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Of course, these are again our everyday, behind-the-scenes work sketches. Some things never change over the years: lunchtime and dinnertime. On roughly the same schedule, at about the same time, colleagues who need assistance are escorted to the dining hall. Today one of the coworkers asked me whether it’s time yet to escort people to lunch. She has been here for several years, if that matters. I looked at her and asked: 'What time is lunch?' Her teammate responded irritably that it would be better to just answer 'yes' or 'no.' Sure. Then I checked the time on my phone and thought: it’s time to move and share the good news with my colleague that lunch is about to start, rather than dragging our feet. But she immediately started acting almost sarcastically: asking questions like 'Is it already time to take people to lunch?', 'Can we escort them back?', 'What time is it now?', 'Do we need to check the diaper if the person asks?', and so on. Overall it became clear that some people think this isn’t a good trait. I’m not against sarcasm, but here it’s really considered inappropriate. I had been thinking of telling the managers, 'There’s nothing wrong with simply asking,' but apparently no one complains. In the end I ended up with the label 'sarcastic person.' No, I don’t see sarcasm as inherently bad myself; it’s just how it’s viewed here. I’d keep chasing the managers with questions like, 'Is it time to escort to lunch?', 'Can we escort them back?', 'What time is it?', 'Do we need to check the diaper if the person asks?' etc. For now I’m stuck with this label.
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tatyana
I was asked what time it was by the female students who had worked this summer at the school camp.
On the wall there is a clock with hands and dots instead of numbers. Specifically, only the numbers 12, 3, 6, and 9 are shown.
I looked at it, at the clock, waited a couple of seconds, and answered.
When the third person asked, I couldn’t hold back any longer and politely asked why they weren’t looking at the clock — it’s right there on the wall; perhaps their eyesight is poor.
No, my hunch was confirmed: they don’t read clocks like this.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
tatyana Haha) I had this happen in my first boarding house: a young colleague sat next to me by the wall clock and kept asking what time it was. We were working on documentation that required writing the date and time first, so he kept nudging me. I answered a couple times automatically, and then I demonstratively looked at the clock right in front of us and told him to open his eyes — it turned out he didn’t understand clocks like that either. This is different, though: we all have devices in our pockets, and all of these devices display the time digitally. No, why would anyone reach into their pocket again when there’s me to ask?
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tatyana
tatyana Devices were banned for them, and fines were even introduced because they kept using them all the time. But I'm a tutor, so I know the school curriculum: in second grade there’s a whole section about clocks with hands and tests on them. Apparently it didn’t stick.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
tatyana We have devices that are strictly for work—the documentation is stored on them, so everyone uses them. Personal devices aren’t allowed either.
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Yana
If I were replying, I would ask what time it is right now.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Yana I haven't gotten to this question yet—sorry about that ))
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Gavrish Oksana
tatyana Yes, modern children.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
tatyana Unfortunately, my daughter says that there are many in her school who don't understand. Well, since all the parents are okay with it, to heck with them.
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Veronika
tatyana At school, they teach time using 'ordinary' clocks. My kids, in kindergarten, have also learned to tell time by reading analog clocks.
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Gavrish Oksana
Maybe she could use a bit more company? 😂 It would be nice if someone could chat with her. Is it time to chat? How about talking about the weather?
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Veronika
I have a colleague who will happily come over from the neighboring desk to ask a question so simple that it's almost embarrassing 🥴.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
tatyana They're not teaching; they're just lecturing. And whether the kids have learned anything or not—who cares?
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Gavrish Oksana Not at all—that's for sure)) We're running around in such a rush at work that even when we're home, we don't really feel like talking) It's just a habit of asking about everything.
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Gavrish Oksana
Gavrish Oksana That's an unusual habit. We should be focused on work, but they're chatting away.
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tatyana
tatyana We're learning with clock-face diagrams, and they've just added a five-point scoring system to them 😁
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tatyana
Veronika Please gift her Alex, and let them communicate.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Veronika Here’s the thing, just without offices)) Sometimes questions make your eyebrows lift on their own: it feels primitive, like something from day two of an internship… One of the reasons I left the seniors is that there I seemed to be obliged to answer everything for everyone—otherwise it would look like a rookie asked a higher-up for help and was ignored. And if some mistake happened, the senior would be blamed for not paying due attention. But now we’re in the same role, with almost identical experience and for the same pay—why should I know more? And if the question were truly debatable, I would help as much as I can, but this...((
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Gavrish Oksana It all comes down to responsibility: not making the decision, but following the advice — it's always possible to shift the responsibility onto someone else if something goes wrong. And since it was this very responsibility that I ran away from, I couldn't care less about it — I'd rather stay among the sarcastic ranks :)
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Olga
Honestly, I shouldn’t have to write again, but this is just who I am 😁🙈
My husband is like that, and my daughter has picked up the habit too. It’s so annoying.
I’ve been trying to explain, with leading questions, that it’s not that hard to do it yourself.
But he gets mad—what’s so hard about saying yes or no? 🙄😡
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Olga My daughter also talks about this topic from time to time. I can respond the first time, but I don’t want to keep repeating the same thing over and over.
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sofia namgaladze
Well, that's fine. You don't have to please everyone. And she, if she has any sense, might rethink this.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
sofia namgaladze Talking with her later was fine, but her partner spent about an hour showing everyone how hard it is to be in the same room with me. I've long since grown tired of everyone being able to talk however they want — it’s read as 'this is the kind of person' — and I have to tolerate that personality. And when I show who I really am (even if only a little), surely someone will come along for whom I have to think a hundred times before I even open my mouth. So I plan potential conversations with management in advance, if needed. I’ll even learn to cry: let them know how much attacks upset me ))
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sofia namgaladze
sofia namgaladze Come on, keep going—develop your theatrical talents.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
sofia namgaladze Feeling cool 😎 and laughing out loud 😂😂.
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Gavrish Oksana
Gavrish Oksana There it is! 😂
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Veronika
Veronika She's got Siri 🤣🤣
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Veronika
Veronika It's so annoying 🤣🤣🤣
I've been on vacation since September 1, and I have to go back to work on the 15th. Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.
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Kristina
Haha, you look really beautiful.
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Irina
Well, you're now a regular employee, so you can respond with 'Ask the boss'.
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Yuliya Serkova
I can't imagine working in an environment where everyone rushes to report to the boss and to file a complaint.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Yuliya Serkova I'd also prefer not to introduce myself ))
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Why me, though?! :))
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Irina If I answered this particular question that way, people would also see it as sarcasm))
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Kristina I did my best to be as polite as possible, but I ended up sounding sarcastic ))
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Kristina
Kristina You're such a clever girl.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Veronika Sending you a warm hug and a bouquet of flowers. 🤗💐
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Veshnyakova Irina
You're not having much luck with the team.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Veshnyakova Irina I'm not having much luck in my search for a new job.
For over a year, I've been trying to switch to a different field, but nothing's worked.
Not having a car doesn't help, and even in supermarkets they ignore my resume.
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Veshnyakova Irina
Veshnyakova Irina That's really frustrating.
It seems that many jobs implicitly require a driver's license, even though you could realistically get by with public transportation.
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Pozdnyakova Yuliya
Veshnyakova Irina Considering my experience over the past year and a half, the truth is that owning a car would simply widen the list of places that would ignore my resume. Apparently I still have some karma to work through.
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