Office Bingo

Anyone who has worked in a white-collar field for even a minute will tell you that it can be the most soul-sucking, life draining, boring work on the planet, but somehow, every day, people survive it. How? A good sense of humor and a brain for passing time. You see, there are people who have been in an office setting for a while and they know that a little fun can go a long way in making payday arrive with less pain. For instance, a buddy of mine worked his way up to team lead at an office and every month he and his team had to attend a company-wide meeting. According to him, these meetings were so superfluous that you could literally play the last month’s meeting as a recording and you would not know the difference. So he decided to have a little fun with it. Every month, he would disperse a Bingo card full of events that could possibly happen during a meeting to his team and then as the meeting progressed they would have to mark off their squares. He said he got the idea from some Youtubers he watches. Unfortunately, some of the big wheels at the company got wind of it and made him stop, but I think it was a baller idea. For one, it really would help the time pass in a boring meeting if you had something to focus on besides your doodles or your hidden phone as you read Facebook. Moreover, in order to fill out the Bingo card, people actually had to pay attention to the meeting to see if any one particular square could be marked off. Heaven forbid, though, anyone having a little fun during an “important” meeting. I think work like that is a toxin that destroys the fun in people. It is not long before higher ups at an office begin to look like the pixies from The Fairly Odd Parents. Then once they reach full on Ben Stein voice, there is no way to not zone out in a meeting. So what is wrong with a little fun to make the time go by. Personally, I think all the up-tight losers of the world can stick it. I mean I am not saying we should all show up to work in a clown suit and pour water down each other’s pants, but a rubber snake in a desk drawer or some peanut butter in the paper clips, hell, even gift wrapping someone’s chair at Christmas time, can make a day at the office seem like a day at the fair. That not only makes the day go by quicker but it also can improve productivity. So have an office chair race, keep a betting pool at who will mess up first, and have a little fun. It may be surprising how nice the office becomes. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.