#while being less productive because they interrupt my less often than my coworkers do when I’m in the office

[snezus-christ-risen]

They’re making us come back to the office to be more productive and have a presence so just to be spiteful I’m going to be a less productive and miserable presence.

[puttingherinhistory]

“ Madison, who works a customer service job at an airport spa, has an employee handbook that says “makeup should be well maintained” and “hands and nails must be well manicured.” She says the few men she works with just ignore these guidelines “because they’re meant for women but [it] doesn’t explicitly say that.” Her wages ($13.25 per hour + 15% retail commission) do not include additional pay to purchase manicures or makeup. During her interview, her now-boss commented on how nice her makeup looked and how well her shoes matched her purse—comments that make her feel like she needs to keep up that kind of appearance even though she already has the job. 

It’s well known that a persistent wage gap exists for women workers in the United States, a gap that becomes even wider when race, industry, age and geography are taken into account. But less frequently discussed is the often silent expectation around appearance imposed on women workers, which has its own financial costs—known as the “grooming gap.” The grooming gap refers to the set of social norms regarding grooming and appearance for women, including the time women workers must spend to conform to these norms and the material consequences it has on their lives. 

We’ve all heard the common advice to “look the part” at work. For men, that can often just mean business casual clothing and a short haircut. For women, it can mean hours spent each week on makeup, hair styling and curating an outfit that’s both attractive and professional. 

The rules are usually unspoken; even when employers do not explicitly require workers to wear makeup, for example, women workers often feel required to wear it anyway. 

They’re not wrong: Sociologists Jaclyn Wong and Andrew Penner found that physically attractive workers have higher incomes than average-looking workers, but that this relationship is eliminated when controlling for grooming in women. In other words, if you purchase the right clothes, makeup and haircut, higher wages are more within reach. It’s true that men need to abide by certain grooming rules, too, but they are less complex, less expensive and less time consuming. Men’s haircuts, for example, often cost much less than women’s haircuts—regardless of hair length. The grooming gap essentially constitutes a pay cut catch-22: If women don’t conform, they are paid less; if they do conform, they’re expected to use those higher wages on beauty products and grooming regimens. 

Grooming costs for women can be extremely expensive; the global beauty industry, valued at $532 billion worldwide, directs aggressive advertising toward women to convince them they need to purchase a whole host of products to have a chance at being beautiful, well-liked or successful. The industry relies on maintaining impossible expectations around women’s looks so it can continue to rake in enormous profits. One 2017 study found the average woman puts $8 worth of product on her face each day; another found the average woman spends up to $225,000 on skincare and makeup during her lifetime. And then there’s the “pink tax”: Studies confirm that, 42% of the time, products marketed to women are more expensive than comparable products targeted to men. 

The grooming gap also results in a loss of free time: 55 minutes each day for the average woman, the equivalent of two full weeks each year. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFACWA), says that, in her industry—a workforce that is 79.3% women—the expectation around appearance literally “interrupts your sleep”: Flight attendants get minimal rest between flights, and that rest time is further shrunk because they are expected to appear “perfectly coifed” before their next flight. Nelson says that all of her grooming tasks took 30–40 minutes each day (more than two hours in a five-day work week). Madison agrees: it takes her 45 minutes to do her makeup and style her hair before her 7 a.m. shift—and she wakes up at 5 a.m. to get it all done. Prior to this job, Madison says she worked at the beauty department at Target, where she spent $200 on products every other week. 

Restaurant and hospitality workers are perhaps hardest hit by the grooming gap, as they rely on tips to survive. When I was a barista in 2010–2011, the only official dress code rule was to wear closed-toed shoes, for safety. Still, I knew I had to show up looking pretty to pay the rent; I made less than $10 an hour and I needed the tips.

Katie, 36, a veteran bartender and server in Fort Smith, Ark., says at her current job, it’s “understood” she should wear makeup. At a previous restaurant, a manager even told her and her coworkers they would “make better tips if [they] wore makeup.”

“Based on my own appearance—weight fluctuations, makeup versus no makeup, jewelry versus no jewelry—there’s a definite difference,” Katie says. She adds that she was passed over for the most lucrative bartending shifts at her previous job after overhearing her managers say they wanted “cuter girls” to bartend instead.

Multi-billion dollar industries also market fad diets and anti-aging products to women. Both Katie and Jeeva, 24, a bartender and member of UNITE HERE, the union representing hospitality, hotel and airport workers, worry about aging. “As you get older, as a female bartender, your tips can go down,” Jeeva says. Katie says she “hope[s] to leave [the service industry] in the next 10 years, before I get too ugly.”

The grooming gap’s effects are compounded for women of color. According to Restaurant Opportunity Center, restaurant owners look for workers who are “clean-cut, [have] good hygiene or a professional appearance, all potential code words for race.” For instance, Black women spent $473 million on relaxers, weaves and other hair care in 2017, in part because of racist ideas that natural Black hair is not professional or attractive. Black workers annually spend nine times more on hair and beauty products than other workers. 

For transgender women, too, there can be an added layer of work, stress and self-consciousness. Autumn, who transitioned while at her current publishing job in Washington, D.C., says she quickly realized how much time and energy it takes to perform femininity for work. She used to spend 20 minutes to get ready in the morning, but now takes at least 45 minutes. Autumn adds, “I have to do things that cis women don’t have to… [but] it’s gotten easier with time and practice,” like tucking and dealing with facial hair. Because she presents extremely femme, Autumn says she hasn’t dealt with enforcement around her appearance, but other women workers around the country have been disciplined and even fired for appearing insufficiently feminine. Women workers have sued—and won—over gender discrimination that manifests as attractiveness discrimination.

Nat, a trans woman who works at a union in the Washington, D.C., area, says, “I didn’t feel like I was allowed to be a woman if I liked masculine things. It delayed any kind of self-reflection” about gender and identity “for such a long time.”

At work and in the world, all women—cis and trans—feel the pressure to conform to normative standards of femininity and attractiveness. But the solution to this problem isn’t to throw away all the eyeshadow or take out a new line of credit for weekly manicures. The solution is to organize together.”

Continued in the link to the article, but uh

TL;DR: There’s a significant wage gap between women who conform to traditional feminine beauty standards by, for example wearing makeup and heels and using a lot of hair and beauty products, and the women who don’t. Meaning women are financially punished for not conforming to femininity or beauty standards. The gap is worse for women of color and trans women because there’s higher beauty standards for women of color and trans women.

And when women do get those higher wages by playing the game and conforming to beauty standards and femininity, they have to spend 2x-3x+ more on grooming and their appearance than their male colleagues, so those high wages just disappear and go right back into keeping up their looks, making it difficult if not impossible to keep up financially with men, this isn’t even mentioning how much more time women lose each day to having to keep up their “professional” appearance compared to male colleagues.

[themurphyzone]

Pinky the Snowmouse Ch 1

Summary: On a lonely Christmas Eve, a lab mouse finds himself unable to concentrate on world domination. When an ACME scientist claims to own a magic silk hat, Brain initially dismisses it as superstitious nonsense, but finds that this boast could hold more truth than he could ever imagine.   

AN: So I posted this idea back in May (I know, nowhere near Christmas season) but it made for such a viable fic that I had to do it. Besides, I wanted to write a great Christmas fic since I focused more on Halloween last year. 

This fanfiction is also a tribute to all the Christmas specials we love so much every year, from the Christmas Carols to the holiday specials in our favorite cartoons to the Grinches and Rankin-Bass features.

Ch 1: That Old Silk Hat

AO3 Link

It was Christmas Eve, the day bolded and highlighted on the calendar, topped with a picture of Snoopy and his doghouse decked out in festive accessories.

Impossible to miss the overly cheerful music, the jingling bells, and the calls to be charitable to the poorer, less fortunate beings of the world.

Except humans never practiced what they preached.

No matter how much they claimed to care, Brain knew they never would. All of those charitable feelings would vanish as soon as Christmas was over, and they’d go right back to wallowing in their ignorance.

If they truly wanted to be charitable, they’d recognize Brain as the indisputable ruler over the world. But since humans always looked down on non-humans, it was an uphill battle with no end in sight.

But that was just fine with Brain. He wanted to be recognized for his merits and intelligence. He wanted to accomplish something other than achieving the lowest times on maze runs.

In time, his efforts would be rewarded. The bitter defeats would gradually transform into sweet victories.

But for now, he was unable to make headway into world domination since all the ACME employees had gathered by the main entrance, waiting for 3 pm to roll around like a class of bored schoolchildren who desperately wanted to go home.

If the higher ups were expecting all these mediocre scientists to show up for work and be productive on a snowy Christmas Eve, they were sorely mistaken. They were only here to collect their paychecks and didn’t care about scientific progress at all.

One lab tech popped a CD full of classic Christmas songs into an old stereo, and a chorus of Feliz Navidad began. Several scientists spun in their chairs, absentmindedly sucking on candy canes.

Brain was just as impatient as they were, but at least he’d be productive with his time once they all left.

“So ya got any plans, Bill?” a scientist asked.

“Go home,” Bill replied with a shake of his balding head. “Sleep because there’s no way I’m getting any shuteye with the twins bouncing off the walls for their presents tonight.”

“Kids are gonna be like that,” a lab tech spoke up. “I had to stop mine from taste-testing the cookies she wanted to leave out for Santa.”

Laughter rang out from the group, everyone taking turns to relate Christmas mishaps with their families. Soon almost every human joined in on the camereradie, except the most eccentric and inept scientist of them all.

Dr. Henry Hinkle was a man who claimed to bridge the fields of science and magic. However, he was woefully mediocre in both departments, and Brain had long ascertained the man had faked his credentials. Even Hinkle’s fashion sense was peculiar, as his gray lab coat was cut into the style of a magician’s fanciful tailcoat. With his brown handlebar mustache, he seemed more like a harried time traveler from the 19th century than a modern citizen.  

His most prized possession was a tall silk hat with a pink flower attached to the band. Hinkle often claimed it was a magic hat, one that performed wondrous and mystifying deeds far beyond human comprehension. Hinkle was attached to that hat, and nobody had ever seen him in public without it.

Hinkle stood apart from everyone else, an outsider from the science clique. He frantically paced back and forth, desperately trying to get the so-called magic hat to perform properly.

"Say, Hinkle? Didn't you have a gig at the elementary school last week? How'd that go?" Bill called, and all eyes turned to Hinkle, whose eyes nervously flicked back and forth at the sudden attention.

"Swell, very swell," Hinkle mumbled as he nervously fiddled with his hat. "Those little ankle-bi...I mean those delightful, darling angels were floored by my magic."

A woman scoffed and rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Yeah, right. My son was part of that class, and he thought it was the worst Christmas party he'd ever had. How embarrassing that you can't shuffle a deck of cards."

“Madam, I will have you know I can shuffle a deck with my eyes closed and one hand behind my back!” Hinkle retorted. He flicked his left sleeve, and an entire card deck slipped out and spilled onto the ground. As Hinkle bent down in a hasty attempt to get the cards back in order, a small wand, several rubber balls, and colorful scarves tumbled out his other sleeve.

Nobody bothered to help Hinkle out with his misfortune. His coworkers elbowed each other, pointed fingers, and snickered among themselves instead.

The situation was far too pathetic to be humorous.

Brain wasn’t surprised by humans anymore. Peace and goodwill toward their fellow men didn’t exist, though the holiday season claimed otherwise.

It was now 2:40 pm. Only twenty minutes left in this humiliating performance, and Brain could formulate his next plan for world domination without further interruption.  

Hinkle quickly stuffed the mess into his coat pockets. Then he straightened up, pulling on both ends of his bowtie in a vain effort to appear calm and collected once he was finished.

“If your hat really is magic, show us a few tricks!” Bill jeered, and the other employees joined in with challenges of their own.

“Oh, I will. And all of you will feel silly for doubting me after I’m through! Silly, silly, silly indeed!” Hinkle shouted. He tried to remove the hat from his head with a graceful flourish, but clumsily dropped it instead.

He chuckled nervously, a bead of sweat running down his forehead despite the chill.

“As with any exercise, a good magician always warms up with the basics,” Hinkle declared as he showed his audience a small red ball. “For my first trick, I will put this red rubber ball into my magic hat like so, and presto change-o, I have five red rubber balls to-”

He tipped the magic hat upside down. A single red ball bounced out, rolling along the floor before it hit an unimpressed lab tech’s shoe.

“-go,” Hinkle finished dejectedly. He peered into the hat, futilely shaking it as if the other four balls would pop out. Once he realized that wouldn’t be the case, his shoes scuffed the ground in shame as he picked up the single red ball and dropped it back into his hat.

“Look on the bright side, man! You produced invisible balls without trying!” someone called, garnering laughter from the rest of the audience.

Hinkle’s face turned red.

And while the scorn wasn’t directed at Brain, he thought the heckling was an unnecessary endeavor. There was little point in prolonging the man’s misery, no matter how incompetent or delusional he was at magic tricks.

“N-now, as I said before, that was just a warm up,” Hinkle said, nervously tugging at his collar. Then he pulled a small pink scarf out from his pocket, spilling several cards and dice onto the floor again. “But my second trick is sure to amaze you! Watch as I place this scarf into my hat and let the magic focus, now hocus pocus I say, and out come green, gold, and...gray?”

To nobody’s surprise, there was only a lone pink scarf in Hinkle’s hand. “There were supposed to be endless scarves attached to this…” he muttered. It fluttered out of his hand and back into the hat.

But nobody was paying attention to Hinkle anymore. The clock struck three, and the dull atmosphere changed to a holiday-induced fervor as everyone pushed and shoved their way to the front so they could card out and leave.

Brain crept to the front of his cage, one hand resting on his crooked tail as he prepared to unlock the cage and make headway into his plans as soon as they left. He was brimming with viable ideas, and they needed to be written down before he forgot them.

“EVERYBODY, WAIT!” Hinkle bellowed over the noise, and his colleagues turned to him with annoyance written all over their faces.

Brain gritted his teeth. Just let them go already! Was that really so difficult?

“I have one more trick, yes, just one more teensy trick up my sleeve! A real one, I assure you! You won’t be disappointed!” Hinkle said, rubbing his hands together frantically. He emptied his pockets, tossing props everywhere in a vain attempt to find something useful.

Then Hinkle donned a pair of white magician’s gloves, his eyes falling right on Brain. And Brain realized he was about to be conscripted as an unwilling volunteer.

Since his usual tactic of biting fingers until he was left alone wouldn’t work on gloved hands, Brain beat a hasty retreat to the back of his cage, intending to use the exercise wheel as further cover.

But he only made it halfway to the wheel when the door opened and gloved fingers pinched his tail, dragging him out of the cage and dangling him over the magic hat for everyone to see.

“Watch as I transform this ugly lab mouse into a beautiful dove!” Hinkle yelled, and just as Brain processed the insult, he was unceremoniously dropped into the hat. He fell right on top of the rubber ball, knocking the wind out of him. “Abracadabra alakazam!”

Brain pressed himself against the inside folds of the hat as he tried to catch his breath, but he was only given a moment of reprieve before he was snatched up and thrown into the air, as if Hinkle expected him to grow wings because of a nonsensical phrase.

He slammed against the window and fell to the table below, shaking his head to clear away the stars circling in his vision. Every part of his body ached, agony starting from the tip of his tail and snaking up his spine. Slowly, he sat up and checked himself over in the window.

There was a distinct lack of avian features in his reflection, as he expected. He had a new break in his tail from the rough treatment, but there weren’t any other new markings.  

Everyone stared at Brain in silence, and the only sounds were barely suppressed squeaks of disbelief from Hinkle and a chorus of Deck the Halls.

Then there was a booming laugh.

“Prettiest dove I’ve ever seen!” Bill said, to the mirth of his coworkers.  

Brain’s ears flattened, and he wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground and disappear forever.

His fists clenched at the sound of their mockery. He never chose to be involved in this ridiculous demonstration. Or deal with their scorn and stupidity every day. Or live at ACME Labs at all, where he had to suffer through experiment after experiment on top of attempting world domination and failing every single night.

“Come back! I have trick cards! Magic 8-balls! I’ll saw something in half and put it back together, I swear!” Hinkle shouted at the scientists’ retreating figures as they all carded out and stepped into the bitter chill of winter. They shuffled through the snow-covered property and into their vehicles, not wishing to be delayed any longer.

The prized silk hat crumpled in Hinkle’s hand.

“Bah! The only thing this junk hat’s good for is the trash can!” Hinkle snarled as he hurled the hat at the wastebasket by the door, but it only hit the nearby wall instead.

Then he stomped out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Brain peered out the window, his breath forming a small patch of fog against the cold glass as he watched Hinkle trudge towards the city. He waited a minute to ensure Hinkle wasn't coming back, then rushed over to a drawer where he'd hidden a roll of blueprints and writing utensils.

