Just a quick humor post this week.  This was inspired by a work colleague a few years ago and dusted off the shelf for some fun.

OFFICE ETTIQUETTE – TRASH CANS

THE SCENARIO:  It’s 9am and your colleague arrives in your office for the meeting with an apple and coffee cup in hand.  He proceeds to devour the forbidden fruit as you explain the issue de jour, slobbering a bit as he washes this breakfast supplement down with a hearty swig of swag coffee.  After a brief discussion, you watch in horror as the backwash laced coffee cup and saliva infused apple core are deposited in your trash can and your colleague heads to the head.

THE QUESTION:  Is this legit/cool/kosher?

THE ANSWER:  Absolutely NOT.  Your co-worker has violated your personal space by depositing his slobber-soaked waste in your office trash, leaving it to slowly rot and fester throughout the day as you try in vain to ignore it.  No, my friend, this practice should not be tolerated.  It is your trash can, not a dumping place for others’ waste.  If you fear conflict, here are some helpful tips:

1. Hide your can under the desk far away from the door (though this can seriously backfire with a persistent guest);
2. Make meeting times with an offender later in the day to reduce the risk of “snacking” or to at least reduce the time his waste sits in your office;
3. Make a joke about how nasty a day old apple core or banana peel smells;
4. If all else fails, meet in his office and bring with you a slab of liverwurst and limburger cheese which you casually discard in his can after a brief discourse.

NEXT ISSUE:  The used tissue…