What are you allowed to talk about at work?

[SpunGirl]

I realized today, not for the first time, that I have a unique workplace. Of course all the usual rules "officially" apply, but no one on my shift really cares what is said and sometimes the conversations go to the extreme.

For example, my supervisor just got finished telling us all about the time a girl he dated in his twenties tossed his salad. He has described episodes with Viagra and friends who have their johnsons tattooed. I'm sure if anyone said they didn't want to hear about this stuff he'd stop, but no one here really cares.

Of course, we don't talk about stuff like that with our boss or any of the execs around (duh). So how relaxed is your workplace?

-K

[Himmy]

In the entertainment production industry, as long as the client isn't around, anything goes. And it usually does.

[Celexei]

I sit all alone at the shop and talk with pretty much whoever about whatever, its great running a shop all alone!

[Vixen]

my new job, I come in before the place is open, have my office to myself, and laugh in amazement at the stuff I hear from the skeleton crew we have there in the morning. The prep guys are awful, the managers can be far worse. So with us, pretty much anything goes.

Though I get to take my baby to work with me, so its even more amusing watching them get all upset after they have said a particularly bad thing in front of Liam, because I'm just sure his five week old ears are traumatized ::grins::

[Skirmisher]

One branch I worked in for a short time had a staff of young girls who were without a doubt the rudest, raunchiest and loudest group I ever worked with.

They would flash each other and some select customers.

They would yell across the lobby back and forth to each other and at/to select customers.

They would flirt CONSTANTLY with each other and the people on the platform including the manager who was way more than old enough to be their father, as in like 15+ years older than necessary. Such flirtation including offers of protein shakes and threesomes.

This was also the branch I noticed had the most customers who were clearly exotic dancers as they would come in twice a week or so with anywhere from 700-1500 dollars in singles at a pop. Some wearing....more revealing outfits than most. The one guy on platform would always end up with them at his desk for extended periods of time.

The amazing thing was that most of the customers seemed to like them and joke and flirt right back.

I tried to tell them that the whole place was a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen, but they shrugged that off.

The manager just didn't care as he was burned out and leaving in a few months.

I didn't joke out loud where any of the customers could hear and made sure to not cross any official rules in case an exec came in, but I must admit it was hysterical working there for the short time I did.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot that this was the branch where some little man like maaaaaaybe 5'2" was going to fight me for what he thought was an insult to his wife. With my heels on I had a solid foot on this guy and i was standing there wondering if I was on some hidden camera show.

Really freaky place.

[SpunGirl]

Hahahaha! Whenever I'm sick or not feeling well, Jake's response is, "you know, a protien shake would fix that."

-K

[Kainen]

Anything I want to. I work in the office alone on the graveyard shift.

[Sylvan Dreams]

We don't speak English at work, so we talk about whatever we feel like.

[Ilvane]

I just changed departments recently and found that the nurses I work with now are much more open to talk about everything..:lol:

We got into a discussion about thongs other assorted things the other day and we were all laughing hysterically because the one girl who was wearing one is the prissy like girl..:lol:

Oh, and we were also talking about a bumper sticker I saw.."If you are going to ride my ass, you can at least pull my hair."

That was a popular one around the office..heh.

-A

[Lord Dainslef]

No speaka da Engles so it's usually just me and my boss and he talks about some of the weirdest stuff. A lot of stuff I'd rather not hear about from an old man, like him going to the doctor stuff. He's a wacko but he let's me do what I want for the most part, so long as stuff gets done. Other than that it doesn't matter, the only women that work there are in the office and they work during the day. So there isn't really that deal anymore.

[CrystalTears]

Oh God please, they talk about anything around here. I'm surrounded by computer geeks, hello. They hit on me all the time, tell me "how YOU doin'?" now that I said it enough that it's now my catchphrase, and comment on my boobs and talk about sex and such.

Then again I only notice what goes on in Customer Support and I don't know how it is with the rest of the company. Although the engineers can be just as bad.

My first two years for some reason I managed to dodge the sexual harrassment class, so they would all say "hey she hasn't been to the class, it's okay." Now that I finally have (after hearing a lot of aw's and moans of not wanting to have me attend it) it hasn't changed anything. Now they say "well she's been to the class, she'd say something if we were bothering her".

Men are :pig:. It's why I love them.

[Edited on 7/28/2005 by CrystalTears]

[Leetahkin]

We can talk about nearly anything around here. Though, it is a quiet room, so we try to keep voices down so not EVERYONE can hear. For the most part, we keep it clean. I'll go to a friend's desk if I have some raunchy joke to share, even though our boss sits right behind him and sometimes overhears.

It's all good.

[Janarth]

I can swear vehemently if I lose an account, but beyond that...what other sick company makes someone wear a suit when its 90 degrees and 100% humidity to work. I got yelled at for tying my tie as I walked into my floor from the elevator bank. Place is pretty strict...but I like the job.

I sit in my cube all alone. It's the most isolated one. I smile, say hello, and nod everytime someone talks to me. I have nothing to share with a bunch of rednecked mid 40 somethings when all they can talk about is alocohol abuse in the family.

Maybe I should bring in a case of beers next time.

- Arkans

Yesterday I got was lucky enough to hear a play by play about how two of the guys I work with tag teamed one of the barracks whores...

[Edited on 7-28-2005 by Dave]

Nothing like hearing a story when their is more sausage than clam involved and thinking you're lucky. Phsaw, and I'm called gay!

- Arkans

[AnticorRifling]

Barracks whores are nasty. Hell no would I ever tag one. Why not go rub meat with every other guy in the plt it would be the same thing.

That being said we talk about whatever when it's just us in the office.

