JUST KIDDING!
JUST KIDDING, LOL!
“Strike that remark!” You hear this on those shows you watch about Court proceedings. The Defense Attorney will very carefully place a remark in his/her statement knowing the Judge would not allow it in the records. Immediately, the Judge instructs the jury to: “Strike that remark!”
LOL, Just Kidding, You know I didn’t mean anything by that! These are all the ways we get around the rule. Just like the Defense Attorney, we know that once it leaves our lips, it can never be returned. To excuse our behavior, we add “JUST KIDDING” or “LOL” at the end of the statement and that wipes our record clean. NOT!!!!
LOL IN BUSINESS
Some may get away with it (their opinion) but most really do not. WHEN YOU SAY SOMETHING HURTFUL, THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH “JUST KIDDING” TO GO AROUND!
I’ve been told not to publish something on the Internet that you might regret later. Of course, you can always delete it! A friend of mine told me about posting something that she knew was wrong as soon as her finger hit the RETURN key. Within 15 seconds, she deleted it and gave it no further thought. Several days later, a friend asked her why she would post something like this. She apologized and stated she immediately took it down. (15 seconds was too long!)
The Internet is a business world. I have seen “LOL’s” all over the place on forums and chat rooms. Most of the time, the preceding comment is in true jest and there is much fun with these chats. However, I have recently found some that were deliberate and anything but jest.
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
You have to have a release. I read about a big company that installed “sleep rooms” so if an employee felt that need, they could take a quick nap to reenergize. I worked with a guy that would take an hour lunch break instead of the ½ hour so he could run during his lunch break. There are a number of things people do in business for a release.
Online businesses often have chat rooms. These serve many needs including a means of release. The entire purpose of this article is to encourage those to avoid the JUST KIDDING excuse to do something that breaks the rules.
If we are to succeed in business, we need to embrace camaraderie rather than attempts to cover conflict.
