About minute silences at work

[onesupplied]

We had a one minute silence today to recognise the Grenfell tragedy.

We all received an email well in advance about this. Our office manager sets off an alarm at 11am and when the silence is over. We've (sadly) done this a couple of times now in the past month.

There still remain a few colleagues who seem to take no notice. Although not talking they're typing, clicking, scrolling, shuffling papers.

AIBU to think that this is bloody disrespectful and that everyone can afford to take one minute out of their day?

If you're actually offended by someone observing an entirely pointless gesture, than you clearly haven't got enough going on in your life

Its the other way round though, the OP is offended by people not observing it

We were invited to join in a minute's silence. Everyone in the office did so.

I just think that in an office where 95% of people are observing the silence, when one person carries on working oblivious to it it does come across as rude.

Some people obviously were still reading screens etc but to just carry on making fairly loud office noise is imo unreasonable.

Even staff walking to a meeting (inc the CEO) stopped and stood for the 60 seconds.

Not meaning to get into a whole debate over whether or not a 1 minute silence is the correct thing to do.

Why on earth have you posted on AIBU?

I did the one for Manchester with a rowdy yr 10 class. I spoke briefly beforehand about why we as a school were observing it and was braced for antics but they were as good as gold.

OP... if you were actually doing what you supposedly were desperate to do, ie. think about the victims for 1 minute, then you would have surely been able to blot out the noise of shuffling papers and the odd bit of clicking. After all, 95% of your office were doing the same as you... focused on the victims.

Do what you want and let other people do the same. If it's a problem in your office then suggest that the participants leave for that time and those left will answer phones, etc. Really not a big deal.

You're right in that there's no point getting into a debate about the rights and wrongs but it's clear from this thread (and countless others) that many do not think this practice is respectful or in any way appropriate as a remembrance. The paper shufflers are infinitely quieter than the SUSHHHHers who sound as if they've developed a sudden puncture.

Some of the posters on this thread remind me of that film 'Election' with Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick. Reese played a terribly earnest and mindful and particular and highly visible student who did absolutely EVERYTHING for affect. Nothing was done because it was the right thing, just that it was something that SHOULD be done and essential to that was that everybody could see that SHE was doing it all. Brilliantly played but how obnoxious she was.

I work in a large call centre and we're encouraged to take part in the one minute silence. We're allowed to ask customers to hold for the minute or to join in with the silence. I don't think there's any excuse at all not to and anyone who's manager doesn't allow it needs a new manager!

I dont think you can tell other people how they should respond following a tragedy. I really dobt understand tge minute silence thing if im honest.

Yet many people do consider it respectful and it's a bit overbearing to refuse to be silent for one whole minute just because that's not how you, personally, choose to pay your respects.

We observe them at school - 1500 kids in complete silence. However, they can't in the main office for obvious reasons - they can't just let a phone call ring off when it could be important. They do try to observe it as best they can though.

We have them at work and it's rarely possible to observe them tbh. Busy office and today my boss barged in and sat on my desk to discuss something she said I hadn't done which I had

And how 'respectful' really is it to be standing there in Sainsburys with your head bowed and silent for a minute? And then rummaging through the BOGOFs a few seconds later.

If it is really that important to you then you wouldn't be going round the shops at all.

State-sanctioned public grief that doesn't actually inconvenience the economy. It just seems a bit grubby when you pick it apart.

I could easily have been that one who carried on working today because I just forgot. I focus on my work and get really absorbed. Tbh the other people where I work could be doing the Macarena and I'd be lucky to notice. So if you made assumptions and got yourself in a froth about my behaviour you'd be making incorrect assumptions. And you'd have been better off minding your own business and thinking thoughts more appropriate to the silence.

I observe the silence by being quiet but I don't understand why we are having so many - yes tragic events are happening but they happen every day and I dont really see why these silences are necessary.

I do always observe the armistice day silences though

I don't agree with the whole minute silence thing. Nominally we were told it was happening via email at work, but we didn't actually observe it. The previous one, I was in a training session and the leader did choose to stop us and observe the silence, but - as with every other silence I've observed during my 28 years - I wasn't thinking about whatever the silence was about. It becomes just a minute to let your mind wander and try not to sniff. I do my thinking when I want to, when it feels right...not in some stupid timed minute where you're then meant to bound back to work. It stinks of doing something to be seen doing something. There is no positive impact to be had by us all sitting around like lemons for a minute.

Penguin, those who want to participate are free to do just that. Some are not content with that, they want to harangue other people into following them and that is not on. That is what posters who do not like being badgered into what (in my opinion) is a pointless and self-promoting show.

I'm respectful of others wish to participate and I'm quiet but I prefer think of the victims in my own time and away from the masses who manage to squash all those 'respectful thoughts' into just 60 seconds. I ponder whilst driving and I don't have a stopwatch.

For 11th November, I Observe. That is what the silence was for; gratitude and a promise not to forget the sacrifice. The fact that it's been shamelessly shoehorned onto tragedies where there has been a highly publicised loss of life is not respectful to me. I accept that other people will not agree and that's fine by me.

How about everybody lets everybody else reflect in a time and in a way that means something to them individually rather than coerce and hector them into the activity because you think they should be doing it.

I think over-using it sets a precedent and when you there isn't one people question why. I've already seen people on social media asking if they'll be one for the Finsbury Park attack. If there isn't then it does look like certain communities lives matter less.

I actually thought it just meant no talking so am guilty of typing quietly, mainly because I don't actually want to think about things that make me sad in the office.

Someone I knew was killed in the Bataclan. The minute's silence at work was quite distressing as it caught me off guard.

I don't get the point of them personally, apart from the original because that is about contemplating a great sacrifice. It's not the same.

Blimey. Portugal have announced they're having 3 days of national mourning for the people who''ve died in the forest fires and we've got folk bleating about observing a minutes silence.

I think over-using it sets a precedent and when you there isn't one people question why.

Definitely this. It should be for Nov 11th only.

I find the minute's silence a waste of time. Like wearing a black armband at a football match.

It does nothing useful, and people are pressured into observing it.

It's in the same ballpark as Orwell's two minutes hate in 1984 - state ordered action to keep the proles in their place.

Better you all sat down and wrote to PM May expressing your disgust at the treatment of the people who survived and the substandard materials used on the building for those who perished.

Well OP you can't have been observing the minute's silence properly if you were frothing at the mouth about noticing what others were doing. Disrespectful indeed

Whilst I do tend to participate in such events I do think it's important that it's personal choice not compulsion.

I really don't get this minutes silence business. Thousands of people die around the world every day but we don't have a daily minutes silence for them. To me, this is just one more example of virtue signalling.

I work in retail and have had regular minute silences ...today was the first time the store was completely quiet ...you usually hear people chatting or continuing to walk but really ..you could hear a pin drop