No, you can't have fun in the workplace

because work places are for "work". They are for treating everyone equally and with respect. They are there to get the job done and not to have fun. 

Ooooh, I could go on. I go in and out of workplaces occasionally and they have changed. I would once have prowled in with reasonable confidence that I would be greeted with a pleasant smile and a "Can I help you?"  

Now I am likely to be greeted, if I am greeted at all, with someone walking past and glaring at me. Yes, truly.  They don't want strangers in the workplace any more. They aren't sure how these oddities might upset the delicate balance of the office. Will they do the right thing and ask, "Are they in?" or will they ask, "Is she in?" 

And how does the stranger get addressed and referred to? All of this is just the start of the problems that now need to be addressed.  

If you doubt me then let me tell you that I went to a small meeting yesterday. There are usually just five people. We know one another well. We meet a few times a year to sort out a couple of ongoing issues. We never start with any sort of formalities. One person keeps the record. We go away knowing what we need to do, if anything. It has been like this for a long time now. Things get done and, even if I say it myself, done efficiently.

Yesterday was different. There was a new person present. "They" want to take over from someone who needs to leave. Oh, it was suddenly all so different. "They" wanted to start the meeting formally with an "acknowledgment of country". We were informed about "their" preferred pronouns. Everything we discussed was questioned. Ways of doing things, ways where people have been trusted to do the right thing or simply do as asked, were criticised. We were told these things were no longer possible. "It isn't the way things are done now."

"They" finally left. The rest of us looked at one another. I have spent years working with the group but I was feeling it was time someone else was found. I could see at least two more people felt the same way.  

"This isn't going to work. I think it is time we disbanded. They will find other ways of working," the person who has generally taken the lead said.  

They will have to find other ways of working. I came home and sent a carefully worded email and said I felt I could no longer work in a "modern" environment. It's a relief. I didn't really have the time to give. "They" can find like minded people and change the world... but I don't think it will be quite as helpful or well run and we won't laugh over the teapot any more.