Usually my working day is
accompanied by the low hum of the air conditioning system. On a good day, when it’s working properly,
it’s reminiscent of being on an airplane, and I daydream of being whisked off
to somewhere more exotic than yet another spreadsheet. When it’s malfunctioning though it has a
tendency to sound like a spaceship about to land on the roof. Of course this
could just mean I’ve been looking at said spreadsheets just a little bit too
long…
There’s also the usual office
noises, which helps to distract me from thoughts of invading little green men.
Phones ringing. Impromptu meetings at
the surrounding desks. The random burst of applause coming from the next section
as another leaving presentation is made. Or on rare occasions an eerie silence
befalls us. At which point we become accurately aware that everyone can hear our conversations.
Last week though there was a new
sound to add to the list; the irritating tap-tap tap-tap of table tennis in the
next section. I have to admit it’s a strange problem to have in the office.
To be fair it was just for one
day. It was part of the company’s
programme to encourage us to get more active and promote sports. From the laughter and cheering that was going
on in the next section I’d say they had a great time joining in the fun.
And in case you’re wondering what my
department did for this event… We all
joined in a group wide activity of muttering under our breath at every cheer
that drowned out the person on the other end of our phone calls. “Could you repeat that please, I couldn’t
hear you over the table tennis game,” was an interesting phrase to find
yourself saying. Repeatedly.
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