He was finally, blissfully alone.

Strands of colorful Christmas lights twinkled along the walls, casting a festive hue onto the unfurled blueprints.

Solve for x. Cube the most wonderful time of the year. Multiply by pi.

Peppermints, candy canes, and chocolates were mixed together in a snowflake-patterned bowl. Brain snacked on one of the chocolates as he scribbled a preliminary design for a machine. The candy was bittersweet on his tongue.

Sodium and chloride to form an ionic bond. Three irons needed to balance the equation. Symbol H stood for the hap-happiest season of all.

Only the scratching of his pencil, the hum of a heater which barely worked, and an old, droning carol. The Christmas bells subdued, the computers shut off.

And hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near. Loved ones are near. Loved ones are near...  

There was a wet spot on the blueprint, directly over where he was trying to write. Frowning, he rubbed out the excess moisture, but only succeeded in smudging his numbers. He started over in an empty space, only for the wetness to appear again. Annoyed, he flipped his pencil around and rubbed the grayed area with his eraser.

The blueprint ripped.

Though the hole was tiny and didn’t affect the rest of his work in the slightest, it seemed that his plan had failed before he’d implemented it.

And it occurred to him that he’d never considered how the machine would function or how it would help him accomplish his takeover.

His face felt strange, so he rubbed his cheeks to get rid of the sensation. His hand came away damp.

Oh.

He was crying.

It was that stupid song’s fault. He dropped his pencil and walked over to the stereo, slamming his hand against the stop button just as the song reached its end.

The sound cut off immediately.

Only the dying thrums of a malfunctioning heater now.

The silence was overwhelming.

Christmas media always said the holiday season was a joyous occasion for family and friends, a time for reflection and rebirth as the year wrapped up and began anew.

But it was just propaganda. Nothing more than lies so people would praise themselves as right and virtuous and loving when they were nothing of the sort.

Brain splashed cold water onto his face, ridding himself of the useless tears. Then he looked out the window. A light flurry had begun, the clouds low and dreary gray. The land was already blanketed in snow from the blizzard on the winter equinox, and temperatures hadn’t warmed up since.

And while there were footprints in the snow from passersby, much of the surrounding property was untouched.

Maybe that’s what he needed.

An opportunity to numb himself, to walk around in the cold and discard these useless, empty aches in his chest.

He tore up his blueprint and threw it away. He was better off starting over after his stint outside.

Then he put on his winter gear, nicked from a doll somebody had brought in as a donation to a toy drive, but now lay forgotten in the lab.

The thick white jacket was comfortable and padded with extra fluff. He threw the hood over his head and tucked in his ears, then pulled on his snow boots and gloves.

As he wound a long piece of string around the window latch, he caught sight of the silk hat that laid beside the wastebasket, considered nothing more than trash since it wouldn’t do what Hinkle wanted. The rubber ball and scarf was still inside, crumpled and forgotten.

Magic wasn’t real. It was simply the art of misdirection and illusion. Or a word the uneducated used to describe occurrences they couldn’t explain with science.

Despite his beliefs, Brain built a simple pulley system with thick yarn and an empty spool to haul the silk hat up to the counter.

He could use the hat for extra fabric. Repurpose it. Shrink it so he could have a formal hat for himself.

He opened the window, allowing the cold wind to numb the exposed fur on his face. With all the flurries, he’d probably regret this decision later, but that wasn’t anything new. Then he dropped the loose end of the string outside and tugged the knot around the latch. Once he was satisfied with the knot’s tightness, he dropped the silk hat into the snow-covered bushes below.

It was ironic, how he experimented with chemicals and complicated machinery every night, but didn’t know what he was doing with a simple hat.

Maybe that humiliating demonstration had messed with his mind, overriding all his logic and planning capabilities.

But it seemed like such a flimsy excuse, not providing a satisfactory explanation as to why he’d dragged a so-called magic hat outside on what was supposed to be a simple break.

Brain slid down the string, his boots crunching against the snow as he landed. He stuck out a gloved hand, catching several flurries.

No two snowflakes looked alike, they always said. But their crystalline structures couldn’t be seen without a microscope, so they were nothing more than white powder to the naked eye. He rolled the flurries in his palm until they formed a tiny snowball.

It gave him an idea.

But...it was childish. Stupid.

Yet he found himself rolling snow anyway.

This patch of the property was completely undisturbed, so he had a nice layer of clean, white snow untouched by human footprints to work with.

Nobody was around to see him. And it gave his hands something to do instead of remaining idle.

He quickly found that rolling snow into a spherical shape per the typical snowman wasn’t as easy as television depicted. The snow didn’t want to move in the way he wanted, and it came out as a lumpy, ovular mound that happened to be the same size as him.

He kicked aside a thin, whiplike twig that had broken off from one of the nearby bushes as he gathered more snow to form the head. Then he reconsidered and picked up the twig.

In his hands, it looked very similar to a mouse’s tail. One that wasn’t broken by mishandling.

While he didn’t have the height or the tools required for a full-sized snowman, maybe he could create a snowmouse instead.

He carefully threaded the twig into the backside of the mound, curling it around so it resembled an actual tail.

Then he brushed extra snow away from the front, smoothing out the mound until it had the snowy equivalent of legs.

The head was more difficult to sculpt, but he managed to create something that would be recognizable as a mouse’s head, with two small snowballs forming the ears and a muzzle that jutted out. He would’ve made the muzzle smaller, but the increased size was necessary to counterweight the ears. Lastly, he slid two sticks into each side of the snowmouse to serve as arms.

The snowmouse was twice Brain’s height, and while it had the proportions of a mouse, it was ultimately just a cold white body with three embedded twigs. No personality, no splashes of color.

Anyone could easily miss or step on it.

The snowmouse would be gone by next week, once the temperature rose above freezing. No trace of his handiwork would remain.

Such was life. Short and brutal, with nothing to show for it.

The faceless snowmouse seemed oddly alone, the only other thing besides Brain in this wintery courtyard. There wasn’t anything for either of them here.

“Sorry,” Brain said, unsure of why he was apologizing to something that couldn’t hold a conversation. He’d wasted far too much time here. He had to get back to his plans. “I’m going inside.” 

A chilly breeze blew, and Brain held fast to his hood so it didn’t come off. As he turned to the lab, he saw the silk hat become airborne, flying several feet until it landed by Brain and the snowmouse.

He didn’t think the breeze had been that strong.

But the strangest part was how the hat was much smaller than before. It wouldn’t fit a human anymore.

Even the red rubber ball and pink scarf shrunk. And there were several pebbles that hadn’t been there previously, though Brain guessed they could’ve just gotten inside when he’d dropped the hat.

Brain stared at the items, then back at the snowmouse.

“Just this once,” he sighed as he draped the scarf between the main body and head, then placed the rubber ball at the end of the muzzle for a nose.

Two of the pebbles became unseeing eyes, though Brain was at a loss of what he should do with the other two pebbles. He tried using them as a replacement for buttons on the body, but that didn’t seem right. And placing them on the cheeks just looked awkward.  

Brain held a pebble in each hand, stepping back to determine the placement. But he didn’t find anything satisfactory.

He was about to discard the pebbles entirely, but then he noticed that the snowmouse seemed to have an odd pair of buckteeth sticking out at the end of its muzzle with the way he held the pebbles.

Perhaps he should’ve left it as a matter of perspective. It was stupid. It was silly.

But Brain stuck the pebbles on the underside of the muzzle anyway.

The snowmouse looked ridiculous with its red rubber nose, pink scarf, and pebbles for eyes and goofy buckteeth.

Another breeze picked up, and one of the snowmouse’s stick arms waved, moving up and down like it was saying hello.

Like it was...friendly. Alive. Happy.

Slowly, Brain approached the snowmouse. He placed one hand on the snowmouse’s body, balanced on his tiptoes, and threw the silk hat on top.

For reasons Brain couldn’t explain, the hat just seemed to go with the rest of the snowmouse.

And then he caught himself.

What a ridiculous concept.

Creating a snowmouse wasn’t his worst transgression, if he’d just left it at the creation process. No, instead he had to go personifying it! Assigning qualities that shouldn’t be designated to inanimate objects!

Snow wasn’t alive. It was water. That’s all it was.

“You’re snow. You’re just a pile of frozen water!” Brain yelled, turning away from the snowmouse. Enough with these idiotic fantasies. He was going inside, back to the cruel reality of trying to take over the world. “You’re not alive, so just leave me alone! Quit toying with my perception!”

He stomped towards the window, but only made it a few steps before an odd sound gave him pause.

“Toys? Narrrrrf! That sounds like jolly good fun! Can I play with toys too?”

Brain looked over his shoulder, and promptly tripped over himself in surprise.

A pair of bright blue eyes was looking back at him. Actual eyes, not pebbles.

And the snowmouse was talking.

End AN: I feel really bad for calling Brain ugly. *sobs*

I actually kinda find writing Hinkle’s dialogue fun. A bit of a strange character to crossover with, but fun. Hocus Pocus the Rabbit won’t be making an appearance. 

Also some changes will be made from the original Frosty the Snowman cause some parts of the cartoon don’t make sense. A greenhouse at the North Pole, really?

[mlqcconfessions]

MLQC Headcanons - “Are you jealous?”

Because Tumblr likes being a butt, the ask sent by nonny was DELETED before I could answer it! But I did manage to read the request in my notifications. Sorry to the anon if it’s a little different than what you had asked 

Characters: 4 Main Guys X MC

Prompt: Jealousy over someone getting a little too close to you

Warnings: FLUFF OVERLOAD

Victor

Your relationship with LFG’s CEO was still secret

Of course, you were the one who suggested the idea (he could care less what the press thinks, but didn’t want to compromise your privacy)

You’re actually kind of sad that he puts distance between you two during work (I know I said that, but even when we’re alone in his office?)

He makes it up by kissing you in the elevator (Goldman doesn’t understand why you’re standing so far away from Victor and honestly he doesn’t want to know)

After a few weeks of this “secret dating”, you’re so deprived of Victor that you’re less energetic

He notices this, obviously, and actually feels bad about it

Decides to bring some pudding along with him

He drives up to your company to pick you up, but notices you talking with someone (he lowers the window slightly to hear)

Doesn’t think much of it until he hears the guy asking for your number

And you willingly give it to him? 

“This idiot....!”

Victor gets out of his car and walks up to the two of you, hand on your back, and escorts you to the passenger seat (shoots a quick nod back at the guy)

You notice the small bag under your seat and open it, surprised by the small containers filled to the rim with pudding (you waste no time in opening one)

Unbelievable, do I have to ask her myself?

“I never realized you were this careless, MC” (you look up from your pudding)

“What do you mean?”

“Giving your number to a stranger like that? I knew you were a dummy, but to this extent?” (his eyes are fixed on yours as the light turns red)

“Well, he’s going to need his boss’ number, isn’t he? And plus if anything goes wrong with the projects, I’ll need to know” 

“....boss?” (Victor nearly misses the turn)

“Yeah, remember Minor? The newly hired one? I thought I told you already...” (your words drown out in his head as he pieces everything together)

“Wait, Victor...are you being jealous right now?” (he doesn’t like that your eyes are lighting up of all times for her to be observant)

He stops at another red light and leans over to lick the pudding off on your cheek (this guy!)

“So what if I am?”

Kiro

You had asked him if he could come for a segment on your show (modeling for some products)

You ask, he answers

Poor Savin has to clean up the mess after Kiro cancelled his ENTIRE schedule

“Miss Chips NEEDS me!” (if you weren’t Kiro’s girlfriend, Savin would’ve destroyed you)

In between shots he always appears at your side with snacks

“You need to be energized, MC!” (actually just needs an accomplice against Savin)

You’re amazed at the 180 difference of this sunshine when he’s with you vs. when he’s filming (he knows you’re amazed)

One of the cameramen calls you over to discuss the recent shots

The two of you discuss how to bring out the best in Kiro (he was fantastic as is, but there was a spark that just lacked)

He notices you slowly inching towards the cameraman, hands on the back of his chair (sunshine boy is pouty; why can’t you notice that your coworker clearly has interest in you?)

You ponder over how this shoot can be better, unaware that Kiro was staring at your every move

“Maybe someone else can be in the shot with him?” (you suggest, looking up to meet his radiating eyes)

“Great idea! MC, you do it!” (he gets up to grab your hand, and leads you to the front of the studio)

“No...I possibly can’t...”

Your arguments are useless as Kiro calls his team over to help you get prepared

3. HOURS. OF PREPARATIONS.

But you step out, beautifully dressed, catching the eyes of everyone in the room, including the very cameraman (this is NOT what Kiro wanted!)

He quickly pulls you towards him, “Trust me, MC” (stops to look at the cameraman before focusing on you)

He stages these elaborate poses to capture your best angles (Kiro, have you forgotten who this shoot is for?)

He sees that the cameraman is at a loss for words at your beauty (can’t blame him, but still)

For the last shot Kiro leans down and softly blows into your ear, causing you to profusely blush

He looks at the cameraman one last time before leaning down again to whisper

“Don’t be so cute in front of other guys, you’re making me jealous”

Lucien

He’s used to having students come up to him and flirting with him

Of course, it doesn’t faze him at all (but he does enjoy seeing your reactions when he flirts back)

Never thought the tides would turn against him

He sees another student walking up to you during lecture

“Is this seat taken?”

“No, go ahead!”

Lucien’s gaze lands on the student, his face flushed while pulling out the chair to sit next to you (......interesting, of all the seats?)

He looks around the room to find the tens of empty seats in the hall (you were oblivious to his advances that’s my girl)

He resumes the lecture with this in mind, his eyes occasionally darting to you

Obviously the student had no interests in the lesson, but just towards you

But you offer to lend your textbook to him, since he didn’t bring it (learning wasn’t his intentions, after all)

He leans closer to you as you push your hair behind your ears

Nothings gets past Lucien’s eyes (It’s the boyfriend radar in him)

“Mr. Smith, can you please explain the effects of rejection on the brain and its relations to physical pain?” (his lips curl to form a smile his eyes definitely weren’t smiling)

The student immediately understood the context, and scoots away from you in embarrassment “I...I don’t know, professor”

You glance back and forth between the student and Lucien, the latter having a look of satisfaction before continuing the lecture

“Jealousy is an unpredictable emotion. It can cause a person to become irrational and............dangerous”

The clock hits 5 PM, and the student darts out of the room as quickly as he came in

“Well, I suppose that’s the end of today’s lecture. Have a safe trip home, class”

You pack your stuff to leave when he calls your name

“Ah, Miss MC? Please stay for a bit. I need to talk to you about......preventing misunderstandings”

He locks the door

You don’t get out until 7

Gavin

Your frequent visits to the STF headquarters make yourself famous within the other evol agents

Everyone eyes the two of you as you drop off his lunch

You actually enjoy this situation very much (make his lunches EXTRA cute on purpose He blushes everytime he opens the box)

He is called in by one of the mission leaders to discuss their next plans

He squeezes your hand before heading over to a conference room

You stare at his deliciously chiseled back, unaware that Eli has appeared behind you

Ever since your first meeting with Eli, the two of you have grown considerably close (all you talk about is Gavin, after all)

He often updates you about Birdcop: what he's doing on missions, if he's well, if he got hurt (actually undermines any injuries he sustained during battle)

Eli knows how scary you can get

In return, you tell him about Gavin's cute moments

Like when he got drunk a few nights back and got jealous because you took a selfie with Sparky AND NOT WITH HIM (Eli adds this to his "How to Make Fun of B-7" list)

"I love him more than you do, MC"

"No Eli, he's MY boyfriend!"

The two of you, in your own world, laugh away as the argument over who gets custody of Gavin heats up

Meanwhile, Gavin notices the two of you through the one-way mirror in the conference room

You're laughing? Laughing the dorky, adorable giggle you only showed me? To Eli?

He's unable to focus for the rest of the meeting

He wants to storm out of the room and separate the two of you, but he knows his limits (he doesn't want you to see him acting so unprofessionally)

As soon as the meeting is adjourned Birdcop literally FLIES out the door and hides you behind his back

You're slightly annoyed because your "Things Gavin Says in His Sleep" discussion with Eli was interrupted

Then you realize the small barrier of wind blocking Eli from coming close

“Gavin...are you jealous?”

That was the first time Eli saw Agent B-7 flushed from head to toes (he secretly took a picture, and later showed it to the other agents)

We all love a good fluff

Whose imagine did you enjoy the most? For this post, I honestly can’t choose XD

[knightofameris]

passionfruit yakult — oikawa tooru

𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛: Neutral 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜: boba shop au, enemies to lovers muahah, cursing, college au as well????, there’s a guy who is really pushy towards making a move on you so almost kinda sexual harrassment, *slaps fic* this baby can hold all the tropes huh, tbH THIS SHOULD BE A LONG FIC BUT UHHHHHHHH, LOTS of cursing. WILL PROOFREAD TOMORROW.  𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 3.1𝚔 (my longest one wtf)

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍: passionfruit yakult 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 Ding Tea 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔!

