I 6/7/02

Work Diary, 6/7/02

To me, the most disturbing aspect of corporate culture is the false
bonhomie between people who have no more in common than the signature
on their paychecks. The whole sham is evident when a bunch of
co-workers go out to lunch together. At first they might talk about
politics or their kids or new cars, but eventually everyone begins
talking shop. And it's not even talking; people, when given an
audience, will complain so much about their jobs that you have no
choice but to swear you will have a solitary lunch from then on. Until,
that is, the next worker bee's smiling face appears hovering over your
cube, extending an invitation to try out the new sushi restaurant down
the street.

My most painful corporate memories stem from being forced to sit
through lunch with some home office manager at the head of the table.
Whereas I'd rather comment on the lack of bleu cheese in my dressing, I
find myself (and everyone around me) grinning from ear to ear as the
blowhard discusses...what? What, exactly, is he discussing? And will
any of us remember after we get back to the grind? The only good thing
about a lunch with a home office manager is that someone else pays the
bill. The food, the conversation, the ambience?they're all lost in the
profound boredom of corporate speak.

Bill Gates once said that we should be nice to nerds because we'll
probably be working for one at some point or another. He was right, but
having been somewhat of a nerd myself, I can't help but look at
middle-management types and wonder, "What on earth happened to you, and
how can I avoid your miserable fate?" Only, they're not miserable, of
course. You can see it in their eyes when they finally have a whole
room focusing on them and them alone.

In some regards I'm lucky, because I have friends at work. They may not
be people who come to my house for dinner or to help me move a couch,
but we're close enough that our jokes at lunch are loud and unspeakably
rude.