5 Daily Struggles Of Being The Most Awkward Person In The Office

1. Greeting your coworkers. Okay, you are all about being a friendly person. You want to say hi to your coworkers, and develop good relationships with them. You know, so they’ll invite you to happy hour and office picnics and stuff. But why is it that every time they say hi to you, you find yourself rummaging through your desk to avoid eye contact, or responding to them with a muffled croak. Does your throat close up like that every time someone speaks to you on purpose?

2. Questions. There is nothing worst then being clueless about your assignment. Should you get up and ask for more directions? Or should you just shoot them an email even though your supervisor is only 4 cubicles away? What is the proper protocol here?

3. Bathroom Runs. I don’t know about you, but awkwardness often leads to high anxiety for me. And you know what comes with high anxiety? The urge to pee. Why does your bladder have such poor control of itself when you feel awkward? You only had that one cup of coffee, or maybe you didn’t even drink anything yet. It doesn’t matter. You’ll find yourself making multiple trips to the bathroom within the same hour simply because you’re not comfortable staying in your seat too long. And then your stuck wondering if everyone else in the office thinks your having a urinary tract infection or not.

4. Lunch. If you’re lucky, maybe you have a friend at work that you can eat with. If not, I guess you can eat by yourself either out, or at your desk. No big deal right? WRONG. This is by far the most stressful time of the day. Should you stay and eat in the break room with your coworkers? What if your food smells up the place? How about just working through lunch so you can leave an hour early? Usually you just opt for scrolling through your phone and trying to look busy.

5. Proper Leaving Etiquette. How does this even work? If it’s 4:51, is it too early to leave if your supposed to end at 5? This really shouldn’t be a big deal, but for some reason, it is. And when you leave, do you say bye to anyone? Or should you just make a bee line for the door and hope no one sees you… Not that you’re trying to come across as rude. Hopefully no one notices you.