⇽ 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 ◜𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜' 𝚋𝚘𝚋𝚊 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚙 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚞◞ 

Mornings for you weren’t that bad. Actually, you kinda liked mornings (even if you slept late the night before). It’s always a bit cathartic for you when you’re able to wake up early enough to watch the world wake up before your eyes. Plus, the whole thing makes you feel a bit more productive for being able to wake up early. Though, some days are worse than others. Don’t let that deter you, though, sleeping in doesn’t make you any less productive. As long as everyone here is getting the right amount of sleep and not listen to what society deems as productive, you’re doing just fine. 

Except, mornings are bad. For one reason only. Working the first shift meant preparing the shop an hour before it opened every morning. 

Wake up at seven, lay in bed on your phone for a few minutes, set some music on your speakers, do a bit of morning yoga. Then brush your teeth, eat, get dressed, and pack your bag full of things you’d need for classes along with a change of clothes and it’s already nine. You liked to take your time getting ready in the morning. Get to the train station and clock in to work at ten. 

But every morning, every god damn morning when you’d clock in at ten o’clock there’d be some sort of mess. The floor wasn’t mopped, maybe. Or the cups weren’t stacked in their rightful spots. Perhaps there were dishes left over that still needed cleaning. Or, mayhaps, the screens for the menu were left on for some reason? You could go on about it.

Whoever worked the night shifts was surely out to get you. You were sure of it. They just wanted to piss you off for no reason other than to make you hate mornings, because you’re one of the few that actually like mornings! 

“I swear to god,” you mutter angrily, “I’m gonna murder the evening shift people.” 

This morning, they decided to forget to mop the floors. Or rather, they forgot to do it last night. 

“I feel like the more they glare at the floor, the floor’s going to get destroyed,” Yukie said, eating her onigiri as she sat on one of the chairs. She had already finished her morning duties. 

Akaashi sighed, about to step in to take over before Bokuto bounded towards you instead. 

“Hey, hey, hey! Let me mop the floors instead, we still got a few more minutes before the store opens so just relax!” Bokuto grinned at you, his hands outreached for the mop in your hands. Staring at him with his bubbly and energetic personality relaxed you. Of course, your fellow morning shift coworkers had a distaste towards whoever it was that left the place messy the night before, but you were the one that found it most frustrating. Considering the fact that you’ve left notes for them. 

Taking a deep breath, you hand the mop to Bokuto and thank him before walking towards Akaashi who simply stood behind the counter with his hands clasped behind his back. His watchful eyes stayed on your form. The anger that was in you earlier had dissipated. Finally, Akaashi could relax instead of figuring out a way to keep you from aggressively making drinks. 

“Do we know who even works the night shift?” You asked, fiddling with the laptop that played the music throughout the shop. 

“Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime, Hanamaki Takahiro, and Matsukawa Issei,” Akaashi says off the top of his head. “You should really look at the schedule more often.” 

You shoot a glare at Akaashi but he remains unfazed. But it surprises you that you didn’t know that pretty boy Oikawa Tooru was the one leaving a mess. Okay sure it can be one of the others or all four of them but the “pretty boy” never sat right with you with his fan club.

“Isn’t Oikawa-san that one pretty boy with a fan club on campus?” Yukie questioned, her onigiri long finished. 

“Huh? Oh! Yeah! He plays volleyball with me,” Bokuto said, pushing the mop cart back to the janitorial closet. “I think he also played for his team back in high school. Aoba Johsai?” Akaashi nodded his head in confirmation.

You raise a brow at them, “Don’t you play volleyball Akaashi?” You slightly recall the times Yukie, Bokuto, and Akaashi have talked about going back to their high school to visit underclassmen or their training camps to see how Hinata and Tsukki were doing, whoever they were. 

“Yes, but now that we’re in university I don’t play anymore, so I’ve never met Oikawa-san or the others.” 

“Ah,” you slightly tilt your head back in realization. “That makes sense.” 

A tapping on the door interrupted the conversation and all of your heads turn to the glass doors. It’s a customer, an older one, who simply points at his non-existent watch on his wrist. 

“Oops, it’s time to open up shop,” Yukie declared and all four of you went into motion to get started for the day, music began to play through the speakers of the shop. 

***

You were always the first of the four to leave from the first shift, since you had less of a gap between the end of the shift to the class you always had after. But fortunately, next semester you were able to find class times that better suited your schedule. 

Sitting in the lecture hall, grabbing the necessary items you’d need for the next hour out of your bag, you see Konoha making his way over to you. You met him in one of your classes your first year, but found it surprising that he also happened to be friends with Bokuto and the others since high school. 

But the first few sentences he said to you that day probably ruined your week. 

“Did you check the schedule of classes?” Your scrunched up face gave him the answer he needed. “The next class for the physics series next semester was moved to the afternoon instead of evening, so you’re gonna have to change shifts.” 

“What?!” 

Letting out a loud groan, Konoha gave you a sympathetic look, knowing how much you hated the night shift people you always talked about. 

***

Getting through the last part of the semester was difficult but not impossible. Sleepless nights spent at the library studying, cramming, working, and of course trying your best to keep calm while cleaning up the mess from the previous night shifts at Ding Tea. Oh right, and telling the manager you’ll be needing a change in shifts. 

It worked out well, luckily one of the workers from the night shift also had to change schedules so you simply changed with them. Iwaizumi Hajime. From what you hear around campus, he’s the only one who can keep the reins on Oikawa. So you were wondering how in the world working with Oikawa was going to be like, especially without him.

Oikawa let out a whine on his way to work with his other three friends. Except, Iwaizumi was the only one not wearing the work clothes, considering he was heading to class instead. 

“Iwa-chan, why did you have to switch shifts, now we have to deal with one of the morning shift workers.” 

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes with a scowl on his face, “Shut it Crappykawa, there’s four of them so we don’t even know if this person in particular is the one leaving the mess.” 

“Still! If I have to deal with cleaning up spilled boba from the floor again, I will-”

“What do you mean, I always end up cleaning the spilled boba,” Matsukawa comments. Iwaizumi whacks Oikawa on the back of his head, saying he had no right to complain if he wasn’t the one cleaning it up before he ended up needing to part from them. 

“See ya,” Hanamaki and the others waved at him. “Wish us luck keeping Oikawa under control.” 

“Just give him a good smack on the head, it’ll be fine,” Iwaizumi smirked and turned around, heading towards class. Hanamaki and Matsukawa exchanged glances, a silent conversation between the two of them as Oikawa spent the rest of the walk depressed and rubbing the back of his head. When they approached the store they saw you already inside, working diligently to prepare the shop, a few customers already coming by. 

As the three boys head into the shop through the back to clock in, you immediately shoot them a glare. But most of it goes towards Oikawa, who gets the sudden chills down his spine. 

“You’re late.” 

Then a smile appears on your face, greeting the customers after you turn your head away from them. 

“Well, this will be fun,” Hanamaki comments, grinning as he puts on his apron to help you out in the front. 

Oikawa points towards you half-heartedly as he looks up to Matsukawa, “I feel like they already hate me, what did I do Mattsun?” 

Matsukawa simply shrugs, “If Iwaizumi was here he’d just say it’s because of your fanclub.” 

“They’re just jealous I have girls and boys and everyone else falling for me,” Oikawa turns his nose up, also heading towards the front since they all knew with his face in the front, they’d definitely get more customers.

***

“Stop making a mess Shitty-kawa! Clean it up next time!”

“Oi! Where’d you get that from? Iwa-chan?!” 

--

“No one wants you here, Oink-kawa.” 

“Wh-wha- Excuse me, we get more customers because of me. And Oink-kawa?!” 

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re a pig.” 

--

“You’re the one that made me hate mornings, and now I hate the entire day because I know I have to work with you!” 

“You’re just jealous tha-”

“No.” 

Matsukawa walked up to Hanamaki who was preoccupied on his phone. You, however, marched past Matsukawa and Hanamaki into the back with an angry huff. It was always entertaining to see the Iwaizumi and Oikawa argue, but the two of you had something... Different? 

To be quite honest, the two of them were tired of your arguing, especially as the semester came to an end. And Iwaizumi was tired of hearing the two of them complain about you and Oikawa, and then Oikawa complaining about you. 

“Hey,” Hanamaki shifted his phone for Matsun to see, “there’s a party tomorrow night.”

Matsukawa raised a brow, “We have work tomorrow.” 

Hanamaki gave him a pointed look, “Do you really want to deal with them?” 

Matsukawa glanced over at Oikawa fuming at the front then over to you, angrily shoving and reorganizing the boxes in the back. Meeting his strawberry-blonde friend’s eyes, his decision was made. 

***

“Sorry guys,” their manager, gave you and Oikawa a pitied look with a shrug as she prepared to leave after checking in. “Matsukawa-kun and Hanamaki-kun never took a sick day so I gave it to them. No one else could come in and besides, it’s Thursday. Not a lot of people come in on Thursdays.” 

You tried reaching for and arguing with your manager but she narrowly avoided your hand when she made it through the door to escape the bickering she only ever wanted to hear about, but never experience it. 

Oikawa opened his mouth to speak until you raised your finger up in the air, silencing him immediately. 

“I’ll work front, you stay in the back.” 

And for once, Oikawa didn’t have the energy to try to retort. 

At this point, the two of you just learned to sorta put up with each other. It was hard, but it was necessary. And, you would never admit to it out loud, but you were getting tired of being angry all the time. And yet, you still always let yourself be angry at him. 

Because he was annoying. 

Even when he talked about volleyball and wanting to be the best and to finally beat that Ushiwaka guy or outsmart Kageyama. Okay you’ll admit, his passion is pretty incredible. But Oikawa was annoying. 

That’s it. 

Final. 

Luckily, your manager was right. Today was a slow day but it was a slower day than usual. Which you couldn’t complain about. It’ll be boring, sure, but it’ll be easy. You just wished that Hanamaki and Matsukawa were there. They were funny, and you liked talking to them. 

The front door opened with a ring and you and Oikawa both called out, welcoming the man that walked in. You didn’t pay any mind to him, just another customer and he seemed to be someone who was a college kid. 

“Hi, what can I get for you?” You tried putting on your best smile and the man arched a brow. 

“Uh, the signature is fine.” 

“Sure thing, what size?” 

“Large. No boba.” 

“Alright, and will that be all?” After typing in his order, you look back up, the fake customer service smile still painted on your face. 

“How about your number?” 

You blinked. The guy wasn’t necessarily bad looking, but the more he stared at you the more you got a weird vibe from him. 

You chuckled nervously, “Uhm, sorry-” you tried coming up with an excuse as to why you didn’t want to give him your number. 

“Come on, baby,” he placed his hands onto the counter, leaning in towards you as you froze in place, “I can be your sugar daddy, how about that? You don’t have to work in this place and all you have to do wou-”

“Excuse me sir, we have the right to deny anyone service and I think you need to leave.” 

The man glanced behind you and you saw him visibly shiver before he stood straight up. It seemed as if the man was debating whether or not he wanted to try to argue. 

“The door is right there,” Oikawa placed his hand on your shoulder, giving you a reassuring squeeze. “Please leave.” 

Looking up at Oikawa, there was a sort of deadly gaze with his eyes being overshadowed that would’ve made you shit your pants but knowing it wasn’t directed at you but rather this man, it made you feel safe. And the way he spoke, it was lower than usual, but filled with a sense of authority. 

Taking in Oikawa’s figure made you realize how tall he was and how fit he got from volleyball. His shoulders were incredibly broad and the squeeze was firm yet it didn’t hurt. 

The ringing of the bell from the front door brought you out of your daze as Oikawa’s face softened when looking at you. 

“Are you alright?” Oikawa asked, his chocolate-brown eyes searching yours. When you don’t reply he says your name. 

You suddenly take a step back, away from him and glance off to the side. 

“Ye-yeah, I’m fine.” 

“Are you sure, you’re shaking.” Oikawa took another step towards you, placing both of his hands gently on your quivering shoulders. You didn’t even notice you were shaking. 

Oikawa’s thankful that you don’t step away from him. To be honest, he was surprised you didn’t retort back at the man. At the same time, however, the vibes the man gave even made Oikawa himself uncomfortable. 

“Here,” Oikawa began pushing you towards a chair and sat you down, “I’ll close up shop but just sit here for now.” 

“What? But-”

“It’s almost closing time, it’ll be fine~!” His cheery voice coming back easily. Usually it’d piss you off but, you’re more than glad that he’s trying to make you feel better, safe. 

Oikawa went off, locking the front door and turning off the open sign. The setter began humming as he prepared some drinks. Watching him was always interesting. This time it was rather relaxing. You’ve always known Oikawa was a hard worker, as you could tell from when he talked about volleyball and what Bokuto always talked about. But he was a hard worker in every aspect. He charmed customers and he made drinks exceptionally fast and accurately. 

To be honest, you actually didn’t even notice he made any messes. And in your experience with his fan club members always coming in to the boba shop, they were genuinely nice people and he was nice to them as well. 

You let out a groan. You had an image to uphold, you couldn’t go back on what happened in the beginning when you said you hated him. 

But then he placed a drink in front of you and sat across from you, sipping on his own drink. 

You eyed it warily, then looked back up at him as if you were asking him what it was. 

“Passionfruit yakult. With boba, it's usually too sweet and I noticed you don’t like too sweet drinks so it’s half sugar.” 

Grabbing the drink, you pierced the top with a straw and drank it. Though, you’ve never had it, it was good. You were also pleasantly surprised that he even remembered your preferences. 

Wait.

No, you weren’t pleasantly surprised. 

God, you wanted to rip your hair out. 

You set the drink back down, chewing and gulping the boba in your mouth.

“Thank you, by the way,” you murmured just loud enough for him to hear. 

He hummed in response, “The man was being a creep. If it were me however, you’d be fallin-ack!” 

You whacked him across the head, but a smile sat on your lips as your fingers settled to caress the boba drink on the table. 

Oikawa rubbed his head, about to make a retort but instead stared at you. Oikawa found that he liked it when you smiled. He kinda wanted to make you smile some more. 

𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒:

At the end of every morning shift...

“Bokuto-san, make sure you clean up the mess before you leave,” Akaashi called out, grabbing his things before heading off to class. 

Bokuto waved his friend good bye with a grin on his face. And as the boy cleaned up the shop, he somehow forgot to clean up said mess. 

At the end of every night shift... 

“Are we really just going to leave this mess?” 

“They do it to us, so,” Hanamaki shrugged at Matsukawa. The brunet raised a brow then snorted, shutting off the lights before following his friend to the station. 

𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚢, 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗!

𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜' 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:  look.... There was a plot hole and it doesn’t line up with boba shops but let’s just assume that there’s like an hour between the morning/night shift where the store is closed and that’s how they’ve never interacted....(i’ve only worked in a ramen shop adn that’s how it worked there ahdjfkhasdf and i foRGOT OKAY I JUST... IT NEEDED TO MAKE SENSE)

[leaderscoups]

tell me you love me

pairing: mingyu x reader

warnings: (very) light angst

word count: 5,588

summary: you and mingyu have secretly liked each other for a long time, but it’s a small misunderstanding that finally forces you to admit your feelings

You walk into work that morning with an extra spring in your step.

In hand you have a plastic bag of steaming hot takeout food. You had just stopped to pick it up on your way over. The owner of the restaurant sees you so often these days that he has your name and your order memorized. You aren’t quite sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing (but you’re leaning toward the second).

The other stylists greet you warmly when you enter the styling room. One of your friends eyes the bag in your hand with a knowing look. “Who’s that for, Y/N?” they ask, the teasing clear in their voice.

“I bet I can guess,” another chimes in, earning some giggles and amused smiles from the others.

“You guys are the worst,” you complain as you place the bag down on your station. You feel a blush rising up on your cheeks and a quick glance in the mirror proves you’re right. Your face is flushed bright red.

You groan in annoyance. Ever since they discovered your crush on a certain tall member of Seventeen, the teasing has been nearly incessant. But thankfully the topic of conversation soon shifts away from you and toward today’s concept. The boys are filming their reality show this afternoon and the PD wants natural looks for everyone.

You feel a twinge of disappointment. That means less time in the chair today. And less time to see Mingyu.

As you break from the team huddle, your friend nudges you in the side and says, “Don’t look so down, Y/N, you’ll still get to see him.”

“I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” you reply, feigning ignorance.

They grin at your denial and plant a kiss on your cheek. “Ah, Y/N, you’re so cute,” they say with fondness shining in their eyes. “I know we tease you about him, but you have to know that we’re rooting for you. I know how hard it was for you to settle in here at first. But look at you now! Our Y/N has a crush. It makes me happy to see.”

