"Hello, this is Frank. <silence for 15 seconds> What's wrong? When did it start? How bad is it? Is it really that bad? Well, let me take a look and I will get back to you. Goodbye." This was a real telephone conversation that I overheard many years ago when a programmer I worked with received a phone call - obviously from an irate customer. It didn't sound good. Sitting at the desk behind Frank was Derrick. Derrick was new. Derrick had just moved his first project into production. Derrick was sitting at his desk, his chair spun around, staring at Frank, his eyes like saucers, and fear etched on his face.
Frank hung up the phone, turned around, looked at Derrick, and with a straight face and a monotone voice said, "It was a wrong number." What a classic "gotcha!" The look on Derrick's face was priceless!
Why am I telling this story? Because too often we take our work too seriously. We should be able to have fun at the workplace. I know there are places and situations where joking around is totally inappropriate. But the workplace shouldn't always resemble a morgue.
Think about it. When you go out with your friends, don't you joke around with them? Don't you look forward to those times? What if our workplace was like that? What if we built friendships like Frank and Derrick built (they became best friends very quickly)? Frank made work fun. And trust me, he received more "gotchas" than almost anyone at work! Our unit had fun, morale was high, and productivity was even higher! We all looked forward to going to work. Doesn't that sound like the kind of job you would like to have? We can have that kind of job - if we just loosen up a bit, strive to build relationships that turn our co-workers into our friends, and have fun together while we work.
