Fridays are so quiet here at work, it’s like being in church, or the library. Especially in the morning.
The reason for this is that we work a 9/80 schedule where alternating groups of employees have every other Friday off (having worked 80 hours over the previous 9 days). We work in an open (meaning kinda noisy, but non-cubicle) environment. I always get a lot done on Fridays, but at first the quiet is "deafening."

The other four days of the week there is a buzz here, the wheels of industry turning, printers and copiers clicking and clacking, voices rising, people laughing, a low steady hum like a hive of bees, an errant cell phone ringing on someone’s desk:

• Cassie’s which sounds like nervous disco,


• Brad’s which sounds just like a telephone from a classic movie,


• Rick’s super salsa sensation.

Fridays can be a little ho-hum, and maybe just a little lonely. Even though it’s a good day to get caught up and clean up my desk, I’m always glad when Monday rolls around, and everyone’s back.