Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Workplace Hanky-Panky



    You might think that the amount of hanky-panky in the workplace varies inversely with level of pay.  Why would an exec making $300,000 a year risk his cushy job for lobby tush?  But walk onto a floor where the rank-and-filers are bringing down eight bucks an hour, and it’s a veritable orgy:  “Candace! Get off Bobby and make a call.”  In other words, the stakes are lower, as are the standards.

    Another school of thought says the 300K folks have plenty of power, which naturally attracts partners, and in the event of “he said/ she said,” they can strongarm plaintiffs.  Meanwhile, the wage slaves, particularly during tough times, typically have to work about three part-time jobs, so they barely have the energy to chew their food, let alone work up some effective flirting banter.

    At any rate, I tend to do better with women at work than in other contexts.  Perhaps it’s because they see me there, so they’re pretty sure I have a job.  I enjoy being at work.  It’s the doing of the work that gets old.

    That puts me in the mind of Maureen Dowd’s book, Are Men Necessary?  If you asked the head of PETA that question, she’d probably say, “Men?!  Hell, are humans necessary?”  But even without self-absorbed humans wreaking havoc, I suppose this planet would still witness plenty of suffering.  ‘Course the economy wouldn’t be as good.  Probably knock a few points off GDP.

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