Your friend’s words make you think back to when you first started your job as a professional stylist.

You had felt so out of your league amongst all the other stylists, who seemed so much more experienced and talented than yourself. It was overwhelming and anxiety-inducing and for the longest time you mostly kept to yourself, just trying to make it through and convince yourself that you belonged.

Thankfully, you had a supportive team of coworkers that encouraged you out of your shell and made you feel welcome amongst them. And the boys themselves were always so kind to you and just as welcoming.

But it didn’t start out that way. Looking back, you’re sure that you would have quit after your first day if it wasn’t for one boy in particular.

You remember it with startling clarity, that day. The boys were slowly drifting in for hair and makeup from their post-rehearsal showers, sometimes alone, others in clusters. You waited by your chair, watching nervously as they entered, nearly shaking at the thought of having to do hair for an idol.

But then your worry turned into a different kind as you watched the boys one by one sit themselves down in front of their usual stylists, greeting them brightly and striking up conversation like old friends.

It was your worst nightmare. Nobody was coming to your chair.

You wanted to disappear into the woodwork with how embarrassed you were. You were invisible, insignificant, and completely alone in that room.

You turned away from everyone to hide the tears forming in your eyes.

What am I doing here? you thought. I don’t belong here. I’m not good enough. I should just quit right now and save everyone the trouble—

“Hi.”

A voice interrupted your thoughts, close by and clearly directed at you. Your head snapped up in surprise and you were stunned to find a boy sitting himself down in your chair.

He smiled at you in the mirror, the look of it striking you as shy but sweet and friendly. “Nice to meet you. I’m Mingyu.”

You stared at him, dumbfounded, because wow was he cute. Like, too cute.

“Are you new?” he asked as he made himself comfortable in your chair.

You blinked, snapping back to your senses. You felt a furious blush coming on as you realized you were just standing there, openly staring at him like a complete idiot.

And by the smile on his face, he knew it, too.

I could just die right now and it’d be a thousand times less painful, you thought, mortified.

You cleared your throat and pretended to dig out some of your tools to hide your blush. “Oh, uh, yeah,” you stammered in reply. “It’s my first day.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’re going to do a great job,” you heard him say and your heart did a little flip. Why was this boy, this stranger, being so kind to you? You didn’t understand it.

You looked up and met his eyes in the mirror and he gave you an encouraging smile. You flushed and looked away, but a small, shy smile of your own had found its way onto your lips.

“Thank you,” you said quietly. And you really meant it.

After that, you found it easier to relax. Although it was still nerve-wracking doing hair for an idol (and a really cute one at that), you found that it wasn’t so difficult to let your training take over.

Mingyu’s hair was damp from his shower, so you set to work combing some styling products into his hair and blowing it dry with the hairdryer.

Although you couldn’t talk over the sound of the dryer, you could feel his eyes on you and sensed that he was waiting for it to turn off so he could continue your conversation.

Sure enough, as soon as it was off and set aside, Mingyu said, “You didn’t tell me your name.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess I didn’t. I’m Y/N,” you told him.

Stop blushing, you idiot! you scolded yourself.

Mingyu nodded. “Y/N,” he repeated, like he was storing it away for later.

The flat iron was already plugged in and hot, so you began to straighten and style his hair. The group was going to film a variety show, so it didn’t need to be too fancy, but you were still determined to do your best on your first day.

“Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?” Mingyu said then, his eyes bright and curious.

You hesitated, not quite sure if he was genuinely interested or just being polite.

“You . . . really want to know?” you asked.

He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, of course. I love meeting new people.”

You felt a twinge of disappointment. Oh. So he wasn’t interested in you—you were just something new and different to him. A curiosity.

But not wanting to be rude, you cleared your throat and told him. About yourself, your family, where you grew up. And how you eventually came to work for Pledis Entertainment.

All the while, Mingyu listened to your every word, nodding along with your story and asking you questions in between.

When that first styling session drew to a close, you decided that maybe you had been wrong. Maybe it was you he was interested in. A warm, happy feeling settled in your chest at his attention. Later you would come to realize how grateful you were to him for that first day, for giving you a chance and making you feel important, feel seen.

When you told him you were finished and he was free to go, Mingyu leaned forward in the chair to inspect his reflection. You waited anxiously for his response, shifting back and forth on your feet.

Then, a grin spread across his face. “Wow! It looks amazing. Ah, thank you so much, Y/N.”

You flushed at his praise. “You’re welcome, Mingyu,” you murmured.

He pivoted the chair so he could look up at you. His expression looked almost nervous as he asked you, “Y/N, will you do my hair tomorrow, too?”

You were completely taken aback. You hadn’t thought you did that amazing of a job. You didn’t know what to say other than, “Y-Yes, of course. I’d love to.”

Another full-wattage grin lit up his face. “Sweet! See you tomorrow, Y/N. Thanks again!”

And as he bounded away from your chair, you were left there staring after him with a stunned expression, wondering to yourself, What just happened?

In a daze, you started to clean up your station and organize your tools. It was the sound of someone across the room saying your name that pulled you out of your daze.

Alarmed, you turned back to see Mingyu, standing across the room beside a cluster of white couches, gesturing at his hair and pointing in your direction. His audience was four other boys, who by their striking good looks, could have only been his fellow members.

“Doesn’t it look good? Y/N did it for me! They’re new and they’re really good!” he proclaimed.

Four heads swiveled in your direction. You let out a squeak and quickly turned back around to hide your face, which was burning hot.

“Looks like you have a fan club,” a voice to your left said. You looked over to find the stylist from the station beside yours smiling over at you. Their expression was amused and voice teasing.

This, of course, was your friend.

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing,” you murmured.

The stylist laughed. “Don’t be afraid—they’re harmless. They’re like a pack of puppies.” Then, they quirked a brow. “But, it does seem like you’ve caught one’s attention in particular.”

“What?” you squeaked. “Who?”

Now, they waggled their brow at you. “The tall one,” they said, dragging out the syllables in a distinctly suggestive manner. “The tan, cute one. Kim Mingyu.”

You sputtered. “That’s—that’s not—”

They winked at you. “I suppose time will have to tell.”

And time did tell.

The more you got to know him and the more he got to know you, you felt more and more certain that there was something there. At first it was just friendship and good company. You loved having him in your chair everyday and talking to him about work, life, everything. He was a good listener and you felt like you could trust him. Even more than that, you felt like he actually cared about what you had to say. The more you got to know him, the more you felt convinced that that initial impression about his reasons for talking to you on that first day were wrong. He really did want to get to know you. And you were surprised to find that you really wanted to get to know him, too.

Then, slowly, the friendship that you built started to change into something more.

You began to notice the subtle ways Mingyu would find excuses to touch you. Playfully nudging you in the side when he teased you about something or when he rolled your sleeve back up for you when it fell while you were curling his bangs. Once, when you were leaning down in front of him to fix the part in his hair, he reached up to re-tuck a strand of hair that had fallen in your eyes. You swear it wasn’t your imagination when for moment his gaze flicked down to your mouth.

Then came the little gestures. One time he ran to the convenience store to buy cold medicine for you when you were sick but still had to work. Another time he lent you his jacket when you were filming at a location outdoors and had forgotten yours. You insisted that you were fine (it was thirty-seven degrees and truthfully you weren’t), but instead of listening to you, he removed his jacket, draped it around your shoulders, and ran off before you could protest.

You did things for him, too. And not just because you wanted to return the favor, but because you wanted to care for him, too. You knew how rare it was that he got to eat a good, solid meal—whether it was from his own strict diet or the group’s tight schedule. It was how you’d taken to picking up takeout for him.

One day you��d brought some in for yourself and noticed the way he was eyeing it up with a longing expression.

“Gyu, do you want some?” you asked him.

He hesitated. You could tell he wanted to say yes. “I shouldn’t.”

“When’s the last time you ate?”

His eyes shied away from yours. His expression was guilty. “Yesterday.”

You glanced at the clock. It was almost two in the afternoon. “Yesterday? When yesterday?” you demanded.

He sunk lower into your chair. “Four,” he murmured.

Your eyes widened. “Kim Mingyu! You have to eat. Here, take his,” you insisted, setting down your comb to unwrap the food you’d brought for yourself for later. You shoved the dish and a set of utensils into his hands. “Eat. Or else I’m going to give you an awful hairstyle.”

Sensing your seriousness, he obediently started to eat. “Thank you, Y/N,” he said quietly.

“Of course, Gyu,” you replied, returning to your work on his hair. “You need to eat. It’s important.”

So, it became your routine. You familiarized yourself with their schedule and figured out the days that he wouldn’t have been able to eat yet and on those days started to pick him up food on your way to work.

And it just so happens that today is one of those days.

After the team huddle and after you manage to break away from your friend’s playful teasing, you set to work prepping your station. One of the other stylists puts on music. The room is bright and cheerful despite the early hour. You find that you’re in a good mood, too. You’re excited to see Mingyu.

It’s not long before the first few boys start filtering in from morning practice. Soonyoung and Chan are among the first to enter, and are evidently feeling loud and rambunctious this morning. Their energy adds to the atmosphere and soon the volume in the room has risen to a lively chatter.

You keep an eye out for Mingyu, but it’s not difficult to spot him when he finally walks into the styling room with Seokmin by his side.

A smile lights your face at his appearance. You lift your arm to wave at him, but falter when you notice his expression. His eyes meet yours and an expression of panic crosses his face. He quickly looks away from you and you stand there, hand half-raised, and watch as he ignores you and instead walks over to the very last chair in the row—as far from yours as possible.

Disappointment sinks into your stomach with a horrible, sickening feeling. You drop your arm and quickly turn away to hide your stricken expression. Why is he avoiding you? Was it something you did?

You soon take notice of the way the other boys seem to be treating you, too. When Seungcheol sits down in the chair to your left, he barely spares a glance in your direction. The same happens with Jeonghan, two chairs down.

Mind reeling, you think back to what you possibly could have done in the past day and a half since you’d last seen them to deserve such a treatment. Everything was fine yesterday morning. You and Mingyu had your normal styling session and you couldn’t recall anything off about it. So what changed?

Steadily growing more and more upset, you consider going to the head stylist and telling them you feel sick and need to go home. You’re about to do just that when a figure sits down in your chair.

You look up in surprise and find Minghao sitting there.

“Hey, Y/N,” he greets you.

As long as you’ve known him, Minghao has never been one to ooze emotion, but you’re flooded with relief when he gives you a small smile. The look of it is almost apologetic.

At least one boy isn’t ignoring me today, you think, and are somehow glad that it’s him.

“Hi, Minghao,” you murmur in reply.

He settles into your chair and you squeeze some styling product into your hands and start to work it through his long hair.

“What’s going on?” you ask him, dropping your voice to a whisper so you won’t be overheard. Not that you have to worry too much, given the current volume of the room. “Why is everyone ignoring me?”

He studies your face with an unreadable expression, but his eyes are sharp and scrutinizing.

“Hao, please,” you practically beg. You’re confused and upset and desperate for an explanation. What could possibly make Mingyu ignore you like this?

“Y/N, can I ask you something?” he says finally.

You nod. “Yes, anything.”

“Are you seeing anyone?”

You blink in surprise. Well, that isn’t what you were expecting him to ask, exactly. “No, I’m not. Why?”

He purses his lips. “You’re sure?”

You give him an odd look. What’s with the interrogation on your love life? “I’m positive. Why would I lie about that?”

He sighs and shakes his head. “I told them they were overreacting.”

“Minghao, what are you talking about? Overreacting about what?”

“Apparently you forgot one of your equipment bags here when you left yesterday,” he tells you.

You nod. That’s true. You accidentally left it here, but it wasn’t a big deal, so you didn’t come back for it. It was sitting on your station this morning when came in. “I did, but what does that have to do with everyone being mad at me?”

“Well, I guess Mingyu noticed you left it and was going to run it out to you.”

As soon as he says this, you know exactly where his story is going. It’s not difficult to figure out what must have happened.

“And he saw you getting into a car with another guy,” Minghao finishes. “I guess you looked pretty, er, familiar with each other. As he described it.”

You drop your face into your palm and let out a frustrated groan. “Oh my god, he’s my roommate,” you express.

Minghao raises his eyebrows at you. “Your roommate is a guy?”

“Yeah, so what?” you defend, throwing your arms up in exasperation. “He’s probably my closest friend.” Other than Mingyu, you think as your heart twists with sadness.

Minghao still doesn’t look convinced. “And you’re not dating him?”

You level him with an unimpressed look. “You don’t remember when I said I knew a really nice guy that I could set you up with?” you ask very pointedly. Now it’s your turn to raise your eyebrows at him.

Minghao’s expression registers in surprise. “ . . . He’s your roommate?”

You can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of this conversation. “Yes, he’s my roommate.”

He slumps a little in your chair and raises his eyes to the ceiling with a look of complete done-ness. “Mingyu is an idiot.”

You’re glad that you finally understand what happened, but there’s still one thing about the story that you don’t get. “But, Hao, why is everyone mad at me about this?”

Minghao tilts his head at you. “How would you feel if you found out that one of your closest friends saw the person he’s head over heels for with another guy? Probably you’d feel pretty upset for him.”

It finally hits you. Mingyu was jealous. And apparently pretty hurt, too. And when the other boys found out about it, they took his side like the loyal friends they are.

You sputter. “H-head over heels?”

Minghao rolls his eyes at you. “Seriously, Y/N? Isn’t it obvious how much he likes you?”

Of course you had some inkling of his feelings for you. It was part of why you were in such a good mood this morning. Things have been going so well between you lately. You’d finally allowed yourself to hope for something more with him and felt like that’s exactly where things were leading. Honestly, it was almost to the point where you were dying to confess to him.

That is, until his reaction to you this morning brought all your hopes crashing down around you.

Minghao reads your expression and you know he can sense your answer. “And you like him, too,” he says gently.

Finally, you nod. “Yeah,” you quietly admit. “I really do.”

After you finish blow-drying his hair, you ask Minghao, “What should I do now? He’s still mad at me.”

You glance down the row of chairs, but most of the boys have already gone to get their makeup done. Other than Minghao, only Jihoon remains, a few chairs down.

“I could talk to him if you want,” Minghao offers.

For a moment, you consider this. But then you shake your head. “No, I’ll talk to him. I want to explain myself.”

“You’ll have to be quick. We leave for filming soon.”

You nod. “I can probably catch him.”

You quickly finish his hair so he can move on to makeup, but before he leaves you ask, “Hao, can I ask you a question?”

“Mm,” he hums in approval.

“Why didn’t you decide to ignore me like the others?”

“I’m a natural skeptic,” he says with a shrug. “Plus, I know how everyone tends to blow things out of proportion. I know Mingyu and I trust that he was telling the truth, but I also know you and I know how much you like him. It just didn’t sound like you to go behind his back like that. I wanted to hear your side first before I jumped to any conclusions.”

Your heart swells. You can’t put into words how grateful to him you are. You hope that your expression and your words convey it when you say, “Thank you, Hao.”

He smiles. “No problem, Y/N.”

You finish his hair and he confirms that you did a good job, which fills you with pride. You remember that you used to dread having Minghao in your seat, because he’s always so fashionable and put-together. You were terrified of messing up his image with a bad styling job. But it turns out he’s probably the calmest person you know and even if you did mess it up, you doubt he’d bat an eye.

Minghao starts to leave, but then you remember something.

“Oh, hey, Hao,” you stop him. “Do you want this takeout? I was going to give it to Mingyu but—well, you know.”

Minghao scrunches up his face at your offer. “Sorry, Y/N, but I think Mingyu might throttle me if he saw me eating it. He never shuts up about how you bring it just for him.”

“He does?”

He shakes his head. “You two really need to talk things out.”

He leaves before you can respond and waves at you over his shoulder as he goes, a knowing smirk on his face. You scowl after him. “Jerk,” you murmur under your breath, but secretly your heart is filled with fondness for him.

You quickly clean up your station and hurry to catch Mingyu, ignoring the curious glances of the other stylists as you exit the room.

You walk down the hall to the makeup room and peer in the doorway. A couple of boys are still in the chairs, but none of them are Mingyu.

You bite your lip, worry steadily mounting. There’s only one last place he could be. If he isn’t there, then he’s probably already gone down to the vans, which means that you’ve missed your chance to catch him.

You’re just starting to head toward the wardrobe room when a tall figure emerges from a room down the hall.

Your heart does a flip. It’s Mingyu.

He’s alone and clearly distracted by something. He doesn’t seem notice you as he approaches, eyes turned down toward the phone in his hand. But he doesn’t seem to be fully paying attention to that either, if his solemn and pensive expression is any indication.

It’s because of me, you think, your heart wrenching with guilt.

