Don’t you hate awkward social situations at work? I know I have had my share.
One time I was talking to a female coworker, and I am male, and she had a wardrobe malfunction. We were chatting along and her dress/bra fell down and her body was exposed. I looked right into her eye and wondered what I should do. I said that I remembered I had to go take care of something and quickly left while only looking her in the eye.
Another time a female coworker said she couldn’t view a video and needed help. She had a private office and she closed the door when I came in. When I got the player setup I said what movie did you need to watch and it was on her desktop. It was Paris Hilton’s video and I was like “Hmm, is she flirting with me or just socially unaware?” I said that I will leave you to enjoy your movie and left.
These situations don’t just happen with women they happen with men as well. One guy was leaving a company and I was the temporary replacement. He didn’t like the company and so he had me work as slowly as possible. He invited me to walk around the building with him, and just generally waste time. I couldn’t go to the manager because the manager said that that guy knew all the answers and that he was my single point of contact. I got paid for doing nothing, and while I did get some things done it wasn’t in line with what the expectations were. Which is fine because sometimes you get put in situations you can’t win, and that’s life.
An unfortunate situation was with a male coworker who got very angry because he felt his sister had been abused. We were sharing an office and he got upset and because he was Muslim and a minority, he might be perceived negatively by others around him. I closed the door and asked him to calm down because he will scare his other coworkers with his anger and asked if he wanted to step out to get coffee and talk. He calmed down and this was the only time that I saw him angry and I could understand his love for his sister. Some places are not the time or place to let your emotions out.
There are more stories I have, but this is enough for now. If you are working with others please consider the effect your emotions have on others and the risk they pose to them.