Pleasures of slacking

At work these days, I take a break in the morning to read the daily paper. This is in addition to the lunch break. These times, I mostly like to get away from my workspace and park myself in the office lunchroom.

I hugely enjoy these breaks, not least because it is coming after what I like to call my ‘winter of discontent’ at work – a complex assignment that demanded obscenely long hours. The work cafeteria has glass walls that overlook the office. During these breaks (and this has nothing, at least consciously, to do with the glass walls), I make an elaborate deal of it – lay out the New Yorker and my lunch and splay myself comfortably. (Splaying by the way is not the best way to eat or do anything except if the objective is to just splay). And then the fun starts.

This morning for example, two lovely ladies were discussing dance and treated me to some ballet steps they had learned. That led to a discussion about Julliard and Save the Last dance and the merits of Julia Stiles as an actress {"Gorgeous and also strikes you as an intellectual". "Yale educated but did you know, hush, that she now appears in a risqué television series about lesbians?”}. It’s the sort of fun conversation you would never think an office set-up could afford you.

And then the flawless women and men (not necessarily beautiful, because it’s the flaws that make one beautiful) who hang around waiting for their name to be called and their time under the lights. {I work for a company that does media as part of the final service we offer to our clients}. It’s a great way to network for the future {“did you know about this new TV series that is all male-cast, but with all female roles?”} besides earning money for the day.

Not to mention, the discussion around food and cooking and diet {I’m still in the kitchen, remember?}. These are the ones I enjoy the most and in keeping with that give here a free-flowing, un-bracketed writing treatment.
“Nothing like carrot cake. It’s probably the best-kept secret in the cooking and binging world.” “Oh, well. I remember the cappuccino more from when I’ve had carrot cake”.
“Fruit diets work best when it’s not taken in addition to the regular cheese and fries diet”.
“I love coconut in my food.” “That does not even belong in the kitchen.”

And then there are the politically-incorrect office crushes and romances. Politically incorrect because the organization has not driven you to distraction enough with work to bury hopes of any spring fling and such. The timed entries. The furtive glances. And meals shared in silence in the backdrop of an adoring audience.

It's also amazing how at times an inspired work-related decision will happen just as you’re polishing off those fries or sipping that ginseng tea {"Why not apply that work flow to this new project and make it a standard, if it flies?"}.

As I leave a semblance of heaven and head back to more drudgery, I can’t help thinking about offices with lunchrooms. And those without. And how that is likely to be a deal breaker for me when I look for another job. Whatever ails the modern enterprise, it must be said how Sisyphean a task it is to keep employees engaged. To those, I provide advise gratis – you can never go wrong with a break room (ok, ok, lunchroom) having glass walls.

As I conclude this blog, it occurs to me how irrelevant the title is to the content of the blog. Because after all, work breaks can’t be considered slacking, right?