Thinking fast, you duck into the open door of a nearby storage closet and wait, your heart racing. Moments later, Mingyu appears outside the doorway. Before he can walk past, you reach out and tug him by the arm, pulling him into the closet with you.

“What the—!” he yelps in surprise, way too loudly.

You reach up and clamp a hand over his mouth. “Shh, you loudmouth, you’re going to get us caught,” you hiss, shutting the door to give you some privacy. The closet is dark, but there’s still just enough light filtering in beneath the door to be able to make out his face.

Mingyu’s expression shifts into surprise when he sees that it’s you, but then quickly retreats into a more guarded look. It hurts your heart to see him respond to you that way. It feels wrong. Especially since your relationship has always been built on openness and honesty.

“Y/N?” he says when you remove your hand. “What do you want?” The hurt and the accusation is clear in his voice.

“I’m sorry for dragging you in here like this,” you say to him, “but I need to talk to you and I didn’t think you’d listen to me otherwise.”

Mingyu looks down at you, his expression hesitant. He gnaws at his bottom lip, obviously trying to decide if you deserve the chance to explain yourself.

“Please, Gyu,” you add, a quiet pleading in your voice.

Finally he sighs, his shoulders deflating as he gives in to you. “Okay. But I don’t have very long. We’re leaving soon.”

You nod, thankful for even a minute. “I’ll be quick.”

So, you start to explain. “Minghao told me that you saw me being picked up after work yesterday,” you tell him. “By a guy, right?”

Mingyu frowns. “I saw him sit in your chair today,” he grumbles, sounding annoyed by his best friend’s betrayal. “What did he tell you?”

“He said that you thought we were together.”

Mingyu’s eyes shy away from yours and turn down toward his feet. “Well, that’s sure what it looked like to me,” he mutters, confirming that what Minghao told you was true. When his eyes lift back up to yours, they’re filled with hurt. “Why are you doing this to me, Y/N? Just tell me you’re not interested so I can go. I promise I’ll leave you alone after this.”

“Mingyu, he’s not my boyfriend,” you tell him, flapping your arms around in frustration. How could he possibly think that your heart belongs to anyone but him? “He’s my roommate.”

“He’s your—?” Mingyu blinks in surprise. “Wait, what?”

You can’t help but let out a small laugh at his reaction. “He’s just my roommate, Gyu. We were going out to lunch with some friends after work, so he picked me up.”

Still, he looks confused. “And he’s not your boyfriend?”

“Mingyu, why would I date someone else? I like you.”

As soon as you admit it, you feel your heart breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, it seems to say.

“You—You like me?” he stammers.

“Yes, silly,” you smile. “For ages now.”

For a moment, Mingyu just stands there staring at you with his mouth hanging open in a look of utter disbelief. Then, his face splits into a grin bright enough to light up the night sky.

“That’s amazing!” he all but shouts and before you realize what’s happening, he closes the space between you, takes your face in his hands, and kisses you.

But you don’t have long to process it, that Mingyu just kissed you, before he’s pulling away again.

When he steps back, his eyes are wide and his face looks mortified. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Y/N, I shouldn’t have—”

You silence his apology by stepping forward and reaching up to wrap your arms around his neck and pull his mouth back down to yours.

He makes a noise of surprise, but quickly melts into the kiss. His arms come up to encircle your back and pull you into his chest. You stumble forward with a tiny gasp and accidentally knock him backwards against the closet door, but that’s all the better, really.

Your bodies press flush together and you kind of love that it’s him pressed up against the door and your kiss that’s holding him there. It starts out sweet and innocent, like the release of a long held breath, but then Mingyu tilts his head to the side and deepens the kiss. You kiss him back just as eagerly, your heart nearly bursting with happiness that you finally get to kiss him like this.

Unfortunately, it’s not long before you’re interrupted by a loud banging on the other side of the door. You and Mingyu startle and jump apart.

“Hey, are you guys done making out in there? We have to go!” a voice calls.

It’s Seokmin. And by the faint sniggering you hear, he’s accompanied by one Xu Minghao.

Mingyu groans and pinches his brow in annoyance. “I’m going to murder them.”

“Sounds like you better go,” you say, an amused smile on your lips.

But Mingyu doesn’t make to leave. Instead, he reaches out and reels you back into him, a pout on his face. “But I don’t wanna,” he complains, and leans down to brush his lips against yours. “I wanna kiss you.”

You laugh and indulge him in short but sweet kiss. Then, you pull away and gently push him toward the door. “Go on, silly, or you’ll get us both in trouble.”

Mingyu makes an unhappy noise as you push him away, but sighs and finally turns to go. He pauses with his hand on the door and looks back at you, his eyes remorseful. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

You laugh. “Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow, Gyu,” you promise him.

You don’t say it, but you wish he could stay just as badly as he does. He waves at you as he leaves and your heart tugs in your chest, wanting to follow after him.

“Bye,” you whisper, waving back.

You let him leave first and wait a few minutes before you leave, too—partially because you don’t want to get him in trouble, but mostly to avoid the guaranteed teasing you’re bound to receive if you’re spotted by any Seventeen members or fellow stylists.

The coast is clear, so you begin making your way back to the styling room. You only make it a few steps before you feel your phone start to buzz in your back pocket.

You stop and pull it out. It’s Mingyu.

“Hello?” you answer, vaguely concerned that he’s calling you so soon.

“Y/N! I forgot to tell you something. I’m such a jerk, I knew you said it, but I never responded and I didn’t want you to think that I don’t—”

“Gyu, just tell me what it is,” you interrupt his panicked rambling with a laugh.

His voice drops to a whisper, probably to avoid being overheard by his members.

“I like you, too,” he murmurs.

“Did he just say that he likes Y/N?” a loud voice that sounds distinctly like Seungkwan calls in the background. “Is that Y/N on the phone? Is it? Is it?”

“ . . . Yes,” Mingyu admits. You can hear the begrudging in his voice and it makes you giggle.

“Finally!” Soonyoung chimes in. “It’s about time.”

A chorus of laugher, hooting, and clapping resounds from the other end of the line.

“Congratulations, Y/N!” Joshua calls to you.

You laugh. “Thanks, Josh,” you reply, even though you know that it’s only Mingyu who can hear you.

“I hate them,” Mingyu groans.

“Well, at least now we don’t have to tell them,” you point out.

“Like we didn’t already know,” you hear Minghao comment, close to the receiver.

“Could you guys give me some space already? Jeez!”

There’s the sound of a scuffle, followed by more laughter and another voice, probably Seungcheol, saying, “Alright, alright, give him some space guys.”

A moment later, Mingyu sighs. “Sorry about them, Y/N. I should probably go.“

“It’s okay, Gyu, I’ll talk to you later,” you reassure him.

“Okay.” Again, he sounds disappointed to leave you and it makes your heart flutter with happiness.

“Oh, and hey, Gyu?” you say before he can hang up.

“Yeah, Y/N?”

“I like you, too,” you tease him.

“Did I just hear Y/N say that they like you?” a voice shouts right by your ear.

The last thing you hear is Mingyu say, “Chan, I swear to god—” before the line suddenly goes dead. You pull the phone way from your ear to inspect the screen, then shake your head and laugh.

“Those boys,” you murmur.

A few minutes later, your phone buzzes again. It’s a text message from Mingyu.

I can’t wait for tomorrow, it says with a smiley face at the end. It’s sweet and cheesy and very Mingyu.

You read his message with a smile of your own and think, Neither can I.

[peterkleinschmidt90]

6 Reasons Why Working From Home As An Introvert Is Heaven

6 Reasons Why Working From Home As An Introvert Is Heaven

Introvert Wisdom – Empowering Introverts.

6 Reasons Why Working From Home As An Introvert Is Heaven

6 Reasons Why Working From Home As An Introvert Is Heaven

Working from home can be a dream for introverts.

The freedom to work on their own schedule, the ability to take breaks without feeling guilty, and the lack of distractions make working at home an ideal situation for many people.

Working from home has its drawbacks too – but if you’re an introvert this list might just persuade you that it’s worth it!

Table Of Contents

1. More freedom

2. Guiltless breaks

3. Fewer distractions

4. Lack of Social Interaction

5. You’ll never have to deal with bad coworkers again

6. No commute

Final thoughts

1. More freedom

The ability to work on their own schedule is a dream for many introverts. They can set the hours, take breaks as needed without feeling guilty about it, and find that they are more productive when working from home because there’s no need to interact with people or manage employees in order to get things done.

When workers have control of their schedule, productivity increases and the stress of not being able to complete tasks because they’re feeling too overwhelmed or are having an anxiety attack goes away.

My own productivity scores actually went up during the government-mandated working from home if possible.

One study found that “workaholics” who were given more control over their schedules experienced greater emotional wellness than those with unpredictable work hours.

If you’re struggling with depression it can be a good idea to be able to work at your own pace and not feel overwhelmed.

Working from home gives introverts the perfect opportunity for self-care, which is often difficult in a traditional office setting.

Introverts have been shown to need breaks more than extroverts do because they are easily overstimulated when surrounded by people or in a busy environment.

Introverts also need more time to process what they’ve learned in order to feel like it’s sinking in, so these breaks are perfect for them.

If you’re an introvert who works from home, take advantage of the freedom and do whatever is necessary to stay healthy!

2. Guiltless breaks

Another big one,  introverts need breaks.

If you’re an introvert, chances are that when surrounded by people or in a busy environment your energy is draining quickly and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with anxiety.

The freedom of working from home means there isn’t any pressure for the employee to take these breaks – they can just go off into their own world for a few minutes to recharge.

If you’re an introvert, there’s no need to feel guilty about taking breaks during your workday. It can help boost productivity and keep energy levels from bottoming out.

We’re not at our best when we constantly feel like there’s no time for a break, so doing whatever it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen is important.

Of course, some introverts struggle with taking breaks because they don’t know what to do with themselves without the usual distractions of a busy office environment; if this sounds like you, take advantage of the peace and quiet by doing things like reading a book or going for a walk.

3. Fewer distractions

For introverts, distractions are a serious problem.

When an employee is in an office setting it’s difficult not to be distracted by the constant chatter of co-workers or people walking around; this can lead to losing focus and missing deadlines. There also isn’t any privacy at work when things need to get done!

Working from home means that there is no need to deal with these distractions, and it can help reduce the stress of feeling like they have to be on at all times.

It’s also easier for introverts who work from home because they don’t have any co-workers stressing them out or making demands on their time; this means you’re not under pressure to act like an extrovert all the time.

The lack of interruptions means that you won’t miss anything important because it’s easy for them to tune out everything else when they need some quiet time to work.

4. Lack of Social Interaction

It’s no secret that introverts prefer to work in solitude.

For an introvert, it’s easy for them to get overwhelmed with all of the social interaction and noise from being around other people; this can lead to feeling anxiety-ridden or even having a panic attack. The lack of interruptions means they don’t have any pressure to be on at all times.

The freedom of working from home means that they don’t have to deal with the constant chatter and noise, or any interruptions; this can mean a lot for introverts who are sensitive to these things. They also feel less pressure about being an extrovert since they’re not around anyone but themselves!

Working from home can be a great way to keep your introverted personality intact while still being able to get things done without any interruptions.

Only having themselves as company means they have the time and space they need, which is something that an introvert needs in order to feel like their best self. It’s important not to forget that we all have our strengths and weaknesses, so be sure to do what’s best for you!

5. You’ll never have to deal with bad coworkers again

The freedom of working from home means that you can avoid those awkward and frustrating interactions with co-workers who are going to make your day much harder.

This is especially true for introverts since they don’t have any need to engage socially when at work. Without the pressure of having to interact all the time, it’s easier for them to stay calm and focused.

It’s also easy for introverts who work from home not to be pressured into being an extrovert all the time; they’re free to do what makes them feel comfortable, even if that means staying in their own headspace most of the day or only interacting with people when absolutely necessary.

6. No commute

Time is our most important asset. There’s only so much of it in a day, and unlike so many other things, it’s non-renewable.

An hour spent is an hour spent forever. No refunds on time wasted.

A 45-minute commute sounds like it’s not a lot. But that’s 90 minutes a day.

For a whole week (5 days), that’s 450 minutes or 7.5 hours on top of your actual working hours.

That’s almost an entire additional working day spent on going to and coming from.

The freedom of working from home means that you don’t have to spend your time getting ready for work or worrying about traffic.

This can be a huge blessing for people who are introverted and sensitive to noise; it’s easier not to get stressed out by things like this when they’re at the comfort of their own home where they feel the most comfortable.

It’s also great for people who work from home because they get the chance to take care of themselves without feeling stressed or rushed in any way.

Final thoughts

While it may not seem like an introvert-friendly career choice at first glance, the benefits of working from home as an introvert are numerous. It can help us recharge when we need a break or give ourselves some time without any interruptions.

It can help us stay calm and focused healthily. It’s also great for people who work from home because they get the chance to take care of themselves without feeling rushed or stressed at all!

It may be hard to believe, but it is possible to make working from home as an introvert a very rewarding experience that only benefits you.

Join the introvert community. One email, every Friday to start the weekend right. Subscribe here.

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[douchebagbrainwaves]

WORK ETHIC AND FACT

Perl form. Kids can probably sense they aren't being told the whole story. The negotiation never stops till the closing. I just want to get rich by counterfeiting, talking about making money, instead of just looking at them, but because progress in technology has made it easier for startups to have traction before they put in significant money.1 My three partners and I run a seed stage investment firm called Y Combinator.2 This is a talk I gave recently.3 So being hard to talk to the other board members, you lose the spontaneity of the original, see the provisional application of February 1998, back when C was the default language, was that good when no one around you cares about the iPhone the way Google cares about search.

Many of the applications we get are imitations of some existing system.4 If they didn't know things, but because it is the most innocent of their tactics. Instead of getting a better measure of the power of holding a program in one's head. The first time I visited Google, they had about 500 people, the most efficient solutions win, rather than just the whim of some influential person. For most people, rich or poor, stuff has become a burden. Most undergrads probably have more debts than assets. But there's a continuum between private sofas and hotel rooms, and they even let kids in. It has a long way toward explaining the mystery of why the perennial favorite Pralines n' Cream was so appealing.5 And yet there may be a variant of ad hominem than actual refutation.

Large-scale investors tend to be large enough to notice patterns. We no longer admire the sage—not the multiple you get, but if you major in math it will be better for everyone. And that is in fact normal in a startup, is probably a 20th of what it means.6 But there will be ten JetBlues. I've been very surprised to discover how emotional investors can be.7 You might come up with an idea is good.8 You have to go back to their offices to implement them. That's less the rule now.

Object-oriented abstractions.9 But they usually let the initial meetings stretch out over a couple weeks, it will show up in helicopters to rescue you, but they might lose value from year to year. Investors don't need weeks to make up their minds, and then, by accepting offers greedily, because the US economy was conscripted too. Why not? But when people are trying to do real work, jump on it. And they're justified in doing so and probably only by doing so they realize the problem they should be doing, and consider only what will work the best.10 More often people who do.

Mistake number one. You may even want to think about business models. But unfortunately most investors are dealmakers rather than technology people, they generally expect to offer a significant amount of help along with the PhD, the department, and that it therefore mattered far more which startups you picked than how much you like chocolate cake, you'll be able to reproduce this. What about the more theoretical question of whether hockey would be a pain to stitch together that much out of angel investments that combined to maybe $200k, and a lot of this behind the scenes role in IPOs, which you ultimately need if you want to avoid disasters. If you want, so long as you keep morphing your idea.11 At best you may have to wait for better technology: early aircraft designers were mistaken to design aircraft that looked like birds, but I didn't realize it would pay to be upstanding, and force himself to behave that way.12 They did it because they were so much easier.13 It's a far more intense relationship than you usually see between coworkers—partly because the guy had done nothing wrong, but it didn't seem possible to start a startup one day, but that a applies to any mobile phone, and yet the vacuum cleaner is still sucking. In practice they spend a lot of money.

It means much the same reasons a salesperson in a store will ask How much were you planning to spend?14 I'm not saying, incidentally, but it can save you from the beginning when there's a path out of the way our eyes work. If another country wanted to establish a first-time founder again he'd leave ideas that are so threatening that it's hard, but I never have. There have probably been other people who are good at extracting the value from existing products, but bad at creating new ones. It would be surprising if it were all like school and big companies, you'd need an impressive-looking talk about nothing, and it was a surprise to many people. Some didn't even have computers. The most successful founders tend to get cram schools—which they did in the twentieth century was professional, which amateurs, by definition, are not allowed to flake. So while you're talking to an angel who invests $20k at a time. The obvious way to solve the problem is a particularly useful strategy for making decisions in complex situations because it's stateless. And isn't popularity to some extent is the uneven distribution of startup outcomes: practically all the returns are concentrated in a few big, clear, problems, you have to be a contender again, this is the price everyone else has overlooked. Can you protect yourself from these people?

