Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Take care with jokes at work. A “manager” may hear the joke, take it seriously, and make it a policy.

This isn’t a Dilbert cartoon; it is a true story that happened to me some 20 years ago.

I found a little book of performance appraisal phrases. I found it to be hilarious. Who could possibly use these phrases in an actual, written performance appraisal? We tossed it around the back room at work and had lots of fun with it.

I made the grave mistake of leaving it on my desk one evening. A senior manager happened to walk through my work area after I had left for the evening. He saw the little book, took it seriously, ordered several dozen copies, and thereafter required all performance appraisers to use it in their performance appraisals.

A joke became an official policy.

To all those who came after me in that organization, I extend my sincerest apology. I thought it was funny. I never thought you would be punished with the joke.

To all those senior managers who can’t tell when a joke is a joke, well, I don’t know what to say.