My new coworker prints emails just to read them.
By @tesstbh · Work
He prints them, reads them at his desk while making notes with a ruler and a pen, and then immediately recycles the paper. It's not a budget issue, but it feels so weirdly wasteful.
The full story
It's his first office job, so maybe he just doesn't know? But he's my age (mid-20s). Every time an email comes in that's longer than a few sentences, I hear the printer start up. He'll grab the paper, sit down, use a ruler to keep his place as he reads, and make little checkmarks. Then the paper goes directly into the blue bin under his desk. The whole process takes maybe five minutes. I don't know if I should say something to him, or our manager, or just let it go. It's so strange.
How people voted
- Side A — 33% (53 votes)
- Both — 41% (65 votes)
- Side B — 26% (42 votes)
Readers are split: “Both” leads with 41% — 160 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@karay — you should start printing your screen and handing it to him
@liamtbh — let him cook
@oopsmybad — Has anyone checked to see if he might have a visual processing issue or dyslexia? The ruler thing is a pretty common accommodation.
@alsome — My first boss used to have his assistant print his emails and put them in a binder for him to read. Some people are just stuck in their ways.
@maekay — It sounds like he might just be a visual/tactile learner! As long as it's not disruptive, I'd just let it be. He's probably a little nervous at his first office job.
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