Today, I returned to the office after a 28 day absence. I was met with a lukewarm reception. Everyone said hello but nobody stopped in my office to have a conversation. People of other functions would walk by my office and peak in but no one ever said anything. I just thought people were giving me some respect in order for me to catch-up with organizing my work due to my absence. WRONG! The truth finally came out during lunch. As I was standing in line, I noticed several members of my staff were in line if front of me. I thought I would initiate the conversation and moved forward and said hello to everyone. One of the girls actually said hello as she backed away. I thought it was odd. Obviously, they didn’t want to engage in conversation so I went back in line where I had left my admin. My admin laughed and said that they were afraid to talk to me as they were not wearing their surgical masks. LIGHTENING STRIKE! It turns out that everyone is afraid I am carrying the swine flu since I was in the States for a month.
What an odd homecoming!
