It is important to get your work done while in the office, but being friendly with clients and coworkers is also helpful.

What would you do if your boss told you that you needed to stop chatting with coworkers and clients even though you were always getting your work done with no problems?

That is what happened to the receptionist in this story, so she complied perfectly by keeping things perfectly professional at all times. Her coworkers almost immediately realized that something was wrong and told the manager about it, which prompted the manager to back off on her instructions.

She really handled the situation perfectly and got what she wanted in the end. Read through the details below and see what you think.

Stop being so friendly

I work a behavioral healthcare agency.

A friendly receptionist makes an office pleasant.

At the time this occurred, there were 14 therapists who reviewed paperwork from various psychiatric facilities.

I’m the receptionist. I used to greet everyone that came, and we’d have a wee chat, then get on with our work. Many had told me they enjoyed my cheerful attitude and hoped I never lost that happy spirit.

Her boss is all over the place.

At that time, the director of my office singled me out on how she treated me. One month she was super cool and we got along great. The next month she’d be on me about every little thing I did. I didn’t know what to do.

One day she called me to her office and said I was being too social – talking too much with coworkers, not getting my work done (not true), etc.. I needed to limit my conversations to just greeting people and leave it at that.

Give her exactly what she asked for.

I looked at her, saying I would do exactly as she said. No more socializing. Hand out assignments, say what it’s for and go back to my desk.

She smiled, telling me that’s what she wanted.

Her coworkers noticed the change immediately.

The next morning I smiled and greeted people, then I put my head down and went back to work. When I would go to their offices and hand out assignments, they would start to chat.

I’d stop them, apologise telling them I had to get back to my desk. I’d get an odd look, and a nod.

They genuinely care about her.

This went on for several days. The following week they started coming up to my desk, individually asking how I was doing. I seemed distant, if I had any problems I could talk to them as their door was always open.

I smiled, thanked them for their generosity and thoughtfulness, but I was fine and had to get back to work.

Gee, boss, I wonder what changed.

As I mentioned, this went on everyday for a week.

The following week the director called me into her office and asked what was wrong. I smiled and said nothing is wrong. I’m doing my work and it’s on time, clinicians are getting their assignments and I’m keeping the chat to an absolute minimum. Like you wanted.

I guess her boss is backing off, but does she acknowledge that she was wrong?

She looked at me and said the clinicians were concerned about me as I haven’t been talking to them, they feel I might be going through some kind of depression and they told me their door is always open.

She didn’t say anything at first, then she told me “Just keep the chats to a few minutes.” I told her no problem.

This lady really handled the situation perfectly. She didn’t make a big scene or cause problems or even bad-mouth her boss. Instead, she did what she was told and let the issue work itself out.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a group of employees who walked out of a meeting after hearing about their company’s new overtime policy.

Check out what the people in the comments have to say about this story.

Here is a great way to handle it.

We can’t have you enjoying your job.

Some managers think talking is a waste of company time. Why, though?

I agree, but that could have made her manager dig her heels in.

Why did she have a problem with it, though?

Part of her job is to keep people happy, and her manager tried to ruin that. Being social isn’t a waste of time; it is an important factor in many jobs, especially for receptionists.

Oh well, this lady was smart enough to comply with her boss’s specific instructions and got them reversed in just a couple of weeks.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a person whose colleague expected them to help pay for 11 elaborate birthday cakes they never agreed to buy.