Corridor Conversations

He’s not that much older than me, however, he’s still old enough to know better. In one word, he’s greasy. He slicks his hair back with hair products, and his cologne isn’t subtle, it’s so overpowering that I wanna stand a few metres away.

I knew I should’ve kept walking, and not made eye contact because he always pulls me up in the corridor. Blah ! He’s the married guy that flirts with all the women in the workplace, and he makes me cringe.

He’s not a direct report of mine and he’s not at the same level but he asserts himself as though we are, and his demeanour comes across as though he’s holier than thou, and that I should answer to him.

He’s one of those blokes, who don’t like women in leadership roles. No doubt, he thinks all women should be bare foot, pregnant and chained to the kitchen. Blah !

He whinges about his newborn keeping him and his wife awake, and all I kept thinking was my child birthing years are so over, and I’m too old to be waking to a newborn this late in life. However, you made that choice so live with it.

I smile, and sympathise with the bloke before cutting him right off when he suggests we should catch up for lunch. I just wouldn’t be able to tolerate his brand of blah for an hour straight.

Hell ! It took me 5 minutes to touch type this rubbish, and I’m sorry you all had to read my blah, from the workplace.

Given the rapid decline in my mental health status during the lockdown, I’ve decided to spend more time in the actual workplace as opposed to working remotely, from home.

A few days in the office each week, will be a much needed circuit breaker from my end, and luckily, I was easily able to obtain a formal permit & clearance to exceed the mandated chief health officer directions restricting people from travelling nothing more than a 10km radius limit.

Hmm. Well. At least, a few of my direct reports appreciate me, and they did so by grabbing me a coffee, and threaded a mini bunch of lavender, along with a scribbled message on my coffee cup.

Most of my direct reports are hardworking, and go above & beyond to operationalise the strategy I’ve set for the Branch, and I appreciate them immensely.

Work. Work. Work.