I have a co-worker who rivals me in his need to tell all. He had to live a lie for years, and now he’s making up for it by actively verbally living his truth, even if his truth isn’t particularly germane to the conversation.
I can watch him on Zoom while he thinks, “If I keep quiet during this discussion then I’m lying by omission.” Oh, my brother, I feel you. That feeling that silence equals lies. It doesn’t seem to bother most people.
But, oddly, I recently took the chance to act like a normal human being. I had a dentist appointment, and I scheduled half a day of sick time to accommodate it. Then I had to re-schedule the dentist due to the cough, and then used that pre-approved sick time to go to a clinical trial visit. The next day, the team got me caught up on what I missed while I was at my “dental appointment.” “I wasn’t AT a dental appointment,” I thought, the first two times they said it. The third time I broke, and corrected them, and explained the entire situation, even though they clearly did not care one bit and in fact, thought I was weird to mention it.
I wonder if watching my co-worker’s behavior made me try to be more … normal. It didn’t work, of course. I wish I could find a way to be myself, just less awkwardly.
3 responses to “Sins of Omission”
Ohhhhh. The urge to correct something incorrect but also (apparently *completely*) irrelevant. Sigh. Congrats on holding off until the third time!
KC – so much of my guilt is tied up in billing my company like I’m an hourly worker.
A surprising amount of knowledge-workers’ irrelevant life is spent with problems simmering on the back burner, which would not be solved as rapidly or as well by direct pounding away at them (aka: “wasting” time). A surprising amount of team productivity can be increased by team bonding (aka: being weird together). It’s probably fine.
(… but I hear ya.)