Cubicle Flair 3/23

Here’s a missile defense system for your desk at work, courtesy of the folks at ThinkGeek.



Pretty neat, don’t you think? I mean, plug it in and you can aim it at anyone that dares enter the sovereign territory of Philville. If they refuse to comply with your demand to vacate your domain, a red button is at your disposal…

This all makes me wonder, though, what is it about some of us (I’m guilty) and our need to have toys at work? Take a moment on your next break and walk around the office and look into the cubicles. No matter who the person is you will find a thing that they carefully selected to say something about themselves somewhere inside their work-box. Go on, I’ll wait.

Back? How is Phil these days? Oh, missile defense system kept you out? That’s okay, I hear he’s not all that pleasant anyway.

The toys aren’t just like hood ornaments; they are much more than that. It’s almost like people have found a way to communicate who they are with them. Toys are a kind of an office shorthand; a method of saying “I like Cylons” without having to actually SAY anything about them.

There are other side benefits, too. Perhaps Phil will one day meander by (Phil never seems to do anything) and spot your Planet Express Ship model and ask, “Do you like space ships?”

Now, without having to say much of anything to Phil, (he takes more days off than anyone else in your department) you know two things about him. He doesn’t watch Futurama and is therefore “not cool” in your estimation and that he assumes that you might put something you don’t like on your desk. Let’s face it, if you didn’t like space ships, having a big green one on your desk would be silly, wouldn’t it? (Phil has to be told two or three times to do things before he does them).

This social “marking” isn’t common to everyone. Many people pin up a “Garfield” comic they like and call it a day. The jerks will post their degrees. Overly social people might not have much in their space at all save a surfing calendar and bunch of business cards (their “people”) for you to look at and wish you had that many numbers in your phone.

Those people don’t need totems to declare their inner-selves to the world at large. Let’s go back to Planet Express Ship. Later on Sherrie walks by to copy something and she also spots your model.

“Wow, did you make that? I love Futurama.”

And a connection is made.

I think office toys are a way to find like minded people, friends even, in a place that we don’t really want to be in. This is especially true for the ex-geeks (again, guilty) who don’t always find first encounters with other people to be easy or comfortable. This doesn’t make them unpleasant people, just shy. Their toys are a way of saying “talk to me, I like robots.”

Some people like a lot of things and their desk looks like a tiny Toys R Us, others just like Futurama. Whatever the case, try and take a look at what people choose to put out there. You don’t have to start a conversation if you see a toy you like, just tell them you like it. Who knows, maybe they are cool people (unlike Phil). In the end, you never know who your next Starbucks Buddy might be…