Office tidbits

Some interesting observations about irony from every day life in an office of a large firm:

1. You don't know when your colleague is leaving. Most firms don't send emails anymore about people leaving for the fear of bringing low morale to the workers. A person in another group in the firm whom you have been dealing with for a matter a month ago may no longer be there if you contact them a month later. But the irony is that people coming and leaving is a fact of life in a large firm. Most people leave to go to other firms or overseas. It's just a fact of life. There is no need for a firm to keep things quiet.

2. Most firms nowadays offer a fruit basket for each floor for their employees to enjoy and stay healthy. The irony is that most fruits are gone in the first half an hour by eager secretaries who take three or four pieces of fruits each, while other people like us would never have a chance to get a piece of fruit.

3. Firms offer dinner and taxi rides for employees who work late. The irony is that we would rather do the work quickly than spend time eating in the office. We would rather leave the office and eat outside than being stuck in the office eating dinner while knowing that there are still work to be done after dinner. The taxi is not attractive either, especially if you know how some taxi drivers drive their cabs.

4. Firms offer a variety of functions - drinks, social lunches, etc - but the irony is that your attendance is encouraged but is dependent on your work commitments.

5. A typical office usually has more female than males. But the irony is that office romance is virtually non existent due to a number of factors such as sexual harassment policies, business at work, stress and frustration from work, etc.