Your Life and Business

“She said I’m not friendly,” Sam whined, entering the office. He checked his watch and added slowly, trying to sound relaxed: “Something has made me hungry.” “Who said WHAT?” Emily asked quickly, sipping her coffee.

A strange atmosphere of tension pervaded in the office although Peter was alone there. Maybe it was because of the weather, he thought, as it had been a muggy day. He looked through the window – the dark grey clouds were moving closer and closer with every minute. Suddenly   lightning flashed through the sky. Some seconds later a loud clap followed. Peter turned away and checked his watch – it was late.

It was some time ago when I wrote the last episode about a “virtual” company and its team: John (team leader), Ruth (his deputy), Emily (John’s personal assistant), Mike, Sam, and Peter (team members), Ron (senior manager), Helen (HR manager). My blog is going on – enjoy reading it: The door opened and Mike came into a small conference room. His colleagues, Emily, Peter, and Sam greeted him cheerfully.

It was 08h30. Sam, Emily, John, and Peter were in the office. It was just an ordinary Monday morning but something was different. John was waiting for Mike, the new employee, that had been hired due to Helen’s courageous engagement. It was Mike’s first working day and John wanted to make it great because he knew that an employee’s first day on the job could be stressful. He looked quickly through the welcome activities plan. “Well, a comfortable working place, computer, Sam will do …, lunch…,” John murmured. Suddenly the door opened and Helen walked into the office: “Good morning, everybody!” She was not alone – a handsome man followed her. It was Mike. Helen introduced him to the team. John was the first who welcomed the new employee. “Hey, welcome,” Peter muttered and thought “he should be a nice coworker.” Emily gave Mike an up-down-over look as if she was going to say “It’s impossible not to like you - such a charming smile and soft voice.” Then she looked at Sam whose face expres...

It had taken John only 30 minutes, to collect his bags and clear customs; and he was now on his way home. It was the last day of his holiday, and he’d arrived back to a beautiful sunny day. John had the window down in his car to keep him awake after his long flight; and he knew it would be a long day ahead because, later, he wanted to go to the office and meet his team.

Ron knew that starting a new job is considered to be one of the most stressful life events. He started as a senior manager two days before John went on holiday. Being John’s boss, Ron wanted to build a relationship with John’s team as quickly as possible.