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Published cartoon ·

Company Outing

The company leaves the office for a day. Its habits come along for the ride.

A lakeside company outing brings together familiar workplace archetypes beneath a Teamwork banner. A photographer asks everyone to say synergy while the group brings its office habits into the mountains.

Why this one bites

A mountain lake, fresh air, and a teamwork banner offer a change of scenery. The group photograph tells a more familiar story: enthusiasm, pessimism, deflection, networking, and urgent interruptions have all made the trip. Even the invitation to smile comes in corporate language: “Okay everyone, say synergy!”

Company Outing gathers workplace archetypes into one landscape. The Gardener nurtures people while the Seagull claims ideas; the Spreadsheet General brings a plan while the Firefighter races toward another urgent thing. Seen together, their competing habits form a portrait of the organisation that no away day can leave behind.

Transcript

  • Title: Reality Bytes Me: Company Outing. Banner: TEAMWORK* *NATURE TOLERATES US TOO.
  • Photographer: Okay everyone, say synergy! Shirt: CAPTURING CORPORATE WILDLIFE SINCE 2010.
  • The Attendee: I SHOWED UP! The Discombobulator is tangled in cables and devices. The Spacehamster sits inside a transparent ball: FUELED BY CHAOS.
  • The Yespleaser: SURE! NO PROBLEM! HAPPY TO HELP! The Yaysayer holds a sign: GREAT IDEA! The Naysayer folds their arms. The Doomsayer wears NOPE and holds IT WON’T WORK beneath a raincloud.
  • The Deflector points away: NOT ME. The Zombie: JUST ONE MORE MEETING. The Savant works at a laptop with an ellipsis in a thought bubble. The Escalator speaks into a phone: I’LL TAKE THIS HIGHER. The Passenger reclines in a chair: NICE VIEW.
  • The Gardener waters plants: PEOPLE GROW HERE. The Seagull scatters ideas above a box marked MY IDEA! and a bag marked ALL THE IDEAS. The Dictator wears a sash: MY WAY.
  • The Spider holds networking devices and cards: I KNOW SOMEONE; CONNECT; NETWORK EVERYONE. The Spreadsheet General carries a plan: PLAN; TRACK; OPTIMISE; REPORT; REPEAT. The Datamancer: DATA TURNS INTUITION INTO REALITY.
  • The Weather Vane: ALWAYS ALIGNED (SOMEHOW). Nearby arrows: CEO; CUSTOMERS; THE LATEST PLAN; ANYONE IMPORTANT? The Firefighter runs with a hose: ANOTHER URGENT THING?!
  • Trail signs: HIKES; IDEAS; BONDING; COMPLAINTS; BETTER TOMORROW? Left sign: SAME PEOPLE. DIFFERENT SCENERY ... STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS. Right sign: SAME FIRES. DIFFERENT LOCATION.
  • Bag: OUT OF OFFICE (ish). Mug: GOOD TEAMS GO FURTHER. Log: PEOPLE. PROJECTS. PROBABLY BOTH. Rock: SAME ARCHETYPES. BRIGHTER HORIZONS. Footer: realitybytesme.com.