Day 24: Friday Fun

Day 24

Friday, May 4, 2012

Today was going to be a great day, it was Friday after all.

Not only was it a fun day at work, it was a day that I was completely myself. Yes there is office protocol and there are certain unspoken rules that you should follow. Today, I didn't follow any of them!

The office I work in is very serious. Lots of crazy smart people, number crunching, looming deadlines, fast walkers and fast talkers. Where as I go to work to have fun, others come to work to make money. The majority of the time I don't fit in because I'm not as serious as the others and honestly, I don't have to be and don't want to be.

The smile could not be wiped off my face today. I laughed to loud, shared jokes with my clients and lingered when talking to my colleagues. Today was a "personal" day at work. Colleagues told me about their kids about to get married, others vented about a irritating home situation and another peer just sat and chatted about life as a newlywed. It was great.

Heaven forbid that we actually get to know the people we work with? I spend more time with them than I do my own family...sad but true. (8 hours at work x 5 days a week = 40 hours...versus 3 hours each night ((6-9pm)) x 5 days a week = 15 hours. Yes, only 15 hours of Kurt, Izzy, Stacy, Friends, Family time a week.

Corporations need collaboration. Fun. Friendly environments. Loyalty comes through days like today.

How I felt today being 100% Stacy?
Great but also a bit strange not having any filters. (I can't really say that because despite my fun attitude, I am pretty conservative at work and have a pretty good idea of when and how to say things. So, I wasn't singing to music or dancing in the halls but I was authentic, cheerful and outgoing today.

How my peers felt chatting with me:
Hopefully good. My colleague who sits in the office next to me calls me "Oprah" because people are always coming in and out of my office, usually to vent or just say hello. The walls are paper thin so he can always hear our conversations. I joke that he's now plugged in to all things "female". But I hope that each person went home thinking that where I work can be a fun place to be.

Lessons learned:
I wish other people personally engaged with each other at work. When I have clients come in they joke that you can hear crickets chirping because it's so quiet. Unfortunately, they are correct. I need to figure out if a culture change is possible and do something about it. Even if it's organizing a clothing drive or something that brings everyone together to create a bit of cohesion. Hmm, what can I do?