Overheard

Tenet #547 of Office Etiquette: Overhearing what is said on the other side of a cubicle wall, no matter how audible, is simply Not Done. At my last job, my office mate and I used to peep surreptitiously down the hall, close the door, and discuss our Deep Dark Secrets in whispers.

Not the Head Honcho, but the #2 guy (the Neck Honcho?) visited our division today. You'd think we were having the Queen Mother to tea. Preparatory staff meetings have been held for over a week. Emails have been sent out. We were instructed to dress nicely, to do a particularly good job of cleaning our work areas, to look nice and busy, and to be prepared to explain what it is, exactly, that we do around here.

Shortly before his arrival, I decided to empty all the chads out of the three-hole punch (which is at least forty years old - its brand name is "Improved Hummer," which always makes me schnork with suppressed hilarity). On the way from my desk to my recycling can, the bottom fell off. Tiny round pieces of confetti went everywhere. I promptly dissolved into laughter; but the coworker who was making the rounds of the floor to make sure everything was tidy was not amused. Chastened, I swept them all up. This was no joking matter.

#2 ultimately did not make it to my cube, but our section director did introduce two of my cohorts to his attention. They chatted very briefly and then moved on. The woman on the other side of the cubicle partition from me was absolutely livid. She simply couldn't believe that she and her people got passed up in favor of a couple of people in my department. You'd think the section director had run over her dog. I was a little shocked at how upset she, and the other lady she was talking to, were.

Girls. He's just a Neck Honcho. Get over it.

How great a violation of workplace etiquette will it be if I discuss this with my departmental cohorts at break tomorrow? How about if I just blog about it and casually give them the link?