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The Only Black Guy in the Office
Nothing Unites a Team Like a Terrible Boss
I never thought I’d say it, but (some of) my colleagues have become a support system
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
It’s been two months since my colleagues and I began working from home, and since then, my social life has completely transformed. Social distancing has snuffed out my weekend DJ gigs and most in-person interactions outside of the office. Routine catch-ups with friends and family have lost their usual cadence, now confined to handheld devices or computer monitors. With the endless conference calls required for work, I barely have the mental bandwidth to carry personal convos over laggy Wi-Fi.
This drastic lifestyle switch-up has come with a plot twist I would’ve never expected: I’ve grown much tighter with my co-workers. Not everyone — surprise, surprise, a lot of these dudes remain assholes, even in the face of imminent societal doom — but these trying times have really cemented my bond with the workplace homies.
It was bound to happen, if you think about it. Sure, I used to see these same folks in the office every day, but telecommuting ironically fosters a more intimate collaborative experience. Slack messages in our barely SFW private channel are now more rapid-fire, replacing the PC lunch table banter. Instead of occasionally tuning out during IRL meetings — gazing through the window or disguising doodles as note-taking — I’m forced to literally stare at my teammates’ unshaven faces and quirky backgrounds on Zoom calls. I’ve even started turning on my own laptop camera with more frequency. Go figure.
My connection with this particular multiracial party of four existed pre-pandemic, although back then it was more surface-level. It’s always great to have an office clique, and that goes double when you’re one of the few Black people working there. With these folks, there’s a commonality that feels surprisingly comforting. We share interests, outlooks on the world, and — perhaps most importantly — a disdain for upper management. If we can connect on talking shit about our bosses, it’s usually a telltale sign that we’re…