[Wezas]

When I first started people talked about all kinds of things. Hitting up the local strip joint at lunch, mentally retarded people, using racial slurs with each other (mainly calling one guy "Mexican", because he admitted he gets mistaken for being hispanic constantly even though he's asian).

It slowed down one day when one girl sent out an E-mail to a select group of younger people. It was one of the E-mail chain jokes about illegal immigrants. Evidently one of the girls on the mailing list was engaged to someone who's parents were illegals that came into the country and she had a LONG reply to the E-mail and replied to all.

We have sexual harassment posters and stuff on the wall, but alot is said behind people's backs. The one "offended" girl is the only hot girl in the office and has since dumped her fiancee and is currently banging a co-worker.

I guess some rules are to be followed and some aren't.

[vigilante]

It never ceases to amaze me what school teachers will talk about...in the hall, the restroom...of course the faculty lounge. Teachers are horndog party monsters.



Not that I'm complaining :)

[Hips]

Originally posted by vigilante
Teachers are horndog party monsters.


......

Both my parents are teachers. :no:

[Warriorbird]

Mine too.

[DeV]

Any and everything though I also work closely with a bunch of geeks on one end (IT support and web development) and your regular bunch of customer support on the other end. One of the supervisors was walking around the office calling someone a puntang the other day. I was like, um, do you know what that means. She was like no, it just sounds funny, so I explained and we were bent over laughing.

Anything goes here just as long as the noise level is kept to a minimum and the inside jokes stay where they belong.

[AnticorRifling]

Originally posted by vigilante
Teachers are horndog party monsters.




Heh my wife is a teacher. w00t

Hahaha.. That reminds me, DeV. When I was in basic training someone would also go around calling people "You dumb kyke" or go around says, "okay there, fucking kyke".. He threw this word around like a a monkey through around its own shit, so I had to go up to the guy and ask, "Dude, do you know what the word means?"

"No."

"Hahaha pwned"

- Arkans

[Latrinsorm]

Gee whiz, I wonder wherever he heard that particular slur.

[Edaarin]

The other interns and I swap drunk stories when it's just us.

The other guy intern and I talk about how many beers it would take to hook up with girls who are < 23 in the office (ranges from 0 to a case).

When there's a manager in the room, we talk about 404 compliance and college classes.

When there's a director/partner in the room, we talk about how ridiculously overpriced housing is. We also discuss career goals and what's good for dessert.

Originally posted by Latrinsorm
Gee whiz, I wonder wherever he heard that particular slur.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

[SpunGirl]

Originally posted by vigilante
It never ceases to amaze me what school teachers will talk about...in the hall, the restroom...of course the faculty lounge. Teachers are horndog party monsters.



You've got that one right.

My husband teaches with this woman who cocktails weekends and summers at the Hard Rock. She's getting on in her years, sliding towards forty, and just had her (already fake) boobs re-done from a C to a DD. She referred to this often, in PE department meetings, as "changing the tires."

That's not the worst of it, though. I think she's got the hots for my husband's guy co-worker, Scott (there are two male PE teachers and two female ones). Last year at Christmas she apparently went to a party and got a little wild. Pictures were snapped of her with her top off, with some guy's johnson in her hand, with, uh, objects... in her.

She gave the pictures to Scott, like, "hee-hee! Look at what I accidentally did!"

VOMIT VOMIT VOMIT. The freaking stupid part is that he still has the pictures locked in his desk drawer. I worry that he's going to die in a freak accident, his wife is going to come clean out his desk and she's going to find this and wonder what the fuck her husband was up to (nothing, as far as I know he just has the pictures).

Anyway, yeah.

-K

[Edited on 7-29-2005 by SpunGirl]

[Skirmisher]

Ditch the photos. :scared:

[Artha]

Man, you guys have it easy. I do millwork, which for me basically equates to lifting heavy things (stairs, trim, doors, windows, whatever) and moving them from one spot to another. A lot of the time I ride out in a truck and move things from inside the truck to someone's garage. I usually let the guy I work with talk, and subjects include:

His rocky first marriage, when his wife cheated on him with his brother.
The time he shot his brother.
His rocky second marriage, in which his wife has an internet relationship with some dude in Texas who he might just shoot.
Doing 5 years for attempted murder and assault & battery.
Growing up street fighting, and being able to use a belt to choke someone until their eyeballs pop out.
The other day when his ex-wife got 6 guys who were ready to jump him after calling him over to her trailer to talk about their daughter living with him for the summer.
The day before that when his ex-wife called the cops and told them he kidnapped his daughter because she wanted to stay at his house for the summer.


Fun times.

[Vesi]

I don't work any longer, but when I did we could basically talk about anything we wanted to as long as the customers didn't hear us. (they were on the phone anyway) I'm the type that would say stuff just for shock value, so I got a rep around the office. I worked with mostly women and I tell you the rumors they started were something! (I even started small fake rumors about myself just to see how big they would grow. And grow they did!)

I vividly remember bringing my D&D books and dice to work and rolling up characters or writing dungeons on my lunch break in our lunch room. I became known as the Devil worshiper because of this. Or, the fact that my best friend worked with me and we would go to her house after work and drink wine and play Scrabble.(her husband was a musician and was out of town a lot so I stayed at their house tons of times ... no drinking and driving for me) Everyone at work was convinced we were lovers.(because why else would two girls hang out together at home alone? duh) Nothing like living in the Babble Belt!

Come to think of it, I believe I WAS the office talk. hehe

Vesi

[SpunGirl]

Originally posted by Skirmisher
Ditch the photos. :scared:

I've told Jake to try and convince Scott to do just that many times. I can't harp on Scott about it, because I'm not supposed to know. I do find it comforting that Jake told me about it, even though Scott didn't tell HIS wife. Which is weird.

-K