Now that December has officially arrived, Christmas decorations have started popping up around the building. We're not one of those companies that holds annual contests to see who has the best holiday-themed cubicle doorways or whatever (thank God) -- but it's still kinda nice to see people getting into the spirit.
To be honest, I think not having Christmas shoved down your throat every year with decorating contests or those "voluntary" Secret Santa deals let the spirit of the season progress in a much more natural manner. I even think it's helpful when office Scrooges exist -- because it makes it all the more special when you see those facades melt away when you catch them handing out presents to the kids at the charity events at the end of the year, or "becoming human" when you run into them at the holiday party and they're just as eager to escape it as you are.
Which is probably why it was such a big surprise this morning to see a Christmas Tree sitting in the hallway near their cubicles this morning.
It wasn't there because some memo said it had to be. It wasn't decorated in an attempt to win a Ruth's Chris gift certificate or a free round of golf. It was just someones way of bringing a little holiday cheer into the place.
To be honest, I think not having Christmas shoved down your throat every year with decorating contests or those "voluntary" Secret Santa deals let the spirit of the season progress in a much more natural manner. I even think it's helpful when office Scrooges exist -- because it makes it all the more special when you see those facades melt away when you catch them handing out presents to the kids at the charity events at the end of the year, or "becoming human" when you run into them at the holiday party and they're just as eager to escape it as you are.
At the same time, when you let people express holiday spirit in their own ways, you can never really know what to expect.Case in point: The second floor of our company is where all the R&D guys work. Because most of their jobs deal with product improvement and they're not as tied to the daily production on the floor as the rest of us are -- they tend to keep to themselves (unless someone offers free food -- at which point they all show up in droves). As a result, they're usually not the first ones to dive into team-building exercises or holiday celebrations.
Which is probably why it was such a big surprise this morning to see a Christmas Tree sitting in the hallway near their cubicles this morning.
It wasn't there because some memo said it had to be. It wasn't decorated in an attempt to win a Ruth's Chris gift certificate or a free round of golf. It was just someones way of bringing a little holiday cheer into the place.
Or at least it would have been -- if it wasn't three feet tall.
Seriously, who was in charge of getting the tree this year -- Charlie Brown?
[Listening to: Five Finger Death Punch – "Death Before Dishonor" ]
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