21 April 2005

avoiding eye contact in the corporate world

an extension on that thought yesterday of the lack of friendliness in new york city....

while sometimes i feel like the whole world is rude, i think my job is filled with way more rude people. i will be washing my hands at the sink next to other people at my job and they will not look at me. in the bathroom, it's silent; everyone is pee shy, and they don't breathe while applying lipliner. people will go out of their way to use a sink where they don't have to make eye contact. if they are next to you, they're stare at their appearance in the mirror, ignoring any timid smile attempts i may make.


no one goes out of their way to look at others, smile, say hello. if i do research for someone for two days and talk with them, discussing their research needs, and see them a week later--they don't even make eye contact. i can't deal with this. "this is a voicemail company," my boss told me when i started. people will send you a voicemail instead of calling; direct interaction is too scary.

i want to work someplace where you say hi to everyone in the hallways, where laughing and smiling among
coworkers--even during small talk, is common.

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