I used to work in a law office with about 70 people on the building’s seventh floor. Near the photocopier was a window-side table with a river view, on which the coffee maker rested. As a weight control strategy, people would bring unwanted junk food from home and leave it on the table.
Thank you for writing this. When the lockdowns finally ended, it was obvious that society had been dipped in carbolic acid. The office culture at my place of employment disappeared entirely. We used to go to lunch together, go out for beers on Fridays. All that was gone. For a while we did 'zoom happy hours' to try and replicate the experience online, but as awkward as that was it inevitably petered out after a few months. There was a cafe near the office that formed the nucleus for an organic, ad hoc community of its own; that died, too.
Dearest Mark. So poignantly written. I met my best friend at work almost 40 years ago when we could only imagine such a tragic time as this. I can’t bear to think of not having her in my life. She has helped shape me into the woman I am today. My heart breaks for all the people that may never experience a friendship like this.
You were blessed to experience such an enjoyable work experience. I pray that our youth will one day have that opportunity.
I enjoyed this so much! Somehow your pumpkin story reminded me of Wilson in the Tom Hanks' film Cast Away. We all need human connection to feel alive, and will make one up or wither and die.
The daughter of a close friend graduated college and began her work life sitting alone in her parents' dining room on zoom for many hours each day. This went on for over 18 months. She never met her bosses or co-workers in person. The result of this sentence of solitary confinement for a beautiful and vibrant 21 year-old was that she had a nervous breakdown, from which she is now slowly recovering.
I am disgusted by the WAH class who sat cozily at home in their sweatpants with their significant others, having everything delivered , who gave no thought to an entire generation of young people who were denied the opportunity to make the human connections that could have made it more bearable.
I have worked independently, from a home office, for many years now. The decision was made originally to accommodate life with preteens and teens. It allowed me to be more present in their young lives. However, I have regretted what I lost by leaving an interactive office and the longer I have worked this way, the more I feel that loss.
Early on in 2020 when it seemed that everyone was so pro about working remotely I wondered how long it would take to also recognize the downsides and long term losses. I especially think it not a good thing for young persons starting a career. It is quite sad that we are living such isolated lives.
This resonates deeply. I could write an essay in response … about my community college job I used to love, about my own fears for my teenagers’ futures, about the book club that no longer meets.
So on point Mark. Office life was such a big portion of our lives previously. Friendships, personal contact and romances have been lost to this scamdemic. While I don’t miss the daily commute to work, it was my knitting and reading time. I really miss the organic contact and conversation that office life brought. It has allowed me to vacate northern jersey as I type this from my new home and next week home-office in the same job, I will have to find a new way to meet people here.
Fun piece here Mark, with a compelling conclusion, as I expected! I’m a lawyer too. I chuckled out loud reading about the food. Lawyers LOVE free food. That alone should keep them coming back to the office.
I started working from home almost 20 years ago, and I have really enjoyed being home. My old commutes were about 45 min one way, and I never liked having to work 'normal hours' as my mornings are more sacred to me, and would be spent on the freeway and then inside a big artificially lit office with ceiling vents that usually spewed cold air when I was already cold. And essentially what I do (drafting) can be done anywhere. I figure I am working to essentially pay for my house, and I would rather BE HERE more, and not less. And I eat much better, save alot by never buying lunch, which I usually would buy out when I worked out. Also, I am very sensitive to noises and external distractions to the point of not getting much done with what most would consider average distractions. Home work is good for me and I am sticking with it! Much happier and more productive.
Your stories have that LIFE vibration to them, they remind us of the goodness and openness in which we previously could do ordinary things which would give us joy. Just being normal, with its ups and downs, feeling of being in life. One or two children's books year ago used to capture this golden feeling, which permeates your writing Mark, thank you.
My first job was in a federal court clerk’s office. The Chief Deputy was a country girl as salty as the Pacific Ocean. I’m quite sure that she never spent an hour inside a college classroom in her entire life, but she’d risen to the top position because she was simply excellent.
She was brimming with country bromides like “If you like it, I love it” (pronounced with a very small town country twang) meaning “You do it as you see fit, here’s my official concurrence to your plan” and “Sweatin’ like a whore in church.” Many of her other sayings were unprintable in a family newspaper, at least in those more civilized days.
Truth be told, I probably wasn’t her biggest fan when I started there. We were different in every possible way - socially, politically, religiously, educationally.
The chief judge’s permanent law clerk (a lifelong batchelor) was even further removed from the Chief Deputy’s personality. He was reserved where she was brash, reticent where she was foul-mouthed. He listened to Bach, she liked Reba (McIntyre). But over the years those two unlikely confidants became the closest of close friends.
I miss those people so much. I miss the American office too.
I was watching a major league baseball game yesterday- a Master Sergeant with a chest full of medals sang "God Bless America". His voice was beautiful- it had passion and empathy- I confess I had a tear run down my cheek. I so want to believe that the old America still exists, but it's so hard to see anymore- little snippets of the America I remember from the 50's and 60's is all I can muster. Mark, your storytelling is superior, even though your clearly frustrated and angry. Deep down, you're an optimist, I just know it. Keep writing what you feel- a bunch of us are gonna read and reflect on your stories and maybe laugh out loud- and maybe things can turn around. Keep em coming!
Working in Manhattan on "Madison Avenue" during the first half of my career was an experience I wouldn't trade for the world. The spontaneous in-person sharing of ideas was—and still is—critical to the success of any creative industry. Also, staring at the Chrysler Building or watching the QE2 glide up the Hudson past the Statue of Liberty from your office at sunset (check and check) cannot be replaced by any screen saver.
You are an outstanding writer, if you haven't figured that out already.
