I have a coworker who’s frank, funny, and trying to get fit. She recently announced that she’s ready to make the leap and actually join a gym. I immediately began selling the virtues of the local workout spot, which is popular around the office. Quick lunchtime workouts! A billion branches!
She hemmed and hawed and finally said that while she wanted to go, she couldn’t bear the thought of running into anyone from the office. What could be more socially awkward than a semi-clad or buck naked conversation about work-related matters?
I deeply empathized. I once spent an entire year skulking around the local gym trying to avoid my boss because I dreaded just such a locker-room scenario. (It’s not much easier in the men’s locker room either, apparently, judging by a blog post in the Wall Street Journal about senior-junior staff encounters at the gym.)
What not to blurt out
You would think most people would follow common sense: Don’t yak with coworkers when you’re totally naked, and skip all awkward topics of conversation. But guess what? There’s no guarantee that won’t happen. Awkward encounters can result in inappropriate yak.
Lisa (not her real name) has been going to a gym near her work for four years, mainly because of the convenience and the employee discount. The most shocking encounter came when a much more senior colleague “commented on my bikini wax and asked me where I went to have it done. I kind of just stammered and walked away,” she says. On the other hand, Lisa once complimented a colleague’s prominent tattoo—which happened to be on her buttock—which led to a lengthy talk. Lisa now avoids the place. “It’s gotten to the point where I do everything possible to avoid going to that location, instead frequenting the one closer to my house.”
Shyness is forever
Fear of being naked is far from a rare thing 25 years after Title IX sent more women into sweaty athletics and about 3,000 years after the first guy flicked a towel at another guy’s butt in the locker room. Faith Scarinzi-Dey, co-owner of Siren Fitness in Madison, Wis., says she sees the whole gamut of behaviors: “I’ve heard both sides—those who don’t care because they have a team sports or dance background, and they’re used to it. Others are definitely self-conscious.”
Her advice: If you do happen to catch a coworker’s eye, simply give a quick “hi” and avert your eyes. “Be courteous of the other’s space,” she says. “Assume that the other person would like a little time to ‘pull together.’”
You can always find out a coworker’s workout schedule and build a different schedule of your own, or laugh about it ahead of time to diffuse tension. But the best choice? Don’t obsess, and do go: It’s bad health policy to avoid exercising because you’re scared of bumping into a coworker in your birthday suit.
“Realize that it doesn’t have to be such a big deal,” says Scarinzi-Dey. “Shouldn’t we be embracing our bodies anyway?”
(PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES)
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Comments (1)
People need to loosen up about bodies! Visit Europe, or anywhere else in the world for that matter! What’s the big deal?