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Zoomba
Zoomba
Join Date 11/2002
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Office Politics

Watch what you say, how you say it and who you say it to.

January 11, 2005 11:42:06 AM from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I often forget that my style of humor (dry) often doesn't go over well with others. Many miss the joke or the humor and think I'm either being serious or disrespectful. This is a problem I've had to grapple with my entire life as I encountered new people in school, and now in the workforce.

Well, last week we had some rather nasty weather here in New England... ice, snow, the works. Since I was merely doing online research for my upcoming project (the ASP.NET one), it was work I could actually better do from the comforts of my own home. I had spoken to my boss the day before and mentioned the possibility, which she was fine with as she was planning the same if the weather turned bad. The procedure here is even if you have prior approval, you need to notify your department's administrative assistant so they know where you are in case anyone need you.

Well, I sent the email out that morning to my boss to remind her, my cubemate who seems to worry if I ever don't make it into work, and the dept assistant so they can process it. Since I was out due to bad weather... I titled my email "Oh the weather outside is frightful" and made a light-hearted remark in the email about it. Well, the boss found it funny, cubemate found it funny, but the assistant found it arrogant and disrespectful.

From now on, every email I write will be devoid of any form of emotion, humor etc... Unfortunately emails like those are often read as being "rude" or "demanding" It's a no-win as far as I can figure, and to be honest I don't know if I want to "win" in this case. In the four months I've worked in corporate America, I've been beaten down by red tape, had the managerial rug yanked out from under me in a corporate reorganization, and now I'm having to deal with how to write the most neutral emails possible. I've managed to alienate the most powerful person in the department, the one who manages all our resource requests etc... All with an email that I didn't mean anything offensive by, and which only she took offense to.

*sigh* I sometimes wonder if I'm actually cut out to actually work out in the real world
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Zoomba
Danny Bassette
Join Date 02/2003
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Reply #1 January 11, 2005 11:58:26 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
The real world is a strange and scary place, I don't think anyone should be cut out for it. Perhaps you should write more humor instead of less? Since she'll take it poorly either way, might as well enjoy what your writing as you annoy her
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Zoomba
foreverserenity
Join Date 06/2004
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Reply #2 January 11, 2005 2:00:46 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
It's so sad, when others do not have a "funny bone". It's really hard to read people these days too. You have to watch what you say, write, possibly even think. We all need to get over ourselves and really have more fun in life, don't you think? Don't let this stop you from being who you are, just avoid that particular AA unless it's work related.
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Zoomba
Bunnahabhain
Join Date 05/2004
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Reply #3 January 11, 2005 8:44:39 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
F* 'em if they can't take a joke!
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Zoomba
Angloesque
Join Date 12/2003
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Reply #4 January 11, 2005 10:05:17 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Yeah. My cubicles look exactly the same as the ones in "Office Space," and I have a burgundy Swingline. My boss's door is constantly closed unless he's walking around trying to boost morale--i.e., interrupt us and waste our time.

Hoo-rah for corporate America.

-A.
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Zoomba
Zoomba
Join Date 11/2002
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Reply #5 January 12, 2005 9:47:06 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I actually have the red swingline stapler

Good to see I'm not the only one who thinks that some of the games you have to play in the workforce are a load of crap... too bad we still have to play them huh?

Oh, and I wish managers and executives would realize that most of the morale boosting, or other feel-good initiatives are really just a waste of everyones time and annoying. I don't need a seminar on how to feel energized and good about my job. I'll feel good and energized if I'm given interesting and meaningful work. Put me in meeting after meeting to just takes notes, and no number of seminars are going to energize me.
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