Allow me to set the scenario: every day you get to work, you exchange the usual good mornings with your colleagues, ask each other about the day’s schedule, then nestle yourself at your desk. Then for most of us, it’s about an hour of checking our personal emails first and surfing the Internet, before we get any real work done. Sometimes we take a detour to the pantry and get our morning coffee/tea/whatever. Now comes the situation: you cross paths with a colleague that you’ve already greeted when you got to the office earlier that morning, and it’s not someone you’re close to. What do you do? Do you:
A. Give a sheepish smile
B. Just walk past the person without any acknowledgement
C. Raise an eyebrow/wink
D. Groan “I’m tired”
E. Say a quick “Hey” or “Hello”
F. Something else
I don’t know about you, but this moment never fails to seem awkward to me. See, if it was someone you’re real chummy with, you could always whine/gossip, but I really don’t know how to react to people whom I only speak to in passing. And if you pass by this same person more than once, are you just gonna keep saying “Hey”? Am I the only person who’s bugged by this?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
you’re not alone! but i’ll normally pick options D or E. Or just talk about the weather. That’s a common topic haha
Haha I think about that too! I normally just give another smile or say “hey” if it has been more than 1 hour since I’ve greeted him or her. Hahaha.
SO good to know I’m not the only one who thinks about this. Makes me feel… normal. Heh.
But YES! Weather! I could totally use that. Thanks, Dia! :p
well, you could also:
- nod/ tilt your head in a way of acknowledging his/her presence but do not wish to carry on a conversation;
- smile and just walk pass (usually it’s a ‘fake’ smile)
> but i guess it depends. if it happens on a Monday then I’ll prob go for B.
but if it happens on a thu/fri, then perhaps C? haha…
So true. I think I find a lot of awkward-ity even in non-awkward situations … but anyway, it’s a toss-sup between A, B and E. Usually it’s E unless the other person decides to do B, in which case I follow suit.