Cindy

Droog

Read Cindy's bio and previous columns

October 27, 2008

My Office Love for You, and Hard Stops Too

There’s nothing like office love. Crazy, unbridled, we-must-find-the-janitor’s-closet-right-now love.

I wouldn’t know. Actually I did date a coworker once. I was 22, and we were both so paranoid about it, that we didn’t tell a soul until after one of us found another job. Besides, it was a hockey arena and the only thing close to a janitor’s closet was a smelly locker room.

Nonetheless, today – 15 years into my career – I realized something about myself. I use the word “love” at work a lot. This was pointed out to me by a less, well, dramatic coworker. One of those “everything is black or white” types. We’d just finished a hallway conversation and I proclaimed my love for Matt, a coworker who makes me laugh, is creative and who gets me and how I work.

She gave me a weird look.

I felt the need to follow this up with, “As we used to say in junior high break-up letters, I don’t love him like that!” It’s like a brother-sister love. Or good friend love.

And I’m just not afraid to say it.

I’ve never been one of those black and white types. I see pink hearts floating over my calendar before certain meetings about projects about which I’m passionate. I get the urge – although I can usually fight it – to hug people I work with. I’ve even been known to tell people that there were fireworks in my brain after a presentation that got me all jazzed up.

So I get excited about people and projects. Why not? Too many times, it’s easy to focus on the negative aspects of the workplace. To vent to a friend about not being able to read the minds of leaders. Or about not getting point 6.2.A on the strategic plan because you thought the company was going to focus this year. Or about why – for the life of you – you can’t figure out why people still think free lunch equals instant employee morale.

I say, it’s good to have entire weeks where you just forget all that. It’s sort of doing one of those liver cleanses every quarter or so. It’s really hard. You feel slightly depraved of your normal routine. You’re never sure you’re going to make it through. And if you’re me, you don’t. You give up after three or four days, but at least you got a half cleanse.

So, I have decided that when the weather changes, I will do a cubicle-dweller’s cleanse. This past week, Michigan went from fall to freeze. And I went from criticism to complete content.

For one thing, I do love a lot of people I work with (sorry, Matt, I have multiple work loves). I love Marsha, who faithfully stops by my office to ask about my dad (he has cancer) because she really cares. I love Andy, who is competitive like me, and refuses to miss a deadline or let people down. I love Jeff, who has 10 kids at home and still somehow manages to bring energy to every single meeting – no matter how mundane.

I even love most of the projects I work on, for no other reason than they teach me something brand new every day. Just last week, while working with a technical consultant on a project I thought would be boring, I learned the phrase “hard stop.” I had no idea I could tell people, “I have a ‘hard stop’ on this meeting at 2:30.”

Before, I’d use boring, non-technical phrases like, “I have to leave the meeting at 5:00 to go pick up my kids.” Now, I can just say, “I have a hard stop on this meeting.” People – like I was – will be impressed. I don’t have to give a reason. I said hard stop. You can’t roll through a stop sign when a cop is behind you, and you can’t make my meeting last until 5:03.

I gotta tell you. I love it!

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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