The Snub

It's interesting working for an accounting firm in a practice office when I'm not involved in the local practice. Essentially, I'm on my own in the office since my team is based elsewhere and I do a lot of international work, so this means I don't have any team members in the local office and I rarely interact with anyone outside of saying hello at the coffee maker or nodding as I pass someone in the hall on my way to the crapper.

In being a pseudo-outsider here in the office, I often find myself getting quasi-snubbed by other people in the office. I've been here for over two years, but there still aren't all that many people who actually know me. I'm more of an office anomaly or curiosity. I'm not a part of their world.

This manages to make itself known in little ways throughout the day as I'm, as I like to describe it, snubbed by co-workers. Truthfully, I'm just as guilty of it myself, but I try to do my best about not being a snubber.

So, this snubbing I'm talking about... you're probably wondering what it is. To me, being snubbed is not being acknowledged or being ignored on purpose. Now this will happen a lot to me since no one no knows me. They're more familiar with our office printers than they are with me, which leads to there rarely being a common ground to even start small talk about. This then manifests itself into an awkward silence where both parties know the other person is there, but forcefully ignores the other.

This is most easily noticed at lunch time. I don't go out for lunch often and usually bring in something to snack on or microwave. When I'm in the kitchen waiting for my stellar meal of ramen or soup to finish microwaving, I'm stuck standing there twiddling my thumbs while other people come in and out. Usually there's the customary hello or nod in the other person's direction followed by silence, which is fine since there's nothing to talk about, but there are cases where the other person does not even nod, say hello, look in my direction, or acknowledge my existence in the least. It's this purposeful ignoring that irks me and makes me wonder why the other person won't even look in my direction. Shyness? Arrogance? Dickheadedness? I'm not really sure.

The other time that I really notice it is when I am walking through the office and I meet someone in the hall. I try to nod and say hello, but some people look at the ground or straight forward doing their damnedest to ignore the hell out of you. Is a cursory hello that torturous? Last I checked, I didn't think so.

Both of those situations are tolerable. However, what really pisses me off is a small variation of the ignore and don't acknowledge tactic. In this variation the other person gives a glance in my direction and will even meet my eyes, but that is it. The person then keeps walking or stares me off as I go by, even if I say hello, nod, or otherwise engage the person. No matter what my action, they simply look me over and then go about their business, giving off an overwhelming aura of douchebaggery and arrogant self-centeredness. If I could get away with it and not get fired, after this type of a person passed by me, I'd turn around and cold cock them right in the back of the head. That'd show them.

Maybe this is how accountants simply are, though. They are definitely a different breed of people and are usually quite sure of themselves, no matter what level they are at in the organization, so it could be that this prick-ish attitude just comes with the territory. Regardless, it's still frustrating and pisses me the hell off.