Somebody should run with it
Ok now all you aspiring tv writers – I have just the thing for you. Vulnerable lawyers. Comedy, not drama. I owe the idea to Sarah Phillimore and Dennis Kavanagh.
“Bringing your whole self to work” is the very last thing people should be doing. No no no no no that’s all wrong: leave most of your self at home. Nobody wants to see that. Nobody wants the moods, the hidden injuries, the regrets, the resentments, the obsessions – none of it. Do not bring it to work.
That’s it! The new Fawlty Towers crossed with Boston Legal: vulnerable lawyers.
I’m not even kidding. It could be stomach-hurtingly funny.
There’s so much comedy gold potential in the entire woke movement. I’m not the TV writer sort (I like long words, and don’t want to write for commercial value…hence, I sell only a few books. But I’m okay with that.)
None of these “advocates” have ever worked with a narcissistic, manipulative sociopath or are oblivious to those around them.
Or, they are already the narcissist of the office. Christ, imagine an office full of these types.
This kind of thing is HUGE in my sector. It has to do with this woman:
http://learnaslead.com/about/claire-nuer/
who did this thing:
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/06/17/482203447/invisibilia-how-learning-to-be-vulnerable-can-make-life-safer
The idea is that in a risky and dangerous physical environment ‘people’ are more likely to look out for each other and take action to promote safety if they know and care about each other. I’m inclined to believe that might be the case, once again, for men–this is, after all, how the military works. But I suspect that, as with, for example, Nonviolent Communication, it only works for men.
If you want a TV series with lawyers like this, just rewatch Ally McBeal.
My workplace is on the woke side, so they may go on about bringing your own authentic self to work – I shall have to drill deeper into the emails about coping and emotional intelligence they send me.
My lawyer colleagues could grunt that the authentic self that the employers are looking for is one that will work all weekend and late into the night on a completion i.e. a workaholic with no friends and a neglected family.
Re the telly series angle, there are several very popular and well-regarded police dramas with a 40ish woman inspector lead who has a very messy personal life, which she does indeed bring to work – eg The Killing (Danish), The Bridge (Swedish) and Spiral (French). These are enjoyable, with good casts and the 40ish woman inspector is an interesting character, well-acted (also good-looking). I have complained in the past how you get sick of maverick, alcoholic police people, and why not some ordinary competent police who get on with solving the crime, and forget about the bottles and rows at home. Then I began watching Hidden Assets, with an Irish fortyish good-looking woman inspector, and her Flemish male counterpart. She didn’t have a messy personal life, or much personal life, got on with solving the crime, and was competent and courageous. That’s exactly how we would like our police to be, like our plumbers, or ourselves (minus courageous) – however it didn’t make for such exciting television.
One of the reasons I never got on Facebook was precisely because I wanted to maintain a personal/professional separation. Clients shouldn’t see me posting about how much work sucks and how annoying clients can be, or see the party photos my indiscreet friends tagged me in, etc., and the amount of work involved in curating social media so that there are levels for “friends who aren’t really friends” just seemed like it wouldn’t be worth it.
Be a goddamned professional.
I blame social media for the urge to overshare things about ourselves to boost our popularity online, so it doesn’t surprise me that an editor at LinkedIn would find sharing yourself more with others would be a good idea. Not that there’s anything wrong with chit chat at the office about sports ball but I do draw the line when it comes to one’s sex life, which is one of the reasons I don’t care for making pronouns mandatory at work. When I started working professionally over forty years ago I decided that I’d never mix my work and love lives and that’s served me well.
Starting from the default position of my generation of men to the notion of sharing our feelings – I don’t hurt, I’m not sleepy, I’m not hungry, so I’m feeling fine”, my initial response to social media was ‘Oh god, they’ve made it possible to create a Christmas letter every goddamn hour of the day!” If anything, my opinion of the technology has soured even more with time.
I regard Facebook as being like the Mediterranean passagiamento, the hour of the day when families tidy themselves up and go out into public to socialise and to be viewed – and judged. I am reserved anyway and so I use it to share something amusing or interesting that I have experienced or noticed. The idea of baring my naked soul there (or anywhere) fills me with horror. I am astounded by FB friends who share their depressions, bad mental health, grievances that they have expressed over and over again, sucking sympathy and helpful suggestions dry.
Of course Facebook can also be a debating forum. I like it best as a site for information on campaigns, and for shared interests. It comes into its own when you get in touch with gardeners who can give you advice and wildlife enthusiasts who take great pictures of the otters and kingfishers round your local river.
I’ve already seen “LA Law.”