He looks to be hard at work. Actually, he's playing electronic solitaire or checking out a pornographic Web site. Computers themselves have given rise to the compulsive e-mailer, who cannot be bothered to walk over to a colleague sitting 12 feet away. No, he must say his piece electronically. There is the office fidget.
Annoying voices are especially troublesome in offices with lots of open space.
They carry much farther than they did in the days of typewriters, when they were drowned out by a loud, steady clatter. The dull hum of today's computers falls way short in providing protective white noise. Sure, there is a certain sadness to him. It's already Wednesday. The rise of women in the workplace has created the professional mommy.