Teamwork

Thanks to some help from my co-workers, my wastebasket found its way back home yesterday.

I was afraid my method of motivation wasn't working. My whining about it and wheeling myself to various trash cans all over the floor to dispose of whatever seemed to be pretty universally tuned out. I knew that a concerted effort by everyone would have results.

I thought (in the interest of fellowship and team spirit) that bringing everyone together in the shared cause was important to the ultimate return of my wastebasket.

The Team Building technique I settled on was simple. I walked to the vacant cubicle of a co-worker who was at lunch and wheeled the office chair out of there. On my way back to my cubicle, I stopped at every desk and grabbed something. By the time I wheeled to a stop, I had a label maker, two staplers, a dry-erase board, a tape gun, a keyboard, the handset from a desk phone, the toner cartridge from the printer, a potted plant and a framed picture of someone I don't know, all loaded into the office chair.

Note: Always grab the wheelie chair first.

Once everyone was reminded how crappy it can be to have one's stuff stolen, that team spirit kicked in and my wastebasket found its way back into my cubicle even faster than I'd dared to hope.

I was happy to have my wastebasket back, but I was even more happy to have used petty theft to bring our group closer together. Building bridges is hard work, and sometimes the key foundation stones have to be stolen.

Let me clarify by stating that I do not condone or endorse theft as a problem-resolution method. Please be sure to research local laws in your area before trying this where you work.