Office Space is the truest

An idle mind is a terrible thing in an office environment. Whether it's gossip focused to such an extent it could fry ants or it's meeting envy, an office is a place where no one's ego is satisfied and no one's brain is 100% engrossed in the work being done.

In an office, you must get noticed. If you're part of the rank and file, the only way to get ahead is to make sure your manager notices the great job that you do. People go about this in different ways: some work hard and honorably, some work hard but aren't quiet about it, some don't work hard but try to fool everyone into thinking they do, and some don't work hard, don't care and use their idle time to gossip.

But it's even deeper than that. The hard workers compete over who's more important/significant. The people who don't work hard compete over who has the better gossip. Significance, apparently, is measured in time spent in meetings. The better gossip is measured in terms of damage to a the victim's integrity.

Where do I stand? I'm a hard worker. I don't feel Meeting Envy. I roll my eyes at a co-worker who says that they can't be reached until such-and-such a time because they're in meetings all day. Bad are people who see you in a meeting and then later try and inquire as to the agenda. Worse are the people who hear about a meeting occurring and then invite themselves there by stating that the project would be better served if they were involved in all aspects.

The worsest, though, are the people who judge the Meeting Enviers or the Gossipers and lump them into categories. An idle mind in Office Space is a dangerous thing and those who judge are the worst. Like me! :)