You’ve given us so much to think about in this post, Alison. I’m really hard-pressed to come up with a TV show set in a work environment because I don’t watch TV much, either.
As I type this, however, two that I chanced upon come to mind. One was set in a big-box store like Walmart and the other was set in a big-city mayor’s office. Not sure if either made it past the initial season. But I suspect that’s because they were both silly and in many ways not believable with canned laughter.
Years ago, I came across a piece in the New York Times Book Review, which asked the same question you’ve asked here. Since we spend more time at work than at home, aren’t workplaces filled with conflicts that define our lives? Therefore, shouldn’t more stories be set at work? Yes!
One thing I’ve felt in corporate workplaces is that everyone seems to be acting. There’s a performative aspect to being what Human Resources says you should be. I might be attracted to my direct report, for instance, but I must act like I’m not. Or risk being accused of sexual harassment and possibly lose my livelihood.
Once, a co-worker said something about a friend that really took me aback. “John is my work friend--not my real friend,” she said. “I don’t tell him anything personal.”
It’s become common to talk about having a “work wife” or a “work husband” when referring to a co-worker you partner with at the office.
All of which suggests that workplaces ask us to live divided lives in which a good portion is inauthentic, fake, or at best stunted.
Maybe that’s why The Office was such a big hit in the UK and in the USA. (Ah, there’s another TV show set at work!)
Anyway, I think you’ve just given me an idea for my next short story. Thank you for that, “Professor!” And for all your wonderfully generous posts.
The performative piece of our work lives--yes. What is that about? The necessity of it; what that does to us.
When I did go through studying to be a teacher, at one point toward the end of the year, my then 12 year old son LOOKED at me after I responded to something he'd said, and said--in the most accusatory (and betrayed sounding) voice: "You sound like a teacher!" He stopped me, cold. I understood what he was saying. And I began to question how training and positions shape us.
Good point, this, Andrew.
Then the question of "work friend" vs "REAL friend." I imagine you questioning YOUR connection with that particular co-worker at that point!
I look forward to your next story--thank you for your reading and writing!
I should probably be off the computer by now. Bed beckons, and I'll be in front of this screen again 10 hours from now. I work from home. More precisely, from the laptop on my kitchen counter. I have a stand-up desk that I use for virtual meetings, but the view is better from the other room. I also have an office I could use, just eight miles away, in a building full of offices filled with people who spend most of their time in front of screens, when they're not out in the field. Sometimes they chat across desks, or conference tables, or the coffee pot. I prefer tea, and my house, and that I can wear slippers and still say things that make sense.
So, what is there to write about in a work setting like that? Does anyone care how long I have to be away from my screen to hang a load of laundry outside? Does it matter that I miss my three cats and that I'm not sure I've forgiven them for dying one after the next like that?
You asked so many questions, good ones, like steak and undercooked broccoli, a meal with a lot of chewing. When I read them, the answers tried to form, but now I'm thinking about how I would rather reread the essay again in the morning, spend some time with each one, maybe even dust off my journal, which hasn't seen much action lately, and really work out a thing or two.
But, I'll be back in front of this screen again in nine and three-quarter hours, so it might not go quite like that.
Elizabeth, I am sorry to hear about your cats--they sound like the best co-workers! Padding about in their own slippers. Losses, those little beings in our lives.
Next set of questions I write, I'll be thinking "steak and uncooked b-coli"--as I call it.
I hope you were able to spend some time in your journal with that tea.
Not a broccoli fan, eh? ;) The day got away from me, but not the idea. The journal is making little squeaky sounds, not cat-like exactly, but equally compelling.
Elizabeth, the knot you might explore is why, other than the superficial, you prefer to work from home over the occasional chat of workmates, etc. Not a criticism but a curiosity.
You bring up great observations. Since Covid there really hasn’t been work place TV shows. Here are the ones I thought of-- Billions. Suits. Any lawyer show. Fire Country. The Rookie. Ghosts (the home is a B n B). The Office-- guess that’s an old show now.
They are out there... some of these, I haven't heard of or seen. I suspect I'm a bit out of it on this. Wondering why some professional spheres are more likely to be onscreen than others... and does anyone really know exactly what they're doing in The Office... ha! I think that's part of it, really.
I’ve only seen one episode of Severance, but the premise seems applicable—a voluntary separation of all memories between home and work. Two separate lives, until they aren’t again. Maybe it’s actually about something else...Thanks for your thoughts on all this.
This is another good reason to support you, Alison, and subscribe with U.S. dollars.
You have a gift beyond writing to connect with others at the advanced level to address our elephant in the room.
I really appreciate it and when you put ONE idea for an article in your piece, that shook things up. In a good way.
You brought to mind the quote from Samantha Hartley, The Multiplier, previously marketing manager for Coca-Cola Company, who told me, "You can't read the label when you are inside the bottle." What that means is Alison did the one thing someone needed to do for me, which was to show me I needed to trust her (Alison and her subscribers) to make me see I needed a different perspective. More specifically, my strength, voice, and gifts are inside that bottle and Alison is outside, telling me what the label says. Communication with Alison and others who can see the label makes the elephant disappear like a magic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMlEU2otrbw)
You’ve given us so much to think about in this post, Alison. I’m really hard-pressed to come up with a TV show set in a work environment because I don’t watch TV much, either.
