There is this really long hallway where I work, ~175 ft long. The offices are along one side and the labs are on the other. There are 15-20 people who work in this area and frequently walk the length of the hallway throughout the day, going between labs and offices, etc. It can be sort of awkward though: after you've passed the same person 6 times in an afternoon, do you still say hi? smile? nod? look away? I find it difficult to ignore someone I know who is passing within 3 feet of me. However, I do sometimes concentrate on the floor in an OCD kind of way as I walk; I like to step on the floor tiles where the pattern is parallel to my feet.
Perhaps I should suggest that we give each other high fives every time we pass. That would liven up the day.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
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7 comments:
You could make a joke of it. Like as you're passing by, call out, "Requisite hello!" as you walk down the hall. Or maybe walk by really fast so they think the reason you're not saying anything is because it's and Ecogeoemergency?
I was going to suggest some sort of secret handshake, but I suppose high fives would be more time efficient.
Oh I've always hated this too. The worst is when the corridor is so long that you'd have to shout to make yourself heard at the point when you first see the person. Do you smile, nod, grin, etc, and do you keep that up until they're in earshot? Do you look at them while you continue to walk towards each other? At what point do you say hello?
One solution would be to make it into some kind of game, with arbitrary rules that only you know. So when you see someone for the 4th time, you can say something like "that's a 2 pm Eastbound repeat, 3 points to me!"
Take CAE's suggestion and make it public. "What? You ate ants for lunch again?" Anything that makes people smile is good.
Oh, this problem is ubiquitous, I think. Even jokes get old, unfortunately. High fives sound like the best solution.
I hate this as well. I always say hello to everyone, but after you've walked by 10 times, do you still acknowledge the same persons existence. Do share your course of action!
I actually do the high five thing fairly regularly with people that I classify as acquaintances (which is pretty much everyone I know at work). It lets me move on quickly without getting stuck in polite small talk (which, as you know, ends up sucking an hour or more of time total each day if you have to do it with everyone!!).
Great post!
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