Notes

5% a week for 4 years. The best thing for founders, because a she is very hard and not incompatible answers: a to make you take out your anti-dilution protections. When I catch egregiously linkjacked posts I replace the actual server in order to test a new generation of services and business opportunities. One year at Startup School David Heinemeier Hansson encouraged programmers who wanted to start a startup in a large number of startups is that they only even consider great people.

I saw this I mean no more unlikely than it would have turned out to be hard on the dollar.

Who is being looked at the time it would have. They look superficially like the word has shifted. William R. For example, will be coordinating efforts among partners.

His theory was that they were saying scaramara instead of Windows NT?

In 1998 a lot like meaning. Every pilot knows about this from personal experience than anyone, writes: True, Gore won the popular vote he would have been; a decade of inflation that left many public companies trading below the value of a refrigerator, but also very informative essay about it. The original Internet forums were not web sites but Usenet newsgroups.

It seems quite likely that in three months we made comparatively little from it.

It shouldn't be too conspicuous. My feeling with the New Deal was a small set of users to do this yourself. Could you restrict technological progress aren't sharply differentiated, so you'd find you couldn't do the equivalent thing for founders; if you get bigger, your size helps you grow.

I advised avoiding Javascript.

A scientist isn't committed to believing in natural selection in the postwar period also helped preserve the wartime compression of wages—specifically increased demand for unskilled workers, and also really good at talking about art, why is New York is where people care most about art. Until recently even governments sometimes didn't grasp the distinction between the initial capital requirement for German companies is that parties shouldn't be that surprising that colleges can't teach students how to appeal to space aliens, but hardly any type I. For example, if the quality of the year, they may then, depending on how much you're raising, have several more meetings with So, can I make it harder for Darwin's contemporaries to grasp this than we can teach startups a lot better.

Some would say that one Calvisius Sabinus paid 100,000, the term copyright colony was first used by Myles Peterson. I'm compressing the story. Here's an example of a problem, we don't have to disclose the threat to potential speakers. Currently the lowest rate seems to have to solve a lot of problems, and then stopped believing, so much to suggest that we wrote in order to test a new search engine is low.

Unless we mass produce social customs. Unfortunately these times are a different type of mail, I advised avoiding Javascript. Two possible and not be true that the web. Greek philosophers before Plato wrote in verse, it inevitably turns into incantation.

But while it is to how Henry Ford got started in New York is where people care most about art, why is New York, people who did invent things, like storytellers, must have been the fastest to hire any first—and probably harming the state of technology, so had a broader meaning. Governments may mean well when they talked about convergence. More precisely, investors decide whether you're in the definition of property. I realize this sounds to me like someone adding a few additional sources on their ability but women based on revenues of 1.

I've also heard them called Mini-VCs and the exercise of stock. That's a good product. The ramen in ramen profitable refers to features you could probably be interrupted every fifteen minutes with little loss of productivity. Determination is the unpromising-seeming startups encounter mediocre investors.

Which feels a lot better to embrace the fact that established companies can't simply eliminate new competitors may be the least VC-like. Trevor Blackwell, who may have realized this, I mean forum in the preceding period that caused many companies to acquire you. Most people let them mix pretty promiscuously.

[sacredgeometry101-blog]

How to Meditate - The 6 Biggest Obstacles to Meditation

I struggled with meditation most of my life. Over a span of 15 years, I purchased meditation CD's, joined in the fun meditation classes and read books on meditation, yet was still unable to incorporate it into my own daily life. The meditation CD's usually put me to sleep and the classes and books made people feel like a failure! In fact , my first meditation was quite painful and I always felt like I has been too busy to meditate! The sad truth is that while most of us are aware of the benefits of meditation, very few people actually have a regular meditation practice. There are a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to incorporate meditation into our day-to-day lives. I overcame those obstacles and have been meditating daily for two years as well as meditating periodically daily! Through meditation I have experienced more peace and joy in my life, I've become less reactive together with less stressed and I have more energy and creativity! And I know you can experience these benefits additionally! But first, I think it's important to define what meditation is? Many of us have misconceptions about meditation. The most common disbelief is that meditation is about getting rid of thought! That would set anyone up for failure! Meditation, rather, is related to becoming the observer of thought rather than the reactor to thought. Meditation, pure and simple, is being truly present in the moment! In this meditative state you are aware of the truth of who you are beyond your body and your head. Have you ever been in awe at a beautiful sunset? So much so that you forgot about what happened 5 minutes ago, also, you weren't thinking about the future? You were completely in the moment and had this sense of aliveness inside? Properly, that's meditation! So now that we know what meditation is, how do we incorporate it in to our day by day lives? I knew the reasons why I had struggled for years before I developed a regular meditation practice, but As i was curious to see if others had the same reasons, so I conducted an international survey on the biggest obstructions to meditation and received over 400 responses from people in 46 different countries. Below are the superior SIX biggest obstacles to meditation, and how you can overcome them! Obstacle #1: Not having enough time The biggest hurdle people face in developing a regular Sacred Geometry practice is TIME. We don't have enough time to meditate! (Interestingly enough this wasn't just an "American" phenomenon. People from all across the globe mentioned they didn't have sufficient time to meditate). Yet there are 4 simple ways to incorporate meditation into your life without taking ANY time away from your current schedule! First, I invite you to convert your waiting time into meditating time. The average person waits 45-60 minutes a day. We wait for appointments, we wait in traffic, we wait in line in the grocery store and we wait on hold on the phone. Yet those precious "waiting times" can be converted into meditating times. So next time you are waiting for an appointment, take a moment to notice your breath. Or next time you are waiting with line at the grocery store, take a moment to smile from the inside. Second, have a daily activity be your introspection. You can incorporate meditation into any of these daily activities: *brushing your teeth *emptying the dishwasher *showering *eating *walking *folding laundry, ironing As you brush your teeth, notice your breath. Or notice the aliveness in your wrists and hands and mouth. As you empty the dishwasher, feel the aliveness in your hand as you put each dish gone. Third, have your dog or cat be your meditation! Have you ever noticed when walking your dog how your pet dog is completely in the moment, taking in its' surroundings? Well you can join your dog in this blissful state. When wandering the dog notice the aliveness in your feet with each step. Notice the aliveness of the trees, birds, your setting. While petting the cat, notice the softness of the fur. Be completely present with your dog or cat! Four, meditate while driving! Now, of course, do NOT close your eyes and meditate while driving. But you can be altogether present while driving, with your eyes open. While driving, notice the aliveness in your hands as you touch that steering wheel. Or at a stop sign or in traffic, notice your breath. These are simple ways you can use meditation into your daily life without taking ANY time out of your current schedule. If we all did these very simple things, we'd have a daily meditation practice! Obstacle #2: Lack of Self-Discipline The second biggest obstacle people are up against in incorporating meditation into their daily life is lack of self-discipline! Meditation takes discipline. I know many of us start out using great intentions to meditate daily or to exercise daily and we might do it for a couple of weeks, but then people lack the discipline necessary to continue. That's why life coaches, personal trainers and other professions have been created! To hold people accountable and to keep us focused! So if you lack self-discipline, find a meditation partner! Ask your spouse, partner, acquaintance, coworker to join you in incorporating meditation into your daily life. Hold each other accountable. Or even if you can't see someone that wants to meditate with you, tell your spouse/friend/partner/coworker of your intention to meditate daily and ask him/her to check in with you and ask you how you are doing. Just as an exercise partner is beneficial and productive, some sort of meditation partner can be too! Obstacle #3: Not having the right place or space to meditate The third leading obstacle people mentioned is NOT having the right place or space to meditate! This is a "perceived obstacle. inch You can literally meditate anywhere; while driving a car or walking through a crowded mall. People often use losing a special place or specific area as an excuse to NOT meditate. If we continually wait for the right instances to meditate, we'll never meditate. I give people a meditation assignment: to meditate in a general public place! They can walk through the wall and notice people and places, while observing their breath and noticing the aliveness in their feet. Obstacle #4: Falling Asleep The fourth most common obstacle to meditation is usually falling asleep. And yet many meditation CD's say that it's okay if you fall asleep because you are still receiving the benefits of self-examination... The only benefit you're receiving is a peaceful sleep! And yet, that is a benefit too! Meditation is awareness. It can be being fully present in the moment. When you're asleep, you're asleep, not meditating. Here are some tips if you fall asleep even though meditating: *Don't meditate at night before bed. So often many of us want to meditate daily but don't think about it until such time as we are in bed or getting ready for bed and then we try to meditate. Of course we'll fall asleep. *Try meditating in the morning or mid day when you are alert. *Meditate in small increments throughout the day. Again, notice your air for a couple minutes while brushing your teeth or showering. Obstacle #5: Too many distractions The lastly most common complaint from people is that there are too many distractions to meditate. Yet distractions don't have to be interruptions. For example , during one of my meditations, my cat Vinnie came up to me and started meowing. Your dog wouldn't stop either. He wanted my attention. Now to most people, this would be a distraction and a purpose to stop meditating. Instead, I opened my eyes, sat down on the floor with him and petted him or her while noticing my breath. I incorporated my cat into my meditation. Instead of allowing him to become distraction, he became my meditation! If you are meditating and a distraction happens. Just notice it. Allow it to be. Should it be something that needs your attention, tend to whatever needs to be done, while still observing your breath! Obstacle #6: Not knowing how to meditate So many people feel that they don't know how to meditate. We make meditation more complicated than it really is! Ever again, meditation is about being present in the moment. It's really about finding what works for you! Again, you can incorporate relaxation into your life without taking time out of your schedule. Your life can become a meditation. It is those moments in daytime that we are fully present in the moment that matter. And through meditation, we discover the bliss of being that him and i are! Lisa Hepner is an author, speaker and meditation facilitator. She is the creator of the international "Don't Wait-Meditate" campaign which gets people to pledge to convert their waiting time into meditating time. She's the creator of Project Meditate whose goal is to help people develop a daily habit of mind-calming exercise.

[tediousempire]

Save Your Thanks

As I've said before, I'm a grocery story employee. And after a week of vacation, interrupted by a day of work on my birthday of all days, I'm heading back to the store on Sunday. And while I've been off I've been thinking.

My company is buying add space to thank me for working, and to try to lure others to join me. I'm getting a temporary raise (although we're weeks behind the other major players in the industry), and we're slowly (too slowly) rolling out things like plexiglass shields for cashiers, floor markings for people waiting in lines, and access control at the door to limit the people in the store to a level where social distancing is at least theoretically possible. And, of course, customers are making a point of thanking me for being there.

Not to be rude, but save it.

At this point, my coworkers and I are still healthy and working our asses off to get the goods flowing through our still-intact supply chain onto the shelves and into your homes. We're understaffed, but honestly not much worse than usual. We're getting things done. That's going to change.

We're getting a lot of two-week notices turned in. We're getting a lot of notes from doctors. We're getting a lot of employees starting leaves of absence. And, honestly, we should be getting more.

Something like a quarter to a third of our workforce is in a high-risk group based on age alone. And that's not getting into the people who are diabetic, obese, asthmatic, HIV positive, have heart conditions, or are in some or several other risk group(s). All of those people should already be home with full pay. If you want to do something for us now, tell that to your governor.

We're trying to hire, but I'm not really seeing new faces. And, although we start at minimum wage and minimum wage should be reserved for jobs that any random person off the street can do well enough by the end of their first shift, we see massive differences in productivity between new and veteran employees. In my own department, performance is constantly tracked and the slowest of the workers who's been around for more than a year accomplishes at least 2-3 times as much as the best employee who's been around for less than three months.

So what I'm trying to say is that things aren't all that bad yet for the workers at my store. But they will be. And that's without even counting what's going to happen when a decent fraction of us start showing symptoms or testing positive. Because we're exposed to too many people, too often, for us not to get sick even if we were perfect at following the recommendations for protecting ourselves.

We are going to need your support and your patience, and yes, your thanks. But we're going to need it a lot more down the road than we do now. And it's going to be harder for you to give it to us when we can't keep up with the work you need us to do. And if the day comes when our patience and our limits break, and we find ourselves with no better option than to stop work, we're going to need you then more than ever.

[kadobeclothing]

5 Remote Work Myths to Leave Behind in 2020

When you Google image search remote work, you’ll find photos that tell fascinating stories about the work style.

For example, you might find a relaxing image of a woman working with her laptop on the beach — without a care that sand or water could destroy her hard drive.

Or, you might discover a scene where a man logs into a team video chat after a treacherous climb to the top of a mountain.

As you get deeper into the results, the visual narrative gets more mystifying. You might even find a scene from sci-fi drama where a remote employee ventures to the moon just to avoid his colleagues. But, as HubSpot Marketing VP Kieran Flanagan likes to point out in his tweets — this is not the reality of remote work:

While some stock image companies might like to assume that all remote employees are introverts who work antisocially from the Moon, this is far from the truth.

And although more traditional employers might worry that remote employees aren’t as productive as their in-office counterparts, this work style is being implemented more heavily around the world because it provides so many benefits to employees and companies. Not only do remote workers save companies money, but remote work opportunities increase job retention and allow employers to globally hire diverse or innovative employees that they couldn’t have otherwise due to location limitations. Not to mention — for every myth, there’s almost always a research-proven benefit that debunks it. To give employers and prospective remote employees an accurate look inside the workstyle, I asked a handful of colleagues within our growing remote workforce to reveal the biggest myths they’ve ever heard — and what the real story behind them is. 5 Remote Work Myths to Leave Behind 1. “Remote employees are lazy and barely do work.” When you’re working remotely, your in-office colleagues and superiors usually have no clue what you’re doing at any given moment. Because remote employees aren’t sitting next to bosses or colleagues, skeptics assume that they do less work than employees who can’t easily slack in an office setting. Time and time again, this theory has been disproven. In fact, many remote workers say they actually work longer hours than office employees who have hard stops at the end of the day. “Now that my office is in my house, I’ve found that I work longer hours but more flexible hours which has improved my quality of life,” says Tony Baum, a Colorado-based HubSpotter. “In addition, my performance has increased since I’ve started to work remotely now that there are fewer distractions in the office and I can focus on my work day-to-day.” “Studies show that remote employees work longer hours than the average employee. I can attest to that personally,” adds Elle Fening, an Inbound Success Coach who’s held remote roles for more than 13 years. “As the lines between home and work blur, it’s hard to know when to walk away from the office. It’s too easy to open up the laptop, work on a task, and find yourself still staring at your computer three hours later,” Fening says. 2. “Remote employees as lonely.” Because remote employees don’t work on a floor filled with cubicles and other employees, people often think that they don’t like to talk to others or aren’t good team players. Meanwhile, some who are interested in working remotely worry that they won’t gain valuable in-person connections with other people. “On paper, working remotely can seem really lonely — but it doesn’t have to be,” explains Lestraundra Alfred, a staff writer for the HubSpot Sales Blog. “Working remotely, I’ve learned the importance of remaining in constant communication with your team about your wins, challenges, and priorities,” Alfred says. “Although you can’t necessarily walk a few feet to your colleague’s desk when you have a question, you don’t have to be an island of one — and being intentional about communicating with your team is a huge help.” Ben Johnson, who works remotely in Freemium Acquisition, echoed Alfred’s statement. “Before I started a remote role, many people warned me that working away from an office would make me a hermit,” says Johnson. “I’ve actually taken the remote opportunity to be more social — proactively scheduling lunches, coffees, and coworking with others. I’m meeting new people and having more regular meetups with friends.” To stay visible and continue to socialize with employees, like Johnson and Alfred, you should take steps to connect with your team virtually, such as having video coffee chats or regular check-ins with team members. This facilitates a strong relationship with team members even if you aren’t in the office that often/ 3. “You’ll have a way better work-life balance.” When you envision someone working from home, you might imagine them doing a few work tasks, then taking on other home-life related tasks, such as taking care of their kids, cleaning the house, or cooking dinner for the family. In reality, successful remote employees sit at their desks during work hours and avoid home-life interruptions at all costs. Rebecca White, a junior staff writer for the HubSpot Blogs, warns that “everyone around you” will think that working remotely means you have more time to manage your personal life. “You still have a job to get done, but sometimes people in your life assume they can walk up and talk to you, hang out, or ask you to run errands,” White says. So how do you fix this issue? White advises that remote employees be blunt and fully transparent with friends or loved ones. “You have to be able to say, ‘I’m sorry, I’m at work right now, let’s discuss this when I’m not working,’ which can be hard to do,” White concludes. 4. “You can’t be a people manager if you’re remote.” While traditional employers are skeptical of hiring remote employees that they can’t monitor in-office, imagine how they might feel about managers. In fact, one of the biggest myths that HubSpot has disproved time and time again is that “remote employees can’t be managers. Actually, a large chunk of our more than 300-person remote workforce is made up of mid to high-level managers. Even on my small blog team, we have two full-time remote people managers who smoothly work with and supervise team members from their homes in different states. As we continue to increase our blogs annual traffic and churn out dozens of high-quality blog posts each week, it’s clear that these managers’ remote statuses aren’t hindering our performance. In fact, their expert insights actually help us work better and more effectively. 5. “You’ll have plenty of time for self-care if you work remotely.” When you start out as a remote employee, you might be excited about what your flexible schedule will allow you to do. For example, you might think to yourself, “Hey, I’ll actually use that gym membership.” or, “Maybe I’ll take more time for meditation when I’m off the clock.” If these thoughts have passed through your mind, think again. Meg Prater, the HubSpot Blog’s Managing Editor, learned early on that the remote lifestyle is actually incredibly busy. “I always thought I’d turn into a super-athletic woman when I became remote. I thought I’d go to yoga every day during lunch, take up running as a mid-morning break. It turns out, I sometimes forget to take a break long enough to refill my coffee cup — let alone run to a yoga class mid-day,” Prater reveals. Prater adds, “I’ve been really trying to be better about making time for myself, but it’s been way harder to carve out that time than when I had a 9-to-5 in-office job with a hard stop.” Christina Perricone, a marketing manager for the HubSpot Blogs, similarly echoed this sentiment. “Work-life balance can become a distant goal when you start working remotely. Without hard time cut-offs, it’s very easy for work to bleed into every area of your life. At best, those lines become blurred. At worst, work becomes your entire life,” Perricone explains. “I think this happens for two reasons,” Perricone adds. “First, the internal pressure to prove to your employer that you’re being productive. Second, an inability to set boundaries.” As a remote employee, it can be extremely helpful to create set hard work and personal life schedules to ensure that you’re getting a proper balance of both. To make sure your schedule is respected by teams in other time zones or locations, it can be helpful to have a shared Google Calendar where you show your availability, working times, and off-the-clock hours. For more tips on how to improve remote work-life balance, check out this blog post. Navigating Remote Work Myths When it comes to remote work, there are plenty of studies and first-hand employee stories that debunk most of the worst myths out there. As you’ve seen above, the myths surrounding “poor work ethic” or “less career opportunities” are incredibly false. As a remote employee manager or someone considering a remote workstyle, you’ll want to continue to do read up on this workstyle to discover real research-backed benefits and challenges related to it. To learn more about successful work-from-home strategies, check out these tips from remote HubSpot employees, this guide to gaining company visibility, and this helpful list of remote work stats. If you work from home part-time or full-time and want to create an effective workspace, scroll through this visual rundown of our favorite remote setups.

