYA: Devon's being dramatic.
DEVON: I'm never dramatic.
MARCUS: Uhhh… that's a lie!
DEVON: Hey now! Nobody asked you…
ALEX (Narrator): That was the first thing I noticed about Northline. People actually seemed to like each other. And not in the mandatory-fun, everybody pretending Monday is exciting kinda way. They knew each other's kids. Birthdays. Coffee orders. They made fun of each other. They laughed. A lot, actually. It felt… easy.
[Maya walks in and closes the door.]
MAYA: All right. This should be quick. Alex, you don't need to know what any of this means yet. Just listen and pay attention.
ALEX: I can definitely do that.
MARCUS: Don't go promising things on your first day now…
MAYA Marcus…
MARCUS: What?! Listening IS a big commitment.
MAYA: (annoyed) Can we begin..?
PRIYA: Please...
MAYA: Okay. Stratford first. Priya?
PRIYA: On schedule. Materials arrive Thursday. Field starts Monday.
MAYA: Any issues?
PRIYA: Nope.
MAYA: Great. North Shore?
MARCUS: Still waiting on final approval.
MAYA: Expected?
MARCUS: Apparently.
MAYA: (Exhales) Okay. Harbour House?
PRIYA: Good. The original scope is approved. Schedule works. We're waiting on their final confirmation, but nothing concerning.
MAYA: Devon? Your side good?
DEVON: Yeah. I mean—
MAYA: What?
DEVON: Nothing. I was just going to say that uh…
[A phone rings on the table.]
MAYA: Sorry. One second.
[Maya answers phone.]
MAYA: Hi Elaine. Yeah, we’re.. We’re just in a meeting. Can I call you back? Great… give me, 10 minutes.
[Hangs up phone.]
MAYA: Okay. Sorry. I've gotta get back to Elaine. Devon, we uh… we good?
DEVON: Yeah. We're good.
MAYA: Perfect. Next?
ALEX (Narrator): I wrote that down. I don't know why. Beside Devon's name, I wrote: "Was going to say something." Then I circled it. And immediately felt ridiculous for circling it. It was my first day and I didn't even know what Harbour House was…
That's another thing about being new. Everybody else knows what’s important. Or at least it feels like they do. They know which problems are real problems. Which questions are worth asking. And which conversations can wait. You, on the other hand: you know NOTHING! So you watch. And eventually (and hopefully) you learn.
[Opens microwave, closes, presses buttons, microwave hums.]
MARCUS: You bring lunch?
ALEX: Yeah.
MARCUS: First-day mistake.
ALEX: Why?
MARCUS: Priya orders too much food whenever she's stressed.
PRIYA: Uhh… you know I can hear you… right…?
[Microwave dings.]
MARCUS: See?
[Microwave door opens, closes. Priya walks over and sits down.]
PRIYA: There's curry if you want some.
ALEX: I'm good, but… thank you.
MARCUS: Bet ya by Day four… you'll stop being so polite…
MAYA: Can you stop giving Alex a schedule for becoming miserable?
MARCUS: What? I'm onboarding…
MAYA: Right… You're why we have onboarding…
[Laughter.]
DEVON: How's Day One?
ALEX: Honestly? Pretty good.
DEVON: Give it time.
MAYA: Why does everybody keep saying that?
PRIYA: Because it's funny.
MARCUS: And because it's true! (laughs)
MAYA: Enough! Nobody here is allowed to talk to Alex ANYMORE.
ALEX: I'm uhh… starting to think you're all hiding something.
MARCUS: (cough) Kevin!
PRIYA: Definitely Kevin.
[Everyone laughs.]
ALEX: I knew it…!
[Footsteps out of the lunchroom, through an automatic door. Alex sits at desk and starts typing. Maya walks over.]
MAYA: How's the setup going?
ALEX: I think I have access to everything.
MAYA: (Laughs) IMPOSSIBLE!
ALEX: I have access to “some” things.
MAYA: There you go! NOW you work here.
[Maya puts paper down on Alex's desk.]
MAYA: This is the current project list. Don't try to memorize anything. For the first couple weeks, I just want you listening. Meet people. Ask questions. Try to figure out how all the pieces connect.
ALEX: Sounds good to me.
MAYA: No, seriously… Ask anything. There are no stupid questions here.
MARCUS: That's not true!
MAYA: Why can I always hear you?
MARCUS: Open concept…
MAYA: (exhales) Anyway. Ask. I'd rather you ask something obvious than spend three weeks pretending you understand it.
ALEX: Deal.
MAYA: Good! Oh. And tomorrow I'll walk you through Harbour House. That'll be a good project to get you started.
ALEX: Harbour House?
MAYA: Yep. It’s a nice project. Good client, too. Plus, Priya's got it under control so… It should be pretty straightforward.
ALEX: Famous last words.
MAYA: Don't say that.
[Maya and Alex laugh. Maya walks away.]
ALEX (Narrator): At five-oh-six, I closed my laptop. First day done. Nobody had forgotten my name. I hadn't accidentally replied-all to anything. And despite Marcus' best efforts, I still wanted to come back tomorrow. It seemed like a good place. The kind of place where everybody knew what they were doing.
On my way out, I passed the meeting room from that morning. Devon was inside. Alone. Looking at something on the screen. I slowed down.
[Footsteps slow.]
ALEX: Everything good?
DEVON: Yeah. Yeah… All good.
ALEX: Cool beans! Alright well… have a good night.
DEVON: Yeah… you too. (exhales)
[Alex walks away.]
ALEX (Narrator): So I kept walking. Why wouldn't I? It was my first day. And everybody said we were good, right…?
[Alex footsteps fade.]
The End.