Business as usual

At first, my new job seemed very like my old job. Research work in Toronto mapped nicely onto my previous working experience in Brighton. The same interesting mix of meetings and seminars, communion with the computer screen, excursions to the library. Enjoyable work, problems to solve, deadlines to meet. The office set-up, too, is quite familiar.

But now a critical difference has made itself apparent. It's a biggie, too. It's the attitude to tea.

Or coffee. Hot drinks in general. In Britain, no one would hold a meeting of more than 10 minutes without offering or at least inquiring about A Hot Drink. The response might be 'Oh yes, please,' or 'No thanks, I've just had one,' or perhaps, 'I thought you'd never ask!' if there had been a pause for drawing breath between 'please sit here' and 'can I get you...?', but there would always be some sort of offer made. Failure to do so would be a breaking of the social contract, and indicate something wrong. Danger, Will Robinson.

Here, as there, my desk is in a shared office. When I get up from the computer, stretch, and head for the small staff kitchen, I always offer to make a tea or coffee for my office-mates. In the UK I'd get a yes, or a no (and a yes or a no-- there were a lot of us in there sometimes). Here in Toronto when I make such an offer, I generally feel that I've caused more consternation than satisfaction, breaking into the peace of the office, presenting a dilemma where none existed before. I've broken a different sort of social contract.

There are other conventions that I took for granted in the UK and now realize how peculiar they are to that nation. The office Christmas party, for instance. In England they've been planned, reservations made, invitations sent, RSVPs received, menu choices decided, Secret Santas assigned. Here? Nada.

And another: in England, anyone who left town, on holiday or business, always brought back some food item to share, by placing it in the office kitchen. Anything will do: Hershey's bars from the US, shortbread from Scotland, maple candy from Canada. The airport shops were invented for the British.

The office parties, the foreign sweets, these I don't miss terribly. They were nice, of course, but I can survive without them.

However. The tea issue. That is a problem. I will have to work on that. After I put the kettle on, though.