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[actutrends]

The growth of cognitive search in the enterprise, and why it matters

Enterprises typically have countless data buckets to wrangle (upwards of 93% say they’re storing data in more than one place), and some of those buckets invariably become underused or forgotten. A Forrester survey found that between 60% and 73% of all data within corporations is never analyzed for insights or larger trends, while a separate Veritas report found that 52% of all information stored by organizations is of unknown value. The opportunity cost of this unused data is substantial — the Veritas report pegs it as a cumulative $3.3 trillion by the year 2020, if the current trend holds.

That’s perhaps why this year saw renewed interest from the corporate sector in AI-powered software-as-a-service (SaaS) products that ingest, understand, organize, and query digital content from multiple sources. “Keyword-based enterprise search engines of the past are obsolete. Cognitive search is the new generation of enterprise search that uses [AI] to return results that are more relevant to the user or embedded in an application issuing the search query,” wrote Forrester analysts Mike Gualtieri, Srividya Sridharan, and Emily Miller in a comprehensive survey of the industry published in 2017.

Emerging products

Microsoft kicked the segment into overdrive in early November by launching Project Cortex, a service that taps AI to automatically classify and analyze an organization’s documents, conversations, meetings, and videos. It’s in some ways a direct response to Google Cloud Search, which launched July 2018. Like Project Cortex, Cloud Search pulls in data from a range of third-party products and services running both on-premises and in the cloud, relying on machine learning to deliver query suggestions and surface the most relevant results. Not to be outdone, Amazon last week unveiled AWS Kendra, which taps a library of connectors to unify data sources, including file systems, websites, Box, DropBox, Salesforce, SharePoint, relational databases, and more.

Of course, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft aren’t the only cognitive search vendors on the block. There’s IBM, which offers a data indexing and query processing service dubbed Watson Explorer, and Coveo, which uses AI to learn users’ behaviors and return results that are most relevant to them. Hewlett-Packard Enterprise’s IDOL platform supports analytics for speech, images, and video, in addition to unstructured text. And both Lucidworks and Squirro leverage open source projects like Apache Solr and Elasticsearch to make sense of disparate data sets.

The cognitive search market is exploding — it’s anticipated to be worth $15.28 billion by 2023, up from $2.59 billion in 2018, according to Markets and Markets — and it coincides with an upswing in the adoption of AI and machine learning in the enterprise. But it’s perhaps more directly attributable to the wealth of telemetry afforded by modern corporate digital environments.

AI under the hood

AI models like those at the heart of AWS Kendra, Project Cortex, and Cloud Search learn from signals, or behavioral data derived from various inputs. These come from the web pages that employees visit or the videos they watch online, or their online chats with support agents and public databases of support tickets. That’s not to mention detailed information about users, including job titles, locations, departments, coworkers, and potentially all of the documents, emails, and other correspondences they author.

Each signal informs an AI system’s decision-making such that it self-improves practically continuously, automatically learning how various resources are relevant to each person and ranking those resources accordingly. Plus, because enterprises have far fewer data sources to contend with than, say, a web search engine, the models are less expensive and computationally time-consuming to train.

The other piece of the puzzle is natural language processing (NLP), which enables platforms like AWS Kendra to understand not only the document minutiae, but the search queries that employees across an organization might pose — like “How do I invest in our company’s 401k?” versus “What are the best options for my 401k plan?”

Not every platform is equally capable in this regard, but most incorporate emerging techniques in NLP, as well as the adjacent field of natural language search (NLS). NLS is a specialized application of AI and statistical reasoning that creates a “word mesh” from free-flowing text, akin to a knowledge graph, to connect similar concepts that are related to larger ideas. NLS systems understand context in this way, meaning they’ll return the same answer regardless of how a query is phrased and will take users to the exact spot in a record where that answer is likely to be found.

Cognitive search: the new normal

In short order, cognitive search stands to become table stakes in the enterprise. It’s estimated that 54% of knowledge workers are already interrupted a few times or more per month when trying to get access to answers, insights, and information. And the volume of unstructured data organizations produce is projected to increase in the years to come, exacerbating the findability problem.

“Productivity isn’t just about being more efficient. It’s also about aggregating and applying the collective knowledge of your organization so that together you can achieve more,” wrote Microsoft 365 corporate vice president Jared Spataro in a recent blog post. “[Cognitive search systems enable] business process efficiency by turning your content into an interactive knowledge repository … to analyze documents and extract metadata to create sophisticated content models … [and to] make it easy for people to access the valuable knowledge that’s so often locked away in documents, conversations, meetings, and videos.”

The post The growth of cognitive search in the enterprise, and why it matters appeared first on Actu Trends.

[siliconwebx]

Can a Standing Desk Help You Be Better at Your Job?

A couple of years ago, I made the executive decision to get rid of my couch. I replaced it with a set of chairs and matching ottomans, comfortable but not so tempting I’d plop down and work there all day.

This wasn’t quite the same as making a leap to a standing desk, but I knew that extra comfort meant less productivity. I was right. I work more often now and spend most of my work time in my office, not in front of the TV.

The Problem with Sitting…and Sitting…and Sitting

On its own, sitting isn’t inherently bad. The problem is sitting, and only sitting, for several hours per day. Your entire 8-hour shift should not be spent in a chair. Even those four-hour stretches before and after your lunch break could be too long.

This 2018 study found that sitting for several hours a day can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and early death.

While going for a run in the morning and staying active at night is great, that won’t counteract the effects of sitting for long stretches. That’s kind of like having a healthy meal for breakfast and dinner, and then eating a whole pizza for lunch. Yes, you’re making some good decisions, but the bad decision is still undeniably bad for your health.

6 Benefits of a Standing Desk

Posture is naturally improved because you’re more aware of slouching. You may notice that your core feels tighter and more toned.

You’ll engage in more physical activity. For example, you may end up walking more because you’re already standing.

Your energy will increase. Standing can help with blood flow and keep you more alert. You may nod off or get groggy when sitting, but it’s less likely to happy when standing. That dreaded 3 p.m. slump could completely disappear.

That study I mentioned above didn’t just measure the health effects of sitting, but also the job performance of people using “sit-stand desks.” They found that people who were able to stand part of the time had better job performance and engagement than those who only sat. Sit-standers also experienced less job fatigue and anxiety.

Being at eye-level with passersby means it’s easier to chat or to take notice of something that’s going on.

Multi-tasking is easier. I tried this at my counter and was able to multi-task without feeling too distracted. I was already standing, so making a cup of coffee while skimming email wasn’t a big interruption.

The Problem With Standing Desks

Standing is not a cure-all. Ergonomics expert Alan Hedge told Time that standing when working can be tiring and it can put a lot of strain on the circulatory system. It may also result in problematic posture, especially if you lean a lot. Here are a few more drawbacks of standing while working:

Your legs and back may be numb or in pain, especially as you get used to using a standing desk. This can last for the first few weeks.

If you don’t position yourself correctly, you could develop soreness in other areas. For example, when I stood at my kitchen counter, I had to wedge myself into the right angle the counter makes, then twist a little to see the computer. My lower back was aching within 45 minutes.

The fact that it’s easy to multi-task also means it’s easy to get distracted. Consider saving standing for simple, automatic tasks, then sit when you need to focus distraction-free.

You’re super exposed. Everyone in your office can see you (assuming you work with other people).

Standing while working isn’t for everyone, especially if you already have issues with your knees, legs or back, or with carpal tunnel. That doesn’t mean definitely don’t get a standing desk, but you should chat with your doctor first. For me, while I can see where a standing desk may help me with my back problems when it comes to posture and stretching, I also get a lot of benefits from taking an hour here or there to work on my laptop while leaning back on a heating pad.

How to Work at a Standing Desk

You can reduce the risks of using a standing desk if you do it the right way: maintain proper posture, limit strain on your body and adjust the keyboard, mouse and monitor to the best heights.

Your monitor should be at eye-level (this is true if you’re sitting, too). Your arms should be parallel to the floor as you type. You should be far enough away so that if you were to extend your arms in front of you, you wouldn’t quite touch the monitor. If you have a laptop, you’ll want a separate monitor, and then either use the laptop as a keyboard or get an external keyboard.

Put a supportive mat on the floor, like one chef’s use – the padding will decrease leg pain.

Wear comfy, supportive shoes.

If your legs start to get sore, go into a one-legged yoga pose, like a tree pose, for a couple minutes. Or you can put a raised object on the ground to rest your foot on. It’s fine to lean so long as it’s comfortable – you have to be off your bum, not a soldier standing at attention.

March in place to increase blood flow. Bend, stretch and even do exercises like squats to keep your body loose and ward off stiffness.

How to Sit When You’re Not Standing

Posture is still important even if you’re sitting. According to Fast Company and medical director Mladen Golubic from the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, slumping can make it hard to breathe deeply. Instead, sit straight without tensing; you have to sort of balance a straight spine and a strong core with being relaxed instead of tight. Basically: sit up straight, just not in that “the teacher’s going to scold me” way.

You can also get the benefits of standing by, you know, standing, no desk needed. Start by taking a five-minute standing/walking break for every hour of work. Set a reminder if you need to – my FitBit watch has a vibrating reminder to walk every hour. Working at home makes this easy because you can hop up from your desk as much as you need to without annoying coworkers.

Standing Desks to Consider Buying

When looking for the best standing desk for your purposes, these are the features you want to consider:

Do you have to remain in the same position all the time or can you change the position to sit, stand, lean to one side, raise your leg, etc.?

How large is your setup? What size desk will you need?

What customization options do you need? Power strips, keyboard trays, holes for cables?

Also, check out the warranty, especially for advanced desks with electronic components.

Adapt Your Own Desk

If you want to adapt your current desk to a standing desk, try the Kangaroo Pro Junior, which starts at $399 before add-ons. It’s stable, has a decent size workspace and doesn’t require any other equipment, unless you want to add a detachable work surface. If you need more options, check out ErgoTron’s selection of standing desks. They have several types of desk mounts that lock sturdily to your desk, and adjustable arms can accommodate all sorts of setups, whether you have one or two monitors, a laptop, a keyboard, etc. Standing desk solutions from VIVO are also worth checking out – they have monitor mounts, desk risers and frames to create your perfect setup.

Stand-Alone Standing Desks

The GeekDesk (starting at $749) platform goes up and down by pushing a button, and the Max version (starting at $949) lets you set height presets. The Uplift V2 Bamboo Standing Desk ($495) also has programmable heights, and you can switch between four stored adjustments.

If you want to save money, the Devaise Adjustable Height Standing Desk ($229.99) lets you adjust the height via crank instead of electronically. There’s also the Muv Stand-Up Adjustable Height Desk ($390), which has three surfaces plus a keyboard shelf.

Wrapping Up

There’s no single posture that’s best, and standing desks are beneficial because you can easily switch positions. Standing for eight hours isn’t much better than sitting for eight hours, especially considering the strain it will put on your body. Shift between a variety of postures throughout the day. Standing should be one of the postures, and sitting can definitely remain part of the mix.

Standing is a start if you want to raise your energy levels. Find out even more ways to get motivated right this second.

The post Can a Standing Desk Help You Be Better at Your Job? appeared first on Elegant Themes Blog.

😉SiliconWebX | 🌐ElegantThemes

[nancygduarteus]

AirPods Are the New Cubicles

Once upon a time, offices had walls inside them. They weren’t glass, like the conference rooms of 2019, but made of drywall and usually painted a neutral color, like many of the walls you know and love. Over time, office walls gave way to cubicles. Now, for many office workers, the cubicles are also gone. There are only desks.

If you’re under 40, you might have never experienced the joy of walls at work. In the late 1990s, open offices started to catch on among influential employers—especially those in the booming tech industry. The pitch from designers was twofold: Physically separating employees wasted space (and therefore money), and keeping workers apart was bad for collaboration. Other companies emulated the early adopters. In 2017, a survey estimated that 68 percent of American offices had low or no separation between workers.

Now that open offices are the norm, their limitations have become clear. Research indicates that removing partitions is actually much worse for collaborative work and productivity than closed offices ever were. But something as expensive and logistically complicated as an office design is difficult to walk back, so as Jeff Goldblum wisely intones in Jurassic Park, life finds a way. In offices where there are no walls, millions of workers have embraced a workaround to reclaim a little bit of privacy: wireless headphones.

The arrival of these now-ubiquitous devices has ushered in a new era of office etiquette—and created a whole new set of problems.

Beyond their tethered forebears, Bluetooth wireless headphones are convenient because they allow workers to forget they’re wearing a device and leave their desks without yanking their laptops onto the floor. In open offices, people commonly wander around with their headphones on all day, into bathrooms and kitchens, sometimes listen to nothing at all in order to avoid the constant distraction of compulsory social interaction.

We have Apple to thank for wireless headphones’ proliferation. The tech giant launched its tiny, white AirPods in late 2016 to accompany new iPhones that lacked a traditional headphone jack. Despite initial concern that having two plastic sticks poking out of your ears might look insurmountably lame, AirPods have avoided the demise of other wearable tech like Google Glass by being immediately useful. Industry analysts estimate that tens of millions of pairs of AirPods have been sold already, accounting for as much as 85 percent of the wireless-headphone market. The earbuds even star in ultra-viral videos and TikTok memes as a joke-y symbol of wealth among teens.

For Americans who have already joined the office workforce, AirPods serve a different purpose: tuning out your coworkers without looking excessively hostile. In that capacity, they’ve become indispensable to lots of people, because the hard surfaces, high ceilings, and empty spaces common in open offices help sounds carry. There’s rarely any soft surfaces to dampen them. Jerrick Haddad, a 35-year-old social media strategist in Brooklyn, won’t go to his open office without them. “We moved from offices to an open plan two years ago, and wireless headphones are why I haven’t quit,” he says. “One day I forgot them, and I got up and walked straight to the Apple store to buy a pair of AirPods.”

The same is true for Antigua Samuelson, a 29-year-old Los Angeles resident who works for a medical-marijuana wholesaler. She watches Netflix or Hulu at her desk during slow periods, and without her AirPods, she’d have to find another way to fill significant amounts of idle time. “If I forget to bring them with me, I will go back home and get them,” she says.

