Office speak

Another thing I like about my office is the way that I get asked questions. Tanya doesn't ask me "Are you busy" which sort of begs the response "Nope, just filng my nails and reading magazines." Instead she asks me "Are you interruptible?" so that I sound like a real team player and all around good guy when I say that, certainly I am, what can I do for her?

And Mike doesn't ask me if I am still on the clock if he sees me at my desk after 5:00. Instead, he asks me if I'm still "here." So we have conversations like "Are you still here?" "I can be here. Whatcha need?" Which sounds so much better for both of us. I have worked for people who assume that if you are on the property you are on the clock and I have seen employees who will stop typing - literally - in the middle of a sentence because it is now 5:00 and they are off the clock. (Naturally, these employers and employees work for *other* companies.)

If I am meeting someone for dinner at 6:00 in downtown Silver Spring, I'll just hang out at my desk and get stuff done until it's time to meet them. And I'm usually happy to fax something or copy something but it's nice for it not to be assumed.