"Hi, how are you?"
"Good, thanks, how are you?"
"Good"
How many times a day does this conversation happen in an office (in life) each day? Too many to count. I've been thinking about this for awhile now. It is friendly banter and it is polite. Nothing wrong with that. Every morning when you step off that elevator your real life is left behind and you enter your work life. The one where you smile and make small talk with everyone around you.*
When asked 'how are you?' 'Good' is the automated response. People rarely respond with how they truly feel. I think about what people might battle behind closed doors. Anxiety, depression, cancer, loss, divorce, physical abuse, mental abuse, miscarriages, infertility, affairs....just to toss out a few possibilities. Life deals out some pretty tough stuff.
I have been working in the same office for over 10 years, with a staff of roughly one hundred people. That's a lot of people. That's a lot of tough stuff.
So - Is it a bad thing that some may come to work and put on a smile to make it through the day? OR is it a good thing that work offers an environment to leave your other life behind and provides the opportunity to focus your attention elsewhere?
Perspective is a powerful tool.
*There are exceptions of course. Solid, deep friendships are formed between co-workers but in a general sense, most people are friendly acquaintances.
2 comments:
If this were Facebook, I would hit "Like".
My experience in the office environment where I work, is that no one really wants to hear how you are actually doing. They want to just hear the "fine" answer. The real friends that I have at work (not casual work acquaintances), already know how I am feeling or what is going on in my life.
P.S - AWESOME BLOG!
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