Stories from the office

There is a saying associated with the world of work that states: be nice to the people you meet on the way up, because you will meet them again on your way down. Perhaps, but the following true story shows that maybe one doesn’t always have to wait that long, and that being decent to others in general… is the best policy. Some years ago, when I worked at a civic centre (county hall) for one of the London Boroughs, I came under the jurisdiction of a very difficult senior manager, well unfortunately we all did in my office. He was naturally remote and austere in character, and in his dealings with others, aloof and patronizing. But he was at his worse with those well down the hierarchy, such as our admin assistants etc, these were treated like his personal servants. Indeed, I can state with some confidence that he was almost universally hated by the majority of staff below managerial level.

Now like most offices, and council offices are no exception, morning and afternoon tea is a very important tradition; in fact, during my 15.5 years’ service as a principal officer I made tea for our inner circle twice a day, most days and became very proficient at it. It could be said that it was the only important skill I ever learnt there. Of course, as is often the case, mugs were the individual’s property, and their condition and cleanliness solely depended upon that individual. Well this apparently applied to everyone other than our manager in question, he had the habit of building up a collection of between 8 to 10 mugs by using one a day, and when all were dirty the office junior, a decent young man, always ready to help, and of course not in a strong position to refuse, was told to wash them up. Now, this was by no stretch of the imagination his job, yet he dutifully did it week after week. On one such occasion, a colleague of mine catching him with the tray in hand asked about it, and without compulsion the lad stated, ‘oh, I wash them up, when I do my mug… the only difference is… his are rinsed down the toilet!’ We at the time all thought that was great, and of course his secret was safe with us. But, agree with it or not… it certainly should have one thinking carefully about how you treat others. Because it seems you never know what revenge they are taking behind your back!