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Office Shy
for
November 18, 2004
I'm office-shy. I don't know if it's born of not having worked in a formal office for this long before, or if it was because after college I worked at a place where the boss wore shorts and would occasionally scratch himself while standing at your desk. Whatever it is, I find myself curiously un-outgoing (ingoing? introverted! That's the word...) But I find that walking down the hall, I attempt to say "Hi" or "How are you", and all that comes out is a bit of air and the movement of my lips forming those words. Sometimes all that comes is the lighting up of the eyes and the upward-tilting of the chin that indicates recognition of the other party. I apparently don't want to call attention to the fact that I am greeting someone else. Too much hale-fellow-well-met could sink my legal aspirations, perhaps. And I find I make the same stupid jokes and give worthless advice to people who don't need and couldn't use my advice if they wanted to. Telling senior associates "Not to work too hard" smacks of unnecessary superiority, especially when it's neither up to you--nor, perhaps, them--and you're the low person on the hierarchy anyway. Despite being a friendly and outgoing guy, I am somehow awkward and nervous in a professional setting. Neurosis? I do believe it might just be.This was Perspective , and it appeared on November 18, 2004 1:22 PM.
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Comments
“And I find I make the same stupid jokes and give worthless advice to people who don’t need and couldn’t use my advice if they wanted to.”
The first time I read this I thought you were talking about clients…which is really not good in your profession. Fortunately it’s only senior associates. ;)
Posted by: Dave at November 18, 2004 3:12 PM
I never got properly enmeshed in my work environment, but that may have been because I almost never had work to do. I think that teamwork really does build some level of camraderie that cannot be faked through hallway acquaintance. Of course, having heard my sister’s tales of Accenture and B school, teamwork also can turn you homicidal in a way that solitude rarely does.
Posted by: PG at November 20, 2004 4:43 PM
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