SUBTEXTthen that he needed me, and if I wanted to, I could make some
headway."
"Did you?"
"No." Bill shook his head. "I don't like to play those games.
I gave him notice and I started the new job the next week."OF TIME AND THE TELEPHONE
Bill was lucky he had the power to go out and find another job.
Many people don't, and have to learn how to cope with the power
players—to fight back or submit. There are any number of power
plays going on in the workplace. One common ploy is to manipulate
time. How you deal with time can send out a strong subtext.
In the United States, a wait of five minutes to see someone on
business when you have an appointment is considered normal. If
someone keeps a client waiting beyond ten minutes, the subtext
is clear—"My time is valuable."
Fifteen minutes, and the subtext is "I am more important than
you." Twenty minutes and the subtext becomes "I am contemptuous
of you!" A half hour and it is "You are an annoyance. I am
seeing you only because I must." Thirty to forty minutes is an
unusual length of time to keep anyone waiting. It carries a plain
and not-so-nice subtext—"I think very little of you. Your time is
unimportant."
On the other hand, when someone comes out as soon as a
client is announced and ushers the client into the office, the subtext
is "You are a very important person. Your time is more valuable
than mine or just as valuable."
These times and their relationship to subtext are a part of our
culture. In a Latin culture, by contrast, one may be kept waiting