We're Not Gay!
I haven’t worked in a traditional office in over a year, and I miss certain things about life in a corporate environment.
I miss free coffee, unlimited time on the super-fast work internets, and the office bromance.
That’s right. I miss it when two dudes spend time together at work, share a brain, and communicate like a loving, tender married couple.
I love it when they finish sentences for one another.
“Remember that time when…”
[interrupts] “Oh yeah, dude, that was sweet.”
I miss it when guys giggle, play pranks, and communicate via hand signals & shit. I miss working with guys who go to lunch with one another for the sheer joy of going to lunch. They always go out for the Chinese lunch special on Tuesdays. They love the egg rolls. They celebrate the existence of Rooster Sauce.
You know these guys. They aren’t lighting the world on fire with their awesome political & leadership skills, but they are great employees and they have solid friendships at work — something that’s essential for strong productivity and positive employee morale. I know women who form close relationships with one another at work, but I don’t know many women who celebrate the sheer joy of having a friend who works in a neighboring cubicle. The guys who participate in the office bromance are in love with one another, but it’s the purest kind of love: it’s respect, admiration, and unconditional support.
They are a cohesive unit, these men who dare to bromance, and they will not be denied Chinese lunches, mid-morning breaks, or daily jaunts to Starbucks.
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Laurie, You forgot to mention the more private intimate topics those dudes discuss: sports, how the SO doesn’t like them spending cash, and who has the biggest toy. I won’t even get into the terms of endearment that get used. — Michael VanDervort humanracehorses.blogspot.com
Oh goodness, @Michael VanDervort, I hear snippets of that very conversation *every day*! But if the women in the office engage in similar discussion, we’re frowned at for “wasting time”. In fact, I remember a day when I was having a laugh with a lady who was temping in our office when my supervisor pulled me into her office and said, “We don’t have friends at work!”
**sigh**
Can you have a bromance and not be a guy? Up until my last regular job, most of my at work friends were guys. We’d go to coffee and lunch together, play jokes on one another and talk about the latest scifi movies and gadgets.
@Vicster, that sux. What a jerk supervisor. Put a tack on her chair, the old schoolmarm.
@michael Oh yeah, sports and cars. I totally forgot.
@Vicster Time for a new job, yo.
@Robyn I think so. You run the risk of having an office spouse, though, and we’re definitely NOT talking about office spouse stuff. We’re talking about iPhones & sports & cars & shit.
I’m putting “Work at a place that has male employees” on my list of wants for a new job. I just don’t get to enjoy these things working with women.
Mmmm….. rooster sauce.
I remember two guys who had a bromance at my last job. They were so much fun. They would pick up lunch for each other and all kinds of stuff. You always knew when they were around because you would hear “Hey, man” and then the crunch of paper bags being opened. I loved listening to them chat in the break room – they were like an old married couple.
The bromance at work is infectious. It makes everyone feel good.
nice post, brah!
My husband has a bromance. I hate it.
@mspinkslip Better a bromance than an office spouse.
@mspinkslip Better a bromance than an office spouse.
If that was the case, she can have him, I’ll have everything else.