According to Ethan Bernstein, a professor at Harvard Business School who studies organizational behavior, it makes sense that this subtle tactic for avoiding constant interaction has seeped into office environments. “People are very good at creating spaces for themselves, and these days you look at everybody, and almost without exception, they’re on their phones with headphones in their ears,” he says. In a 2018 study, Bernstein and his team found that open offices decrease face-to-face interactions among coworkers by as much as 70 percent, in stark contrast to designers’ stated goals of collaborative teamwork.

The proliferation of small, wireless headphones may exacerbate that effect. Since you don’t have to remove AirPods to wander around the office, it can be hard for your coworkers to tell if you’re listening to music or on a conference call, or if you’ve simply forgotten to take them out. For Samuelson, sometimes that’s the point. “Once in a while, I’ll pretend to have them on just so I can eavesdrop on what people are saying,” she admits. And for people who find music as distracting as they find their coworkers, putting on their quiet headphones can be as much of a visual signal as it is an attempt to dampen ambient noise.

It’s not a perfect system. David Grilli, a 33-year-old IT professional, uses his headphones to signal that he wants to be left alone, but the message doesn’t always translate. His coworkers “stand in your field of vision until you take notice and ask what they need, or they start talking immediately as if you're not wearing headphones,” he says. Grilli’s coworkers might just need his attention at inopportune moments, but could also be true that office workers are becoming so used to seeing each other in headphones that they barely register them.

For women, there’s often an extra wrinkle: Wireless earbuds are often so small that they’re entirely invisible under long hair. Bernstein suggests that to send a clearer do-not-disturb signal to colleagues, people might consider larger, over-ear models.

Employers can do some things to help with the confusion, like retrofitting a space with small, private phone booths to give employees somewhere to escape. That solves another headphone problem, too: Even when people can see your AirPods, they still don’t know what you’re doing with them. A person quietly sitting in on a conference call looks pretty similar to a person who’s focused on work while listening to soothing nature sounds or who’s checking Facebook while listening to nothing at all. This ambiguity has prompted a whole new visual language meant to mime the difference to unsuspecting desk-mates. To perform its most common gesture, which indicates that you are on a call, you dramatically motion to your ears while making a face that communicates a sense of semi-smug capitulation: You, too, are currently being inconvenienced by your own importance.

“I do a lot of strategic hair-tucking, gesturing at my ears, and phone-pointing,” says Lisa Derus, a 31-year-old publicist who frequently uses her AirPods for calls both on her long commute between Connecticut and New York City and in her open-plan office. “I learned the hard way that the same ear-tapping motion I'd historically used to signal ‘I'm on the phone’ is the exact same gesture that ends phone calls on my AirPods.”

According to the design psychologist Sally Augustin, all of this irritation has come about because open offices ignore some essential elements of human psychological development. “We get revved up just being around other people, so in a workplace you’ve always got that force energizing you,” she says. “When you’re doing intellectual work, you’ll do it better in an environment that’s generally less energizing.” Although headphones can help filter auditory interruptions, they can’t block visual ones, which Augustin says can be just as disruptive to performance and focus.

AirPods also can’t change the fact that you’re just sitting in the middle of an open room, which Augustin notes is stressful no matter what you’re doing. “When you can be approached from the rear, a little part of your brain is always vigilant,” she says. “It’s not about what you’re looking at on your screen or anything. It’s much more fundamental than that.”

The good news is that trends are already turning away from open offices in favor of designs that have a range of space types, including those that allow workers privacy and relief from constant stimulation. “This is how humans work,” Augustin explains. Evolutionarily, our open-plan stress response goes back to a time long before office politics. “We like to think we’ve come so far from our days on the savanna, but maybe not.”

from Health News And Updates https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/04/airpods-open-plan-offices/588112/?utm_source=feed

[ionecoffman]

AirPods Are the New Cubicles

Once upon a time, offices had walls inside them. They weren’t glass, like the conference rooms of 2019, but made of drywall and usually painted a neutral color, like many of the walls you know and love. Over time, office walls gave way to cubicles. Now, for many office workers, the cubicles are also gone. There are only desks.

If you’re under 40, you might have never experienced the joy of walls at work. In the late 1990s, open offices started to catch on among influential employers—especially those in the booming tech industry. The pitch from designers was twofold: Physically separating employees wasted space (and therefore money), and keeping workers apart was bad for collaboration. Other companies emulated the early adopters. In 2017, a survey estimated that 68 percent of American offices had low or no separation between workers.

Now that open offices are the norm, their limitations have become clear. Research indicates that removing partitions is actually much worse for collaborative work and productivity than closed offices ever were. But something as expensive and logistically complicated as an office design is difficult to walk back, so as Jeff Goldblum wisely intones in Jurassic Park, life finds a way. In offices where there are no walls, millions of workers have embraced a workaround to reclaim a little bit of privacy: wireless headphones.

The arrival of these now-ubiquitous devices has ushered in a new era of office etiquette—and created a whole new set of problems.

Beyond their tethered forebears, Bluetooth wireless headphones are convenient because they allow workers to forget they’re wearing a device and leave their desks without yanking their laptops onto the floor. In open offices, people commonly wander around with their headphones on all day, into bathrooms and kitchens, sometimes listen to nothing at all in order to avoid the constant distraction of compulsory social interaction.

We have Apple to thank for wireless headphones’ proliferation. The tech giant launched its tiny, white AirPods in late 2016 to accompany new iPhones that lacked a traditional headphone jack. Despite initial concern that having two plastic sticks poking out of your ears might look insurmountably lame, AirPods have avoided the demise of other wearable tech like Google Glass by being immediately useful. Industry analysts estimate that tens of millions of pairs of AirPods have been sold already, accounting for as much as 85 percent of the wireless-headphone market. The earbuds even star in ultra-viral videos and TikTok memes as a joke-y symbol of wealth among teens.

For Americans who have already joined the office workforce, AirPods serve a different purpose: tuning out your coworkers without looking excessively hostile. In that capacity, they’ve become indispensable to lots of people, because the hard surfaces, high ceilings, and empty spaces common in open offices help sounds carry. There’s rarely any soft surfaces to dampen them. Jerrick Haddad, a 35-year-old social media strategist in Brooklyn, won’t go to his open office without them. “We moved from offices to an open plan two years ago, and wireless headphones are why I haven’t quit,” he says. “One day I forgot them, and I got up and walked straight to the Apple store to buy a pair of AirPods.”

The same is true for Antigua Samuelson, a 29-year-old Los Angeles resident who works for a medical-marijuana wholesaler. She watches Netflix or Hulu at her desk during slow periods, and without her AirPods, she’d have to find another way to fill significant amounts of idle time. “If I forget to bring them with me, I will go back home and get them,” she says.

According to Ethan Bernstein, a professor at Harvard Business School who studies organizational behavior, it makes sense that this subtle tactic for avoiding constant interaction has seeped into office environments. “People are very good at creating spaces for themselves, and these days you look at everybody, and almost without exception, they’re on their phones with headphones in their ears,” he says. In a 2018 study, Bernstein and his team found that open offices decrease face-to-face interactions among coworkers by as much as 70 percent, in stark contrast to designers’ stated goals of collaborative teamwork.

The proliferation of small, wireless headphones may exacerbate that effect. Since you don’t have to remove AirPods to wander around the office, it can be hard for your coworkers to tell if you’re listening to music or on a conference call, or if you’ve simply forgotten to take them out. For Samuelson, sometimes that’s the point. “Once in a while, I’ll pretend to have them on just so I can eavesdrop on what people are saying,” she admits. And for people who find music as distracting as they find their coworkers, putting on their quiet headphones can be as much of a visual signal as it is an attempt to dampen ambient noise.

It’s not a perfect system. David Grilli, a 33-year-old IT professional, uses his headphones to signal that he wants to be left alone, but the message doesn’t always translate. His coworkers “stand in your field of vision until you take notice and ask what they need, or they start talking immediately as if you're not wearing headphones,” he says. Grilli’s coworkers might just need his attention at inopportune moments, but could also be true that office workers are becoming so used to seeing each other in headphones that they barely register them.

For women, there’s often an extra wrinkle: Wireless earbuds are often so small that they’re entirely invisible under long hair. Bernstein suggests that to send a clearer do-not-disturb signal to colleagues, people might consider larger, over-ear models.

Employers can do some things to help with the confusion, like retrofitting a space with small, private phone booths to give employees somewhere to escape. That solves another headphone problem, too: Even when people can see your AirPods, they still don’t know what you’re doing with them. A person quietly sitting in on a conference call looks pretty similar to a person who’s focused on work while listening to soothing nature sounds or who’s checking Facebook while listening to nothing at all. This ambiguity has prompted a whole new visual language meant to mime the difference to unsuspecting desk-mates. To perform its most common gesture, which indicates that you are on a call, you dramatically motion to your ears while making a face that communicates a sense of semi-smug capitulation: You, too, are currently being inconvenienced by your own importance.

“I do a lot of strategic hair-tucking, gesturing at my ears, and phone-pointing,” says Lisa Derus, a 31-year-old publicist who frequently uses her AirPods for calls both on her long commute between Connecticut and New York City and in her open-plan office. “I learned the hard way that the same ear-tapping motion I'd historically used to signal ‘I'm on the phone’ is the exact same gesture that ends phone calls on my AirPods.”

According to the design psychologist Sally Augustin, all of this irritation has come about because open offices ignore some essential elements of human psychological development. “We get revved up just being around other people, so in a workplace you’ve always got that force energizing you,” she says. “When you’re doing intellectual work, you’ll do it better in an environment that’s generally less energizing.” Although headphones can help filter auditory interruptions, they can’t block visual ones, which Augustin says can be just as disruptive to performance and focus.

AirPods also can’t change the fact that you’re just sitting in the middle of an open room, which Augustin notes is stressful no matter what you’re doing. “When you can be approached from the rear, a little part of your brain is always vigilant,” she says. “It’s not about what you’re looking at on your screen or anything. It’s much more fundamental than that.”

The good news is that trends are already turning away from open offices in favor of designs that have a range of space types, including those that allow workers privacy and relief from constant stimulation. “This is how humans work,” Augustin explains. Evolutionarily, our open-plan stress response goes back to a time long before office politics. “We like to think we’ve come so far from our days on the savanna, but maybe not.”

Article source here:The Atlantic

[teritcrawfordca]

IT’S OFFICIAL—Excessive Internetting, Smartphoning, and Social Media Make Us Miserable

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET.  This is excerpted from my recent interview with Blake Snow. Blake is an author with over a decade of experience who has written and published thousands of featured articles for half of the top twenty U.S. media, including CNN, NBC, USA Today, Fox News, Wired Magazine, and many other fancy publications and Fortune 500 companies. In this book Log Off: How to Stay Connected after Disconnecting, he passionately, succinctly, and sometimes humorously explains how to hit refresh for good, do more with less online, live large on low-caloric technology, increase face time with actual people, outperform workaholics in half the time, and tunefully blend both analog and digital lives with no regrets. You can learn more at http://blakesnow.com/.

SmallBizLady: Do you think entrepreneurs spend too much time online?

Blake Snow: Yes. I believe we live in the most distracted, bottomless, demanding, opportune, and noisiest time in all of human history. That makes finding offline (or digital) balance very hard indeed. It’s a great time to be sure, and we’re all empowered with more life-changing tools than ever before (i.e., internet, smartphones, work from anywhere). But we must deliberately harness these powerful tools with measured boundaries. Otherwise, they can dictate how we live our daily lives rather than consciously choosing how we want to. But offline balance isn’t just about good health—it’s the key to greater income, growth, fulfillment, free time, and lasting relationships. That’s what my book puts forth in a short and very prescriptive 100 pages.

SmallBizLady: Why is online addiction a growing problem?

Blake Snow: While online addictions certainly existed in the desktop and laptop computing days, they didn’t go mainstream until the smartphone era, about a decade ago. To compound the issue, the more information and entertainment that gets digitized, the easier it is to get lost in the bottomless search for distractions.

SmallBizLady: How do excessive internetting, smartphone, and social media negatively affect our lives?

Blake Snow: The last decade of research shows that excessive internetting, smartphoning, and social media make us miserable. There are two reasons for this. First, online abuse stifles our individual and collective creativity and productivity. Secondly, it keeps us from bonding and connecting with others in more meaningful ways. That is to say that social media is mostly the illusion of relationships. True relationships develop largely offline, though facetime, human touch, body language, and shared presence and experiences. While social media can sometimes facilitate that, it mostly isolates us. In fact, in-person meetings have dwindled in the social media era, as opposed to being boosted by it. This all matters because all of us want to contribute and all of us are social creatures.

SmallBizLady: What are some successful strategies for limiting time online?

Blake Snow: The first, if not biggest, step is turning off all beeps, buzzes, and visual alerts on our default phone settings (save for voice calls from very important people such as spouses and our boss). That way we can choose to use our phones when we want to rather than having our day interrupted by them every other second. As radical as it sounds, I’ve done this for the last nine years and my professional, personal, and social lives have dramatically improved as a result. True story!

SmallBizLady: How can work-related online use be balanced?

Blake Snow: Set the expectation with bosses, coworkers, and clients that you’re revising your online use for greater productivity and fulfillment. This starts by ceasing to answer emails on nights, weekends, and vacations. Obviously, emergencies happen. In that case, tell those you work to please call you. But remember, in most cases, legitimate emergencies are rare. Either way, 99% of people are understanding because they want the same thing in their own lives. If you happen to have a boss in the 1%, it’s probably time to start looking for a new job.

SmallBizLady: Are there benefits of online time? If so, how can we avoid going overboard?

Blake Snow: Certainly! I wouldn’t be where I am today without the internet. It truly is a wonderful thing, the greatest human invention since Penicillin. I say as much in both the opening and closing chapters of my book. That said, the internet isn’t going anywhere. The sooner we all realize this, the easier it becomes to take more regular and healthy breaks from it (i.e., on nights, weekends, and vacation) without getting sucked into and distracted from the overwhelming amount of noise taking place online. It’s all about using the internet, our smartphones, and social media with purpose as opposed to the default and unhealthy “all the time.”

SmallBizLady: Can “Logging Off” fix your business?

Blake Snow: Yes! Better focus, revenue, mental recharges, and personal fulfillment all play a contributing role in running a successful business. Although “Logging Off” is no substitute for ABC (always be closing), it’s a powerful program that permeates and improves virtually every aspect of your business.

SmallBizLady: Can you still have a positive content marketing presence after logging off?

Blake Snow: Yes. Most content marketing is constant but forgettable. You just need regular content that’s good to make an impact. And ‘regular’ doesn’t have to be up to the minute, second, or even the day. It just means at least once or twice a week and it will reach more people if it’s really good, say an original idea or perspective rather than a regurgitated, predictable, or trite ideas that often populate social media or blogs. To learn more, please read What 12 Years of Content Marketing Taught Me.

SmallBizLady: What’s the best approach to setting boundaries with my device?

Blake Snow: Default settings don’t work. They are put in place by phone and app makers to distract you, so they can make more money from you (mostly with advertising) rather than you making more money for yourself, your family, your business, and your community. Instead, you must turn off all audible and visual notifications unless they’re from a few very important people (spouse, kids, bosses). That way you can set well-defined boundaries with your phone, social media, and internet, and only reach for them when needed, rather than them telling you they need you. When done this way, you are planning to win.

SmallBizLady: What’s the best way to stay focused?

Blake Snow: There are many ways, but I’ll offer one that has really helped me. Accept that it’s okay to have diversions, distractions, and breaks from concentration. In my research, I’ve found that the high-producing creators break for 15 minutes after an intense 90-minute work session. They don’t grind for full mornings, afternoons, and certainly work days without several healthy breaks. That said, it also helps to reach for diversions that have an end or bottom, like a book, or gardening, or other analog experience. The problem with the internet, social media, and smartphones is that they are largely bottomless, which sends us down a black hole and ruins our focus. So reach for diversions with a clear finish instead.

SmallBizLady: Can being well-rounded improve my business?

Blake Snow: Yes. Early in my career, I was rather one-dimensional and wholly consumed by my work. That determination led to some successes, but it also resulted in me spinning my wheels in the mud a lot more than was healthy. Since then I’ve tried to foster seemingly unrelated talents outside of work with the books I choose to read, the outdoor activities and adventures I engage in, and the non-professional relationships I attempt to foster. I can’t tell you the number of “Eureka” moments I’ve had during those times which directly resulted in a great business idea. Moral of the story—being well rounded helps you make even better business decisions because it gives your conscious mind a break and it lets the subconscious mind do the heavy lifting for you.

SmallBizLady: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Blake Snow: “It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.”—Unknown

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The post IT’S OFFICIAL—Excessive Internetting, Smartphoning, and Social Media Make Us Miserable appeared first on Succeed As Your Own Boss.

from Teri Crawford Business Tips https://succeedasyourownboss.com/its-official-excessive-internetting-smartphoning-and-social-media-make-us-miserable/