As I type this, however, two that I chanced upon come to mind. One was set in a big-box store like Walmart and the other was set in a big-city mayor’s office. Not sure if either made it past the initial season. But I suspect that’s because they were both silly and in many ways not believable with canned laughter.
Years ago, I came across a piece in the New York Times Book Review, which asked the same question you’ve asked here. Since we spend more time at work than at home, aren’t workplaces filled with conflicts that define our lives? Therefore, shouldn’t more stories be set at work? Yes!
One thing I’ve felt in corporate workplaces is that everyone seems to be acting. There’s a performative aspect to being what Human Resources says you should be. I might be attracted to my direct report, for instance, but I must act like I’m not. Or risk being accused of sexual harassment and possibly lose my livelihood.
Once, a co-worker said something about a friend that really took me aback. “John is my work friend--not my real friend,” she said. “I don’t tell him anything personal.”
It’s become common to talk about having a “work wife” or a “work husband” when referring to a co-worker you partner with at the office.
All of which suggests that workplaces ask us to live divided lives in which a good portion is inauthentic, fake, or at best stunted.
Maybe that’s why The Office was such a big hit in the UK and in the USA. (Ah, there’s another TV show set at work!)
Anyway, I think you’ve just given me an idea for my next short story. Thank you for that, “Professor!” And for all your wonderfully generous posts.
The performative piece of our work lives--yes. What is that about? The necessity of it; what that does to us.
When I did go through studying to be a teacher, at one point toward the end of the year, my then 12 year old son LOOKED at me after I responded to something he'd said, and said--in the most accusatory (and betrayed sounding) voice: "You sound like a teacher!" He stopped me, cold. I understood what he was saying. And I began to question how training and positions shape us.
Good point, this, Andrew.
Then the question of "work friend" vs "REAL friend." I imagine you questioning YOUR connection with that particular co-worker at that point!
I look forward to your next story--thank you for your reading and writing!
I should probably be off the computer by now. Bed beckons, and I'll be in front of this screen again 10 hours from now. I work from home. More precisely, from the laptop on my kitchen counter. I have a stand-up desk that I use for virtual meetings, but the view is better from the other room. I also have an office I could use, just eight miles away, in a building full of offices filled with people who spend most of their time in front of screens, when they're not out in the field. Sometimes they chat across desks, or conference tables, or the coffee pot. I prefer tea, and my house, and that I can wear slippers and still say things that make sense.
So, what is there to write about in a work setting like that? Does anyone care how long I have to be away from my screen to hang a load of laundry outside? Does it matter that I miss my three cats and that I'm not sure I've forgiven them for dying one after the next like that?
You asked so many questions, good ones, like steak and undercooked broccoli, a meal with a lot of chewing. When I read them, the answers tried to form, but now I'm thinking about how I would rather reread the essay again in the morning, spend some time with each one, maybe even dust off my journal, which hasn't seen much action lately, and really work out a thing or two.
But, I'll be back in front of this screen again in nine and three-quarter hours, so it might not go quite like that.
Elizabeth, I am sorry to hear about your cats--they sound like the best co-workers! Padding about in their own slippers. Losses, those little beings in our lives.
Next set of questions I write, I'll be thinking "steak and uncooked b-coli"--as I call it.
I hope you were able to spend some time in your journal with that tea.
Not a broccoli fan, eh? ;) The day got away from me, but not the idea. The journal is making little squeaky sounds, not cat-like exactly, but equally compelling.
Elizabeth, the knot you might explore is why, other than the superficial, you prefer to work from home over the occasional chat of workmates, etc. Not a criticism but a curiosity.
You bring up great observations. Since Covid there really hasn’t been work place TV shows. Here are the ones I thought of-- Billions. Suits. Any lawyer show. Fire Country. The Rookie. Ghosts (the home is a B n B). The Office-- guess that’s an old show now.
They are out there... some of these, I haven't heard of or seen. I suspect I'm a bit out of it on this. Wondering why some professional spheres are more likely to be onscreen than others... and does anyone really know exactly what they're doing in The Office... ha! I think that's part of it, really.
I’ve only seen one episode of Severance, but the premise seems applicable—a voluntary separation of all memories between home and work. Two separate lives, until they aren’t again. Maybe it’s actually about something else...Thanks for your thoughts on all this.
This is another good reason to support you, Alison, and subscribe with U.S. dollars.
You have a gift beyond writing to connect with others at the advanced level to address our elephant in the room.
I really appreciate it and when you put ONE idea for an article in your piece, that shook things up. In a good way.
You brought to mind the quote from Samantha Hartley, The Multiplier, previously marketing manager for Coca-Cola Company, who told me, "You can't read the label when you are inside the bottle." What that means is Alison did the one thing someone needed to do for me, which was to show me I needed to trust her (Alison and her subscribers) to make me see I needed a different perspective. More specifically, my strength, voice, and gifts are inside that bottle and Alison is outside, telling me what the label says. Communication with Alison and others who can see the label makes the elephant disappear like a magic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMlEU2otrbw)
Great quote--thank you for sharing that.
Glad this post spoke, Georgia, and happy to shake up!