Chapter 13 of 44

The Office

The building, its equipment, and the parts of a job that are not the work. Rooms that are booked, printers that are not printing, colleagues mid-sentence.

51 verses

1. 1 I've been pulled into something that's now taking the day Unverifiable
2. 2 Somebody has escalated something and I'm inside the escalation Unverifiable
3. 3 There's a handover happening and I'm the only one who can do it Plausible
4. 4 I'm covering for two people who are both out Plausible
5. 5 I've been asked to sit in on something instead of my own work Unverifiable
6. 6 There's an audit and they want somebody in the room who knows the files Unverifiable
7. 7 I've got an interview panel and it's run long twice already Plausible
8. 8 Somebody has resigned and the morning has become about that Unverifiable
9. 9 I'm training somebody and training somebody is the whole day Unverifiable
10. 10 The offsite has overrun and there's no way back before evening Plausible
11. 11 I've got a one to one that has been moved four times and I'm not moving it again Unverifiable
12. 12 There's a fire drill and we've been asked to stay outside Unverifiable
13. 13 The building has a problem and nobody has been let up past the lobby Unverifiable
14. 14 Somebody has booked the room I'm meant to be in and won't move Unverifiable
15. 15 I've been in back-to-back since eight and I need twenty minutes Unverifiable
16. 16 There's a thing I have to do before month end and it's month end Unverifiable
17. 17 I've been given something with no context and told it's mine Concerning
18. 18 A process has changed and nobody has said which process Concerning
19. 19 I've been told to use a new system nobody has been trained on Concerning
20. 20 My access has been revoked as part of something and nobody knows what Concerning
21. 21 I've been added to a distribution list that seems to be about me Not reassuring
22. 22 Somebody in another office has been doing my job for a month Not reassuring
23. 23 There's a reorganization and I've been asked to keep something quiet Not reassuring
24. 24 A colleague has stopped replying to me specifically Not reassuring
25. 25 My name has been taken off something and put back on Please take the day
26. 26 I've been thanked for something I didn't do Not reassuring
27. 27 There's an org chart update and I'm somewhere new on it Please take the day
28. 28 Somebody has asked me for a handover and there's no handover planned Please take the day
29. 29 I've been invited to a meeting with no agenda and three directors Please take the day
30. 30 My pass has stopped working at the door Plausible
31. 31 There's nobody at reception and the door needs somebody at reception Unverifiable
32. 32 The floor I work on has been closed for something Unverifiable
33. 33 They've moved my desk and not told me where to Unverifiable
34. 34 Somebody is sitting at my desk and has been for a week Concerning
35. 35 The room I booked has been taken by people with more seniority Unverifiable
36. 36 The screen in the room doesn't take the cable everybody has Unverifiable
37. 37 The heating in this office has two settings and neither is the right one Unverifiable
38. 38 There's construction in the building and it's on my floor today Plausible
39. 39 The elevator is out and it's the fourteenth floor Plausible
40. 40 The parking lot is full and the overflow is roped off Plausible
41. 41 I've been locked out of the office because I'm the first one in Unverifiable
42. 42 Somebody has taken the chair from my desk Unverifiable
43. 43 The printer on this floor has been broken for three weeks and it's needed today Unverifiable
44. 44 There's a smell on this floor and nobody has explained it Concerning
45. 45 The fire alarm has gone twice this morning and we're outside again Unverifiable
46. 46 My things have been moved from a locker during a clean-out Concerning
47. 47 I've been given a desk in a room with no window and I've said something about it Concerning
48. 48 Somebody has put a sign on a door and nobody knows who Not reassuring
49. 49 There's a room on this floor that's always locked Please take the day
50. 50 My chair is at a different height every morning Please take the day
51. 51 The office has been very quiet since a meeting on Tuesday Please take the day