Warning! Any similarities to persons or actual events are purely intentional.
His face was all red as he stood in the office kitchen, his eyes brimming with anger. A little vein started pulsating on his forehead. This was something he couldn’t ignore. “This woman should pay for her audacity,” he thought. After all, she had taken the one thing he cherished the most – his coffee mug with a sloth drawn on it. How dare she? Didn’t she know that was his cup?
As he prepared to confront her, something caught his eye. There she was, standing next to the coffee maker – so elegant, so pretty, so captivating. He had been dreaming of this moment for years, thinking he finally met the one. This dreamlike coffee mug bore the sleek Manchester United logo, reminding him of his unwavering love for his favorite football club. It was the mug of his dreams.
“I wonder whose mug it is,” he pondered. “Maybe I can take it just this once.”
You get my point, right? As the old saying goes, “What’s yours is mine and what is mine is my own.” If you’re new to our Work&Share culture, you might encounter that or even feel it at first. And that’s okay (unless you start caressing your personal items and shouting, “My precious!” in the office. Gollum style, you know? The Lord of the Rings, no?). It’s a common mistake that Work&Share newbies make, missing out on the “sharing” part and neglecting one of the biggest advantages of this place.
You’ve heard the term “work family,” and in Work&Share, they strongly believe in it. They aim to create an environment where you truly feel at home. And at home, you wouldn’t ask your mother, father, or spouse if you can use a particular glass, would you? It’s there for everyone to use, without even needing to mention it.
As human beings, we like to bring things to work that remind us of home. It helps us feel more at home in the workplace and provides a sense of security. When I first arrived at Work&Share, I thought I would finally have my own desk and personal work drawer. But as it turned out, I didn’t. “What a bummer!” I thought. However, you can’t imagine how wrong I was. Instead of a designated drawer and desk, I was given the freedom to choose and change my spot daily. I could place my belongings wherever I found suitable, as long as it was okay with others.
Speaking of shared glasses, I have a personal story on the subject as well. On my first day, my wife gave me a coffee mug with a scooter on it as a “good luck on the new place” gift. It’s meant to remind me not only of her but also of Italy and the wonderful times we had during our honeymoon in Sicily. Now you can understand why I care about this mug so much. So, you can imagine my displeasure the first time someone took it while I was out of the office. And that feeling didn’t change when it happened again… and again… and again. It made me think – that mug makes me feel good at work, but I suppose it does the same for someone else, which is why they keep taking it when I’m not there. For someone it might also brings back memories of Italy. For someone else it might reminds him of his love of scooters. Who knows? And honestly, who cares? The most important thing is that this mug might be the little detail that brightens someone’s day. And that makes me happy. I still drink my coffee in it when I’m at the office but now I’m far more chill and even happy when someone else takes it when I’m not there.
History remembers many famous battles, and rarely has the outcome been positive without casualties. Well, “The Battle of the Shared Glasses” is one of the very few exceptions. Many engage in this battle when they first set foot in Work&Share. However, everyone leaves the “battlefield” (kitchen) humbler and with a newfound sense of sharing.
As the old saying goes, “Sharing is caring.” So go ahead, pass your glass to the person next to you, and stop being such a prick when someone takes your mug from the shared kitchen.
