By J.T. O'Donnell
Every office has one. The employee who is quick-witted and always seems to know when to throw in a snappy bit of sarcasm to make everyone chuckle about an obnoxious client or less-than-exciting new company policy. Their sharp sense of humor is often used in to lighten the mood and diffuse tense moments. And yet...
When does the sarcastic employee cross the line?
Do they realize the negative impact they can have while desperately trying to seek a laugh? More importantly, can their sarcasm eventually hurt their career?
True story...
Back in my early twenties, I worked for a start-up company that was full of fellow young professionals. We were all recent college grads looking to finally start to make some good money and had hitched our stars on the excitement of working for a cutting-edge company that gave us stock options and hopes of a big payout in the not-so-distant future.
In the beginning, our team was on fire. The company expanded quickly and the energy was intensely fun. But then, some things happened to tarnish the rosy of glow of start-up life. A round of layoffs, followed by a change in our commission structure had us all working more and making less. We were frustrated and angry. And looking back, our lack of workplace experience showed in that we didn't know how to react to what was happening. Many of us started commiserating after work over drinks, eyeball rolling became the norm throughout the day, and a somber, secretive-type communication style replaced our light-hearted banter of earlier days. Times were tough.
Then one day, a very sarcastic co-worker decided to take venting his frustrations to a whole new level. He started crafting top secret e-mail rants. He would wax on about various managers, poking fun at everything from their voice to their sense of fashion. Now that I think of it, his daily e-mails were almost like blog posts. Initially, people looked forward to getting them and you could hear a certain style of 'chuckle' that always told you who, across a sea of cubicles, was reading the latest one. His e-mails were like a guilty pleasure served up to ease the stress of working in a downtrodden corporate culture.
But then, as things got progressively worse on-the-job, so did the intensity of the employee's sarcasm. And, somewhere along the line, the e-mails went from funny to uncomfortable.
In an effort to retain the interest of his readership, the employee's sarcasm took an evil turn. He expanded upon who he wrote about, sometimes leaving people off the e-mail list just to make fun of them. No one was off limits to this employee. If someone looked at him the wrong way, the result could be a page-long demoralization. Furthermore, his obsession with producing these e-mails seemed to have a direct impact on his performance. Not only did he start failing at work, his work relationships started failing too. People became afraid of being associated with him, especially when they realized that getting caught reading one of these e-mails could get them in trouble. And then it happened, the ultimate betrayal...
The sarcastic employee was turned in by another employee who had found out he was being 'ragged on' in these e-mails repeatedly. The company IT guy researched and found out just how much work time had been spent on writing/distributing the e-mails and the employee was let go. Talk about tough to explain on job interviews:
Hiring Manager: "So, why did you leave your last job?"
Sarcastic Employee: "Well, I was trash talking everyone in the company in e-mails during work hours and got caught."
To make matters worse, it had been his first real job (i.e. professional setting), and now he had no reference. He couldn't get any of his former co-workers to agree to talk to potential employers for him either because we were all promptly instructed on the 'no reference giving' policy by the HR Manager right after his departure.
So, here's my question: Was he the only one to blame? Yes, he wrote the e-mails, but it was the initial reaction he got from all of us that fueled him to write more, which lead him down a path to destruction.
My takeaway from the experience was this: There's humor and there's sarcasm. We need the first in the workplace, but not necessarily the second. Being funny at work isn't a problem, as long as you're not sarcastic.
What are your thoughts? Do the sarcastic people in your company cross boundries at times? How do you respond to them? Is there room for sarcasm in the workplace? Does using sarcasm put your career at risk?
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There you are: sitting on the beach, covered in sunscreen, reading your favorite book, drinking your favorite drink under the cool shade of an umbrella. Life doesn't get any better than this. Suddenly, a door slams, a phone rings, a printer turns on. You jolt back into consciousness. You're at work, sitting in your cubicle, without even a hint of sunshine streaming in from outside.
When you're working a full-time job, finding time to enjoy the warm, bright summer weather can be a challenge. This is especially true for young professionals, as many of them are used to having summers off (or, at the very least, having a flexible summer schedule). But there's no need to feel trapped behind your cubicle walls. Go out and enjoy summer!
Here are a few tips for making the most of your summer while working full time.
1. Grab Some Foldable Chairs
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Keep a couple of foldable camping chairs at the office so you and a co-worker can catch some rays during lunch—whether it's in the park or the parking lot.
2. Keep A Beach Bag In Your Car
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Keep a bag full of summer supplies for your favorite summer activities. Having a bag (or, in my case, a backseat) full of towels, sunscreen, and swimwear keeps you prepared for anything. Friends hitting up the pool after work? You're covered. Once the clock strikes five, you can head to your destination of choice immediately.
3. Plan An Office Outing
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Plan an office field trip to the beach, the park, or the pool. Just do something fun so your brain can recharge and refresh!
4. Organize Group Walks
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Get a bunch of co-workers together and go on regular walks around town during lunch. (Or you could suggest a quick jaunt over to the ice cream shop.) This is a great way to get some fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.
5. Eat Lunch At The Park
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When you find yourself eating out, hit up places with a deck, porch, or patio of some sort. Obviously, eating out every day isn't really a feasible option for most of us, so look into alternative ideas as well. Pack a lunch and hit the park for your own little picnic.
6. Organize Office Sports
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Whether it's setting up an official office sports team or just hanging out with your colleagues a few times a week, playing sports is a great way to get out and enjoy the weather. Have a field nearby? Try setting up some slow-pitch softball games. Or see if you can get a basketball hoop for the office so you and a few co-workers can shoot some hoops at lunch.
7. Join A Professional Group
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During the summer, professional networking groups often have fun events like harbor cruises, pub crawls, and outdoor mixers. Find a professional group in your area and make networking fun this summer.
8. Have An Office BBQ
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Get your grill on! Talk to your boss about setting up an office BBQ. Ask everyone to contribute their favorite dish, side, or drink. Fire up the grill and relax! Hey, it's summer after all.
9. Wake Up Early
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Yes, yes, I know...waking up early is an incredibly painful and unbearable experience for some of us, but waking up even an hour earlier has its benefits—especially in the summer. Go for a morning run, putter around in the garden, or watch the sunrise with a loved one. Talk about starting the day off right!
10. Strategically Use Your Time Off
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Strategically use your vacation days around holidays. This way, you can make a potentially long weekend longer without having to use too much of your precious vacation time. Half days are also pretty awesome. It's amazing how much you can do with four extra hours! If you want an early weekend but don't want to burn up your vacation days too quickly, try taking a half day on a Friday instead of using a full day off.
11. Bike To Work
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If you're one of the lucky few who live within walking or biking distance of work, take advantage of it! Not only will you get plenty of fresh air, but you'll also save money on gas, which is always a plus!
There are plenty of easy ways to enjoy summer when you work a full-time job. So this summer, try out a few of these ideas and make the most of the sunshine and warm weather—while they're still around!
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