May 27, 2002

10:03 PM

Those family and pet photos relegated to office corkboards (and screensavers)"...make us feel that we are not separate from our kids; that we are still with them, and they with us, vivid, changeable, in the flesh. They are expressions of pride, yes, and love, yes, but also of guilt and longing....the office photo is an emblem not so much of achievement as of compromise, lurking worries, remembered joys...." I never realized I was so miserable at work.
posted by Voyageman (17 comments total)

To Liza Mundy and Washington Post: slow news day? What a load of hooey/waste of space.
posted by Lynsey at 10:22 PM on May 27, 2002

there have been too many slow news cycles lately, you'd almost forget we were at WAR! ;)
posted by rhyax at 10:24 PM on May 27, 2002

I have a friend who suspects that the more photos a man displays of his wife, the likelier it is that he's cheating.

Huh? Well, if that isn't the most offensive, cynical, stupid idea I've ever read! I hope that friend cries herself to sleep every night, on her big empty pillow, all alone in her loveless, mean, cold, embittered dream-world. God I just hate people like that. Geez.

That said, sure, this article is pretty true. I dated a girl for a long time who lived far, far away, and I had her pictures everywhere in a snapshotty manner (and no, I wasn't cheating on her!) around my desk. It made me feel all warm-and-fuzzy. Maybe it's just that people weren't allowed to do that before. But if I were being cynical, I would point to the fact that more workers than ever spend their days surrounded on all sides by walls at close range. We don't work in offices anymore . . . so who can be surprised if we don't turn those four carpeted walls into some kind of opportunity?
posted by josh at 11:32 PM on May 27, 2002

Lynsey: It's called feature writing. What a load of hooey your criticism is. I assume you are in favor of also eliminating the TV guide, the comics page, and the jumble.
posted by dhartung at 12:33 AM on May 28, 2002

I think Ms. Mundy is missing the point completely. If you don't want to litter your cubicle with pics of family, don't. If you do, go for it. Being a college student, I carry three pictures in my wallet- my soon-to-be-wife, my family, and my 3 year-old niece. I carry them for motivation. I want to provide for my soon-to-be-wife and never have her experience 'want' again. I want to have more opportunities then my parents had and make them proud. I want to pay my niece's way through college.

I don't carry their pictures because I miss them while I go to classes during the day and stock grocery shelves at night. I carry them because it reminds me of what I can gain through hard work.

When I go through finals week with only 4 hours of sleep a night or have to eat macaroni for a week, it reminds me. During my 4 years in the Army (which I had to join to afford college) when I had to spend 6 months out of 12 sleeping in the woods, it reminded me. It reminded me of why I needed(and still need) to do my best. It reminded me that the more you endure, the happier you will be later.
posted by ttrendel at 12:36 AM on May 28, 2002

It reminded me that the more you endure, the happier you will be later.

I needed that. Thanks, ttrendel.
posted by JoyG_n Josh at 12:47 AM on May 28, 2002

What does it say if you have a picture of your ball python at work? Not that I...do or anything...
posted by adampsyche at 5:39 AM on May 28, 2002

> Huh? Well, if that isn't the most offensive, cynical, stupid
> idea I've ever read! I hope that friend cries herself to
> sleep every night, on her big empty pillow, all alone in
> her loveless, mean, cold, embittered dream-world. God I
> just hate people like that. Geez.

OK, josh, what's her name?

> What does it say if you have a picture of your ball
> python at work?

It depends. If you're a stripper or zookeeper (or both), it may be just a professional interest. If you're a ball python, it may be your spouse. If you're a small rodent, it's probably a death wish.
posted by pracowity at 6:10 AM on May 28, 2002

Nobody tell her about hot desking or I fear we may have another article coming on ..... or a potential series
posted by roobarb at 6:21 AM on May 28, 2002

the photos sent a message: I may not be powerful here, but there's a place, home, where I am.

That's in line with what I've observed. It's different in non-office environments. In several restaurants I've worked in, where the only shared space is a coffee-stained card table beside an overflowing ashtray beneath the cork board displaying Your Rights As An Employee, people will put up group vacation/fishing trip pictures, or there might be a pic of the whole staff last Xmas sitting at the bar at four AM looking much the worse for wear. Or an apropos Onion headline. Hmm. Cubicles generally feature pix of an individual's family. Photos posted at workplaces lacking cubicles (but having a communal space) are more likely to be of groups of employees engaged in extracurricular (but sometimes on-premise) activities....maybe the lack of definition of individual space is a factor. Or maybe I've already had waaaaay too much coffee.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 6:32 AM on May 28, 2002

I read this article over the weekend and think the author is definitely on to something. I see a lot of different office spaces/desks, and I've observed the same types of patterns and come to similar conclusions myself. It was pretty funny seeing an article stating something I'd so recently been thinking myself! In fact, I had a similar conversation with someone about two weeks ago.

Of course, I'm also one of those people who considers posting personal photos all over your workspace to be frivolous, suspect, sad, and to be avoided at all costs. I'd much rather maximize my time spent with the real thing than pine over a bunch of dead images.
posted by rushmc at 6:47 AM on May 28, 2002

All I want to know is this: what's up with the cubicle/beanie baby connection?
posted by arielmeadow at 10:30 AM on May 28, 2002

Hey dhartung - I'm down with the feature writing thing, yo. Done it a bit myself. I {heart} comics, Dear Abby, etc. and read them everyday. This article, IMO, however, was poorly thought out and poorly constructed. The author veered from point to point kind of like a pong game. And to state a conclusion such as a man must be cheating on his wife if he has lots of pictures of her in his office on her other conjectures, give me a break!
posted by Lynsey at 11:39 AM on May 28, 2002

This article made me acually consider why I have pictures of my husband and I on my desk and my computer background. My first reaction was "because that's what you do." But I think that the major reason is so periodically throughout the day I can look at him and think about him. Not that I can't do that without a picture of him, but it reminds me to do so. And when I do, I think of something that's not here at work...a happier place with him.

It also might be a trophy-type thing. Look at my wonderful husband and the fun things we do.

But mostly, it's for me, to remind me that there's more important things out there and it takes me away, if for only a moment.

I wonder if the people with the huge collages of pictures ever really really look at them....
posted by aacheson at 12:09 PM on May 28, 2002

I just keep pictures of my wife on my desk to stop the seemingly endless parade of would-be paramours that assail me throughout my working day.
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:27 PM on May 28, 2002

The two framed photos of LittleFes and MissusFes on the shelf at just above eye level remind me why I'm sitting here in a windowless office instead of out planning my next daring heist.

And to call that feature writing...? Hmph. Not nearly lengthy and boring enough.
posted by UncleFes at 1:35 PM on May 28, 2002

The two framed photos of LittleFes and MissusFes on the shelf at just above eye level remind me why I'm sitting here in a windowless office instead of out planning my next daring heist.

Are we supposed to interpret that as a good thing or a bad thing, UncleFes? You're a bit vague...heh.
posted by rushmc at 3:52 PM on May 28, 2002