Small Business and Home Office Blog April Archive blog.topic  

Here's a way to spice up your office. Pick two or three colleagues and agree to play the Office Game which awards points as follows:

ONE POINT

• Run one lap around the office at top speed. Walk sideways to the photocopier.
• Find the vacuum and start vacuuming around your desk.
• When they're not looking, pour most of someone's fresh cup of coffee into your mug leaving them with an inch of brew.
• Ignore the first five people who say 'good morning' to you.
• Phone someone in the office you barely know, leave your name and say "Just called to say I can't talk right now. Bye."
• To signal the end of a conversation, clamp your hands over your ears and grimace.
• While riding an elevator, gasp dramatically every time the doors open.

THREE-POINTS

• Babble incoherently at a fellow employee then ask "Did you get all that, I don't want to have to repeat it." - Double points if you do this to a manager.
• Kneel in front of the water cooler and drink directly from the nozzle.
• Shout random numbers while someone is counting.

FIVE POINTS

• At the end of a meeting, suggest that, for once, it would be nice to conclude with the singing of the national anthem (extra points if you actually launch into it yourself).
• Walk into a very busy person's office and while they watch you with growing irritation, turn the light switch on/off 10 times.
• For an hour, refer to everyone you speak to as 'Bob'.
• Announce to everyone in a meeting that you "really have to go do number two".
• After every sentence, say 'mon' in a really bad Jamaican accent. As in, "the report's on your desk, mon". Keep this up for one hour.
• While an office mate is out, move their chair into the elevator.
• In a meeting or crowded situation, slap your forehead repeatedly and mutter, "Shut up, all of you just shut up!"
• In a colleague's diary, write in 10 am: "See how I look in tights".
• Carry your laptop over to your colleague and ask "You wanna trade?"
• Repeat the following conversation 10 times to the same person: "Do you hear that?" "What?" "Never mind, it's gone now"
• Come to work in army fatigues and when asked why, say, "I can't talk about it"
• Speak with an accent (French, German, Porky Pig, etc.) during a very important conference call.
• Tuck one pant leg into your sock and when queried, answer, "not now" and walk away.

TOP TEN EXCUSES FOR FALLING ASLEEP AT YOUR DESK

• "I wasn't sleeping, I was trying to pick up contact lens without hands."
• "I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm!"
• "Amen"
• "This is just a 15 minute power-nap like they raved about in the last time management course you sent me to."
• "Whew! Guess I left the top off the liquid paper"
• "I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work related stress."
• "This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people!"
• "Boy, that cold medicine I took last night just won't wear off!"
• "Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem."
• "They told me at the blood bank this might happen."

A young businessman had just started his own firm. He rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting there, he saw a man come into the outer office. Wishing to appear the hot shot, the businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working.

He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments. Finally he hung up and asked the visitor, "Can I help you?"

The man said, "Yeah, I've come to activate your phone lines."

A man flying a hot air balloon realizes he is lost. He reduces altitude and sees a man below. He shouts,- “Excuse me. Where am I?” The man below says, “You’re in a hot air balloon about 30 feet above this field.” “You must work in Information Technology,” says the balloonist. “That right, I do,” replies the man. “How did you know?” “Well,” says the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct, but of absolutely no use to me at this time.” The man below says, “You must be in business.” “I am,” replies the balloonist. “How did you know?” “Well,” says the man, “you don’t know where you are or where you’re going, but you expect me to be able to help. Now you’re in exactly the same position you were before we met, but now you’ve made it my fault!”