Monday, January 13, 2014

Casualness

One of my tasks at work is to take tech support "tickets" for changes to the website. They are called "mojo" tickets, for the platform upon which they're made. In the mornings I come in and check my "mojo queue." I do what is asked of me. Tickets come in through the day and I take care of them.

I feel like what I am doing sometimes is very low-hanging fruit, as it were but people seem genuinely overjoyed that their mojo requests are handled quickly. 

We currently maintain two versions of our website so I have to make changes in two places. After I make the changes, I write "The above request has been completed in the old website and the new." I chuckle to myself because it sounds to me a little like the Starks of the North referring to "the old gods and the new" in their swearing and pledging and promising.

I sometimes get into a little playful back and forth with people in the office when I take care of their requests. I misunderstood one request the other day so the girl wrote me back to apologize for being unclear and explained it. I told her it wasn't her lack of clarity, it was my lack of understanding, as it was way early in the morning. We had a lovely chat about Monday and coffee and alertness, and it made me smile.

Genuinely, I like the people here. I wonder if though I'm not behaving "professionally" enough at times. People seem to play back, which encourages me to be casual and kind and gentle and polite and sometimes silly. I have yet to get in trouble.

But I worry about where that line is.




1 comment:

  1. I think the line is different depending on who you are and who the individuals are. Which only makes it harder. My husband gets away with some pretty goofy stuff at work that the exact same people would never have accepted from me (we used to work at the same place). But my boss was extremely formal -- I almost said stuffy -- and I don't think Jeremy has ever been able to make her smile. He's good with his own boss and the bosses of other departments, so he doesn't worry about it. I'd say check in with your supervisor if you're feeling insecure. If they draw a line, then you know where it is. If they don't, then you haven't crossed it yet! :)

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