But you have to think they are offensive to be offended though…
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Some people get offended at others who aren’t offended. Personally, I find that offensive.
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No one has the right to be not offended .
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This is going to end up like a Humphrey Appleby soliloquy soon.
One man’s offensives is another man’s lively chat.
To be candid I sometimes enjoy offending others.
That’s life!
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… all done in the best possible taste, I’m sure.
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No you don’t, and no it isn’t.
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Ok … you’ve got me on the on the first point Dex.
I don’t gain any pleasure from hurting other people.
Makes me think of that old film Platoon…Sgt Barnes there’s the way things should be and the way things really are
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If you really want to escape someone’s monologue about themselves, if you persist in changing the subject and talk about you or some other totally unconnected news item in reply to what they say, often they’ll drop you and drift off to bore someone else!
I use this tactic at work to Boring John (obviously I don’t call him that out loud!)
I’ll give him 15 minutes telling me the minutae of his life, because after all I’m his manager and I need to take an interest
But after that, I’ll interject with a news topic (he’s not interested) or something about me and keep pushing it every time he tries to turn the subject back to him. He soon gives up
And you know what topic works really well? Asking what progress he’s making on that case he’s dragging his ass on 
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I have someone like this who is able to distract a conversation for a very long time when it comes to talking about her personal life, fine details right down to what she gave her children for breakfast or her health problems. Anything to ensure that we don’t talk about the work she hasn’t started yet! So you start off thinking well we should have some small talk first to be a caring manager and then half an hour later…
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HALF AN HOUR! I’m not that nice a manager 
. How much does she get paid an hour? She could have got that work started in the time it’s taken to distract you
Kick her butt 
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The stories I could tell. We should start a “workers not shirkers” thread 
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Maybe if you were better managers, these people wouldn’t feel the need to divert their minds from the task in hand 
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Meow!
I always lead by example…I very rarely spoke about my personal life during work hours…my staff tended to do the same. I never felt the need to kick ass as people have termed it here but employment laws are more difficult now…back then if it was obvious someone wasn’t going to fit in there were simple solutions…its not so simple now.
Just thought of a question, then realized, no one would have the answer, such is life.
I’ve never had this problem when we were in a physical office. It’s working from home that creates the informality.
No further questions Milord.