Is there life after death?’ is a question that keeps some students occupied. ‘Is there life after graduation?’ is a much more urgent question. Once you exchange your happy-go-lucky student life for a nine-to-five existence at the office, are you even still alive? That is what I am currently trying to find out during my internship. In this second episode: office humour.
What is office humour? It adds flavour to office life, or so I have been told by experienced desk jockeys. I watched the British series The Office with gusto, but other than that, I still don’t really know what it is.
As a student, you may find yourself with the same people for a long time during group work. And you may be really tired. Tired of the assignment, of last night, and also a little tired of each other. Sometimes, this tiredness makes you listless and grumpy, but it may also lead to a new cheerful atmosphere. Stupid and simple things become funny. Spending your days in an office with a team really is nothing more than an extended group assignment that may well have the same dynamic, including corny jokes that are lost to an outsider who happens to be present.
Being the new intern, I am that outsider who happens to be present. Inimitable insider jokes fly by left, right and centre. Experienced desk jockeys appear to find satisfaction in mutually acknowledging the grind. ‘How was your vacation?’ one colleague asks the other. ‘Too short’ is the reply. ‘Same, hahaha!’, the first comments. That is the end of the conversation.
Is this office humour? If so, I’ll take “normal humour”, whatever that may be. Or will I develop office humour automatically as a fact of life? When I was ten, I vowed never to become addicted to coffee. Ten years later, I can’t do without. When I was fifteen, I had wished never to hold a nine-to-five job. And now, ten years later, I am doing just that. Perhaps I should wish I will develop office humour to ensure the opposite happens.
I have not experienced sufficient office humour to acquire a taste for it. This may be due to my integration on the work floor. But that is a topic for my next column. Does office humour make me more or less alive? To far: less!
Steven (25) is doing a Master’s degree in Economics and Policy and is currently doing an internship at a research institute for economics. He enjoys hitting the squash court and is always up for a game of squash and a good conversation. You can email him here.
