When kitsch and principles meet: A glimpse into everyday office life

Everyday office life is often characterized by small rituals, idiosyncrasies and personalities that have been woven into the corporate culture over the years. Some of these quirks may seem trivial or even annoying at first glance, but they usually reflect deeper social dynamics. This piece tells of a colleague, her tireless enthusiasm for birthday promotions,and from a colleague who repeatedly defends himself against the kitsch and the constraints. The plot takes place in Lusatia, a scenic area characterized by traditions that sometimes contradict modern expectations. Here, in a typical office, a story unfolds that explores the conflicts between adherence to principles and societal pressurein a humorous and thoughtful way. It is a story about understanding, rejecting and ultimately letting go of social constraints that often take up far too much space in everyday life.

The everyday image of a small, eager colleague

Presumably, there is a person in every office who ticks similarly to our colleague. Maybe she has a different name and works in a different city, but the basic traits of her personality are the same everywhere. This colleague is small, always trying to do everything right, and eager to get it right. One can well imagine that they are already attentive in the schoolfront row, always eager to keep a close eye on everything. She is not unsympathetic, nor is she a bad person, but there is nothing special between her and the others. It’s a kind of unwritten rule: once last row, always last row. This attitude accompanies her through her professional life, even though she now works in the office and no longer has to press a school desk.with the same zeal that she used to show at the dinner service, she is now meticulously entering the birthdays of all colleagues in an Excel spreadsheet, regularly updating them and taking action one week before the respective honorary day. It has almost become a small ceremony, in which she first walks through the offices with a specially purchased small piggy bankgrazes, rattles everyone off and asks for donations. In doing so, she also looks for places in silence if someone wants to hide there in order to avoid collecting donations. A few days later, she walks through the offices again, this time with a big greeting card, which usually has something funny written on it. Although there is usually something funny at the front of the map, such asExample: “I’m not 40!”, or “I’m 18 with 22 years of experience!”, which always makes for a smile. This card is placed on the colleague’s desk on the day of honor, accompanied by a gift that is usually so hideous that you can hardly believe where it gets all the curious stuff. Inflatable cakes, unicorn plush slippers, or a plastic gun into whichyou can insert Tesafilm – she has already done all that.

The tireless commitment to all occasions in the office

But this colleague is not only active on birthdays. She also runs her laps when it comes to other occasions: when Karin’s children are schooled, the caretaker is retired, Pia moves to another agency or Ansgar is in the hospital because he jumped over a hill while skiing and rolled over – which he does with a good portionStupidity has done. It’s an endless loop of chores, out-of-pocket, sick, Christmas gifts rolling through the office. For those who experience these actions, it is almost like a permanent loop that never seems to end. For me personally, this kitsch fireworks has almost become a nightmare. I once had the thought of being fatal in an accidentaccident, but the absurd thing about it is not even the fact that I am then dead, but rather that the entire staff is present at my funeral and Mechthild commissioned the wreath. This shows how deeply the kitsch mentality is rooted in our office, and how much such actions have almost become the norm.

Geburtstagsfeiern – Freude oder lästige Pflicht?

Ich hege grundsätzlich keine Ablehnung gegenüber Geburtstagsfeiern im Allgemeinen. Die Kollegin, die wir liebevoll Drösel nennen, hat zum Beispiel am fünften März Geburtstag. Für sie backe ich gerne einen selbstgemachten Kuchen, einen Nusskuchen mit Schokoglasur, den sie sehr mag. Es ist ein kleines Geschenk, das beiden Seiten Freude bereitet: Sie freut sich über den Kuchen, und ich freue mich,weil ich ihr eine kleine Freude machen konnte. Doch im Gegensatz dazu steht die sogenannte Kolleginnen- und Kollegen-Feier, bei der meistens nur Kitsch, schlechte Witze und billige Geschenke auf den Tisch kommen. Diese Aktionen sind für mich kaum mehr als eine lästige Pflicht, die nur Ärger und Kitsch produzieren. Es bringt nichts, sich mit solchen Aktionen zu belasten, weil sie letztlich nurunnötige Energie kosten und niemandem wirklich helfen. Deshalb habe ich für mich beschlossen, bei diesem Kram nicht mehr mitzumachen. Das Einzige, was mich bisher immer wieder davon abgehalten hat, ist die Angst vor Mechthild, vor dem, was sie denkt, wenn ich sage, dass ich nicht mehr bei den Spenden mitmachen will, oder vor ihrer Reaktion, wenn mein Name nicht auf der nächsten, geschmacklosenGlückwunschkarte steht. Doch in Wahrheit ist mir das inzwischen ziemlich egal geworden. Es ist eine Art Befreiung, sich diesem Druck zu entziehen.

Das Gespräch im Flur und die innere Entscheidung

This feeling is evident at the moment when Mechthild is standing in front of me, her piggy bank is holding in front of her chest and murmuring: “… colleague blabla, … driver’s license test blabla … something funny blah …”. It’s amazing how uncomfortable it is to say things like that, although my mind knows for sure that being honest is the right moment. I want to tell her: “Mechthild,I don’t do that with the money anymore.” But the words get stuck in the throat. Instead, I add: “It’s, um…” and while I’m saying that, I secretly think I should have thought of a clever saying. Finally, the wording comes to mind: “It’s a principle.” That sounds like an excuse, but it has an effect. MechthildSeems irritated, but immediately accepts: “Oh, oh. Yes, no, then it’s clear, bye…”, and seeks the distance. It’s as if I made it clear to her that my conviction speaks against collecting piggy banks and writing greeting cards. Sometimes I wonder if she even believes I’m crazy. But I don’t really care. It’s a little liberation, yourselfto put against the kitsch and the pressure.

The view of the kitchen and the freedom not to be forced to do anything

At the next meeting in the kitchen, Mechthild will be back with her piggy bank and collects. Two colleagues from the graphic are sitting next to me to prepare the coffee. When she just greets me and then moves on, the two look at me at an angle. There is no disapproval, no displeasure, not even amazement in her eyes. It’s just a trace of envy of serenity, withwho I refuse to kitsch. The great thing about letting yourself be done by the ass is that you feel like the king of currywurst afterwards. This inner freedom that arises from this is priceless. Small feelings of guilt, for example because of the driver’s license test gifts or other exaggerations, can be easily passed in retrospect. After all, it’s justKram who doesn’t really help anyone. We are the champions, my friend, and sometimes it only takes the courage to oppose all the kitsch and the constraints to be able to sleep peacefully again. It is a small revolution in everyday life that makes you feel like you are actually still in control of your decisions, even in a world full of kitsch and commitments.