Thank you for writing this. When the lockdowns finally ended, it was obvious that society had been dipped in carbolic acid. The office culture at my place of employment disappeared entirely. We used to go to lunch together, go out for beers on Fridays. All that was gone. For a while we did 'zoom happy hours' to try and replicate the experience online, but as awkward as that was it inevitably petered out after a few months. There was a cafe near the office that formed the nucleus for an organic, ad hoc community of its own; that died, too.
The joy has been sucked out of life.
Dearest Mark. So poignantly written. I met my best friend at work almost 40 years ago when we could only imagine such a tragic time as this. I can’t bear to think of not having her in my life. She has helped shape me into the woman I am today. My heart breaks for all the people that may never experience a friendship like this.
You were blessed to experience such an enjoyable work experience. I pray that our youth will one day have that opportunity.
God bless you for sharing this beautiful story.
I enjoyed this so much! Somehow your pumpkin story reminded me of Wilson in the Tom Hanks' film Cast Away. We all need human connection to feel alive, and will make one up or wither and die.
The daughter of a close friend graduated college and began her work life sitting alone in her parents' dining room on zoom for many hours each day. This went on for over 18 months. She never met her bosses or co-workers in person. The result of this sentence of solitary confinement for a beautiful and vibrant 21 year-old was that she had a nervous breakdown, from which she is now slowly recovering.
I am disgusted by the WAH class who sat cozily at home in their sweatpants with their significant others, having everything delivered , who gave no thought to an entire generation of young people who were denied the opportunity to make the human connections that could have made it more bearable.
I have worked independently, from a home office, for many years now. The decision was made originally to accommodate life with preteens and teens. It allowed me to be more present in their young lives. However, I have regretted what I lost by leaving an interactive office and the longer I have worked this way, the more I feel that loss.
Early on in 2020 when it seemed that everyone was so pro about working remotely I wondered how long it would take to also recognize the downsides and long term losses. I especially think it not a good thing for young persons starting a career. It is quite sad that we are living such isolated lives.
This resonates deeply. I could write an essay in response … about my community college job I used to love, about my own fears for my teenagers’ futures, about the book club that no longer meets.
So on point Mark. Office life was such a big portion of our lives previously. Friendships, personal contact and romances have been lost to this scamdemic. While I don’t miss the daily commute to work, it was my knitting and reading time. I really miss the organic contact and conversation that office life brought. It has allowed me to vacate northern jersey as I type this from my new home and next week home-office in the same job, I will have to find a new way to meet people here.
Fun piece here Mark, with a compelling conclusion, as I expected! I’m a lawyer too. I chuckled out loud reading about the food. Lawyers LOVE free food. That alone should keep them coming back to the office.
Peels of laughter. Thanks 🎃
I started working from home almost 20 years ago, and I have really enjoyed being home. My old commutes were about 45 min one way, and I never liked having to work 'normal hours' as my mornings are more sacred to me, and would be spent on the freeway and then inside a big artificially lit office with ceiling vents that usually spewed cold air when I was already cold. And essentially what I do (drafting) can be done anywhere. I figure I am working to essentially pay for my house, and I would rather BE HERE more, and not less. And I eat much better, save alot by never buying lunch, which I usually would buy out when I worked out. Also, I am very sensitive to noises and external distractions to the point of not getting much done with what most would consider average distractions. Home work is good for me and I am sticking with it! Much happier and more productive.
No story book ending designed into this system.
Your stories have that LIFE vibration to them, they remind us of the goodness and openness in which we previously could do ordinary things which would give us joy. Just being normal, with its ups and downs, feeling of being in life. One or two children's books year ago used to capture this golden feeling, which permeates your writing Mark, thank you.
“As a weight control strategy, people would bring unwanted junk food from home and leave it on the table.”
I am seeing a potential flaw in this strategy.
My first job was in a federal court clerk’s office. The Chief Deputy was a country girl as salty as the Pacific Ocean. I’m quite sure that she never spent an hour inside a college classroom in her entire life, but she’d risen to the top position because she was simply excellent.
She was brimming with country bromides like “If you like it, I love it” (pronounced with a very small town country twang) meaning “You do it as you see fit, here’s my official concurrence to your plan” and “Sweatin’ like a whore in church.” Many of her other sayings were unprintable in a family newspaper, at least in those more civilized days.
Truth be told, I probably wasn’t her biggest fan when I started there. We were different in every possible way - socially, politically, religiously, educationally.
The chief judge’s permanent law clerk (a lifelong batchelor) was even further removed from the Chief Deputy’s personality. He was reserved where she was brash, reticent where she was foul-mouthed. He listened to Bach, she liked Reba (McIntyre). But over the years those two unlikely confidants became the closest of close friends.
I miss those people so much. I miss the American office too.
I was watching a major league baseball game yesterday- a Master Sergeant with a chest full of medals sang "God Bless America". His voice was beautiful- it had passion and empathy- I confess I had a tear run down my cheek. I so want to believe that the old America still exists, but it's so hard to see anymore- little snippets of the America I remember from the 50's and 60's is all I can muster. Mark, your storytelling is superior, even though your clearly frustrated and angry. Deep down, you're an optimist, I just know it. Keep writing what you feel- a bunch of us are gonna read and reflect on your stories and maybe laugh out loud- and maybe things can turn around. Keep em coming!
Working in Manhattan on "Madison Avenue" during the first half of my career was an experience I wouldn't trade for the world. The spontaneous in-person sharing of ideas was—and still is—critical to the success of any creative industry. Also, staring at the Chrysler Building or watching the QE2 glide up the Hudson past the Statue of Liberty from your office at sunset (check and check) cannot be replaced by any screen saver.