Reply All

Why is it that people hit Reply All to broadcast office emails? It's bad enough when it's in your personal email account, but at least there it tends to be people you know and there's often some witty banter or a nice zinger to enjoy. But why is it that if you receive a clearly broadcast email for some FunCtion (get it? Yeah, I want to give it back too), you feel the need to let the entire office know what you think of it?

Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon before my time. I don't want to socialize with my co-workers at large. I do want office buddies, don't misunderstand, and I'm happy to spend some of my free time with those co-workers whom I consider actual friends. But as for the rest of them, not really. I'm happily married and my commute is long, so I don't want to go to happy hour, to after-hours Wii parties, or to mid-day team-building exercises of any sort. What I do want is to work my eight hours and go home to see my husband, pet my cat, and change into jeans.

So when the office organizes trick-or-treating for the little kids in the day care center, that's cute and maybe I'll even participate, but I don't care whether Enthusiasm McPerky wants everyone to "count her in! :-)". When the Fun Committee (I kid you not) organizes a movie night for remote team members, I don't care that Teamy McJoiner thinks it's a "GREAT idea, Fun Cmte!!" It's fine to like things, it's fine to be a joiner, it's fine to be peppy. But share your support with the people directly organizing it or by participating. The entire office doesn't need to be distracted by your non-work related opinion. Just sayin.