I suppose the best thing I can do is to begin by saying
this (and really, most of what I write) is an opinion piece. I don’t expect anyone to bend to my will or
see things my way but I sure as heck am going to tell you what I think because,
after all, this is my blog. As Phil Williams says, “This is my opinion; feel free to make it yours.”
In all my years working in an office environment I’ve seen a
lot of things. I’ve been around so many
different kinds of people that quirks, habits and other idiosyncrasies tend to roll off
me like water off a duck’s back. Yeah, I
get irritated and sometimes think unkind things but it’s rare (very rare, in
fact) that I say anything about them. I
might even have a good old fashioned Bitch
Session (forgive me) with my girlfriends – but not in a way that will
specifically hurt anyone. However, I
must now take a stand. I must pull out
my well-worn soap box, climb atop it, and preach to the highest heavens.
****
In every, single, iteration of office-life that I’ve lived,
there are these wonderful inventions called Conference
Rooms. These rooms are to be used
for…well…conferences. Meetings. Gatherings of a multiple-attendee
nature. They sometimes have windows with
nice views, or are simply four walls, a projector, a projection screen and,
maybe, a white-board with (hopefully) non-scented dry-erase markers. Whatever.
Also, in every, single, iteration of office-life that I’ve
lived, there are these equally wonderful inventions called Conference Room Doors. These
doors are to be used for…well…closing.
And opening. And closing,
again. They are for secluding the
meeting-gatherers inside the aforementioned Conference
Room in order to have a private meeting.
They are also for making sure meeting-gatherers do not disturb those
sitting in the immediate vicinity.
I am, in fact, one of those sitting in the immediate
vicinity of a conference room. It is
right directly across the hall from my office. I am supposed to leave the door to my office open – at least ajar – so people
don’t feel like they are unwanted; they should feel free to come in at any time. (A closed door is a visual barrier, a wordless message to stay out, and some people are hesitant to cross that barrier - even by knocking and announcing their presence.) However when folks meeting in the conference
room across the hall leave the door open, I must shut mine.
I’m glad there’s levity, or intense conversations, video or
voice conferences. I’m glad people have
meetings to work out their issues or find a path forward. But there is no need to include me by proxy.
Putting it plainly, for the love of all that is peaceful and
quiet and productive in this world: SHUT THE *@#$!!! DOOR! The rest of the world does not need to hear
you, and more to the point, you are disturbing the rest of the office by
leaving the door open.
Pretty please?
Thank you. That is
all. I shall now thoughtfully, and gratefully, put away my soap box.
TTFN
JMS
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