Work Place Impressions

[BJCooperIT]

As I sat down this morning, I noticed my desk and monitor were getting rather dirty so I pulled out my bottle of cleaner and got busy. Then I flipped over my keyboard and shook out a disgusting amount of crumbs (I like pretzels). As a consultant, I usually eat at my desk since the employees at my client site do not ask me to join them in the cafeteria.

This started me wondering, what sort of impression do we make in the workplace by:

1. Isolating ourselves socially (something IT folks are prone to do occasionally)

2. Keeping a messy work space (think: half eaten bags of chips, empty soda cans, dirty coffee cups, general filth)

Do we perpetuate our own IT stereotype of the guy hunched over a keyboard, talking to himself, surrounded by stacks of papers, manuals and yesterday's fast food trash?

^{Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw}
Consultant Developer/Analyst Oracle, Forms, Reports & PL/SQL (Windows)
My website: Emu Products Plus

 

[SamBones]

So you came out of the closet, so to speak.

 

[tsdragon]

I hate the "geek" stereotype! So much so that I often go out of my way to counteract it. I usually wear black jeans and black cowboy boots. I have three tattoos on my arms. I'm very sociable. I express myself well verbally. I eat at my desk only because my company is too small to have an actual "lunchroom". I don't leave food wrappers or empty cups anywhere except in the trash can. I rarely carry a pen in my pocket (the cigarettes take up too much room). I do have a lot of papers on my desk, but they're not TOO messy, and I usually know where to find what I want. Do I succeed? I don't know. Do I help to counteract the stereotype? I hope so.

Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[SilentAiche]

Do I help to counteract the stereotype? I hope so.

Er, yes. Definitely. From a GeekFest05 survivor.

You and Chopstik tied for "most unexpected" last weekend in Richmond. You are both amazing in your generosity; however, it was TS (and Higgins) who most helped me get over my "Thin Skin" days after I joined TT. Thus, I'm still here.

As to the topic: my desk has never been neat; however, I can always find what I'm looking for.

Tim

[blue]______________________________________________________________
I love logging onto Tek-Tips. It's always so exciting to see what the hell I
said yesterday. [/blue]

 

[SteveGlo]

I have worked with 2 IT professionals who suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) of which one sympton was extreme tidiness (wiping desks with antibacterial wipes, lining papers up with set-square precision, etc).

Another category of IT Geek perhaps - I have not worked with any non-IT OCD sufferers.

I myself have always been scruffy - I think Einstein got it right.

 

[Toshilap]

SilentAche,
mine says : I finally got it all together and forgot where I put it.

 

[gmmastros]

Other than a messy desk, I probably don't fit the steroetype either.

One of my co-workers has an odd behavior that I'll share. He admits to being OCD. He owns 14 pairs of clothes that are all identical. He buys 14 pairs of pants at the same time (brown khakis). 14 black sweaters. 14 pairs of socks. He does laundry every week but has 2 weeks worth of clothes just in case it takes a couple days to get access to the washing machine. He claims to do this so that he doesn't have to think about what to wear.

When I attended college (many years ago), one of my Physics professors owned 2 outfits. On Monday's class, you could tell that the clothes he wore were relatively clean. By Wednesday's class, a stain or 2 may appear. By Friday's class, Wednesday's stains would still be there with the addition of a couple more stains.

-George

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause. - Fortune cookie wisdom

 

[Toshilap]

1. Isolating ourselves socially (something IT folks are prone to do occasionally)

2. Keeping a messy work space (think: half eaten bags of chips, empty soda cans, dirty coffee cups, general filth)

3. Being very social and funny even in professional forums during working hours.

4. Surprisingly!!! having a past in fast food chains and army even and freely sharing it with strangers (in professional forums during working hours)

5. Working harder then others and sharing it in professional forums during working hours

I finally got it all together and forgot where I put it.

 

[Trevoke]

Mufasa, you are my hero this week. I request permission to quote your post verbatim in my LJ. (ack! stereotypes!!oneone!)

Unsocial? Me? Nah, I bicker all the time with the chief engineer.
Messy workspace? I dunno, I see a screwdriver, a pile of blank CDs, a phone, four computers, no, five, no, six.. Okay, many computers, a few monitors, some books, some printouts, a listing of dental care professionals (you know, dentists!) and .. A toy from thinkgeek. ...
I'm dressed in slack pants, just got custom LASIK done, so I did away with my glasses, and I usually have Old Navy stuff on me, but I have no idea how that should make me look.

-Haben sie fosforos?
-No tiengo caballero, but I have un briquet.

 

[ChrisHunt]

what sort of impression do we make in the workplace

<leslie neilsen>I'm an IT consultant, I don't do impressions</leslie neilsen>

-- Chris Hunt
Webmaster & Tragedian
Extra Connections Ltd

 

[Dollie]

All I know now is that I want to go see SantaMufasa next time he has a speaking engagement!

Sounds like a much better show than watching the latest version of Windows bluescreen during the intial demo!

Woowoo!

 

[SantaMufasa]

Actually, I don't do speaking engagements anymore, Dollie. I've become a mime....And I'm always fully booked because all of my customers believe that 'a mime is a terrible thing to waste'. <grin>

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[

http://www.dasages.com:

Providing low-cost remote Database Admin services]
Click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips if you use Oracle in Utah USA.

 

[Dollie]

<groan>

 

[Trevoke]

A mime certainly is a terrible thing to waste, especially in this industry; you must be tremendously skilled in the art of hand-waving your way through an explanation.

-Haben sie fosforos?
-No tiengo caballero, but I have un briquet.

 

[tsdragon]

Miming a demo of windows is easy, all it takes it three fingers.

Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[Dollie]

Miming the response to the demo only takes one finger....

(insert rim shot here)

 

[JediBMC]

My son's pediatric neurologist claims (about 3/4-seriously) that "Computer Geek Syndrome" is actually a mild form of autism. And she makes a compelling argument. We're talking about something where the victim has problems socializing, difficulty expressing himself verbally, and strong preferences for formal systems that don't support a lot of exceptions to rules. The question is, does the previous sentence describe a computer geek or a person with autism?

Your child's neurologist has made an amazingly accurate assessment. In "Silicon Valley" there is an extremely high percentage of cases of both Autism and Asperger's Syndrome. Many researchers attribute the high number of adults falling in the Autism spectrum in that area to they needed for analytically creative minds, something people with Autism seem to posess.

Oh, and my desk is always a mess... but, like many things in my life, it is an organized chaos.



-Brian-
I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV.