Author: Nathan Westerberg

Posted in Party Planning Committee, The Office

An Office Thanksgiving

Posted on by Nathan Westerberg

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the Breakroom. The big topic at hand this week is the impending holiday this next week, Thanksgiving Day! While it may not have the same level of decor and festivities as Christmas or Halloween, many offices still see this holiday come up in a myriad of ways. I am here to help navigate through the often murky etiquette and protocols that go into them.

Food Drive
Perhaps one of my favorite events that some offices do is holding a food drive, with those items then being donated to a local shelter. The question comes down to what to donate, as some people have issues with this topic. Some of you may be aware that Dunder Mifflin once tried to host one, and that clip can be found here. The main issue they came across was the donated some pretty terrible items including a dented can of water chestnuts, expired beans, racket balls, and something called “brown.” Darryl and Toby were so appalled they decided to force everyone to eat these disgusting contributions. The goal of a food drive is to provide food for those in need, not for you to clear your pantries of old and disgusting food.

So what should you donate? The best recommendation is simply go to the website of the shelter you wish to donate to (or call them) and they will typically have a list of things that can be donated as well as things they are in need of. Non-perishable is key so typically items that are canned but they will sometimes accepted things that are bagged and boxed. According to Feeding America1, their most common items are:
Peanut butter
Canned soup
Canned fruit
Canned vegetables
Canned stew
Canned fish
Canned beans
Pasta (most prefer whole grain)
Rice (most prefer brown rice)

Again, it does not hurt to specifically check with the organization you are donating to. But there are other ways you can give back. Besides physical items, most organizations will accept money donations so you can organization a fundraiser and donate the proceeds. You can also look into local shelters, churches, and similar organizations that might be hosting Thanksgiving meals for those in need and could use food donations to serve as well as volunteers to assist with the event. It is worth mentioning that we should be striving to give back more than once a year so perhaps this holiday event will urge your office to do this throughout the year.

Holiday Potluck
After a food drive or fundraiser, the other common occurrence is you might do an office potluck and if you are new to these, it is smart to be prepared. It is worth mentioning that these tips can certainly help with even a friends and family potluck-style event.

The key to a successful potluck is the organization of the event. The date and time needs to be made clear so everyone can coordinate around and if it changes, make that known to everyone. Next is the potluck menu which should involve a shared document that people can sign up with what their dish is going to be. This is done so people know what is already being brought and reduces the likelihood you end up with three potato salads, five pies, and several trays of deviled eggs. Some might have a rule that you must bring something to take part in the event but none of the ones I have been to have had that. Not everyone might have the time and resources to contribute and many people are like myself who tend to bring more than enough. I will mention that one rule people should stick to is if you put yourself down for something, you should stick to it. I have seen people who say they will bring on thing but change their mind and end up bringing something that someone else did and it throws of the menu. And please know that it is perfectly okay to buy something instead of cooking if you are not much of a chef. Cookies, salads, beverages, frozen appetizers; these are all great and no one will judge you for not cooking.

A few things to keep in mind, however. If you have a dish that needs to be frozen/refrigerated or kept warm, take that into consideration. Do some recon ahead of time to ensure there is a place that you can store your cold food and you will like need a crockpot if you are doing a hot meal. Another important one is I feel it is good to talk about dietary restrictions, especially allergens. I know people who cannot eat gluten and despite knowing the people for over a decade, no one bothers to try to cater to such allergens. Another big one might be someone who doesn’t eat meat, it is not hard to help cater to such restrictions to ensure everyone can enjoy a proper meal. I cook a meal every week that is gluten free and no meat for people so I can assure you, it is not that difficult.

So you are taking part in a potluck meal and want to whip something up but you have no idea what you an do, I am here with some good recommendations. I am including some recipes for the foods, some I have tried and some I have not, these are meant to give you a starting point.

Barbecue Meatballs
I have done these for a number of events because they are easy to make ahead of time and then just store in a crockpot. They also make create leftovers and can be eaten at any meal, I have even done them for a brunch. Basically you take your favorite meatballs and then get them into your favorite barbecue sauce, easy! My tips include using saltine crackers instead of breadcrumbs in your meatballs, and then I use Sweet Ray’s barbecue sauce but I like to spice it up with some cayenne pepper. I very much appreciate the sweet and spicy combination.

Sweet Potato Chili
Have not done this but it sounds great. Sweet potatoes of any form are a staple at Thanksgiving and by turning them into a chili we have a fun and tasty vegetarian option. Don’t forget to grab some toppings to go along with it!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes
My preferred method of sweet potatoes is mashed. Here is a nice starting recipe, but I will be honest that I throw mine all together. Additionally, I make mine extra sweeet with brown sugar, cinnamon, and topped with marshmallows. Needless to say it’s my husband’s favorite side at the holiday.

Charcuterie Board
Sometimes rather than cooking you an just organize! We all know plenty of people who load up on the pre-dinner snacks so while not get out a board of cheeses, meats, crackers, and vegetables for those snackers.

Pumpkin Pie
You can never go wrong with pie and pumpkin pie is one of the easiest to whip up and can be made a couple days in advance. Here is a standard recipe but almost any can of pumpkin puree will have a recipe as well so no worries. Tip: it is no big deal if you use a store-bought crust. Pie crust is notoriously tricky (no matter what Martha Stewart says) so if you use a crust from the store, you are fine. I recently found gluten-free version that I will be using and because of it, I feel more keen on making my pies extra pretty since the crust is already done.

Stuffing/Dressing
Along with mashed potatoes and gravy, the dressing is my favorite part of a turkey dinner. The difference between stuffing and dressing is stuffing has been inside the bird and dressing is made on its own in a dish. Dressing is the way to go, allows the bird to fully cook and it develops a slight crisp. Use your favorite recipe (this link is close to mine) but the key is that you want to let your bread to sit out a couple days so it gets very dry to soak up the flavors. And it has to be warm so I will say if you cannot use a crockpot or something to get it hot for serving, you can skip it. And I will go to the mat on this one, boxed items like Stouffer’s stuffing are terrible and you should stay away from them. Same goes for instant potatoes, they are not worth it so stay away!

And this, my friends and colleagues, are my hot tips for Thanksgiving in the office this year! I will say that I love being able to talk about food, cooking, and I would say I love talking about planning an event but it is more deciding what it will be. I never feel more seen than watching Angela having to deal with the people assigned to help her in the Party Planning Committee.

Have more tips, please share with us and our readers! Have questions or maybe need some Party Planning or cooking advice, let me know! Email me, message me on Facebook or Instagram or simply comment away and I will be all too happy to help you however I can!

I wish you all good luck this Thanksgiving and as always, I’ll see you around the Breakroom.

  1. Morello, P. (2020, January 14). What to donate to a food bank and what to avoid. Feeding America. Retrieved November 20, 2025, from https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-blog/what-donate-food-bank-and-what-avoid ↩︎

Good morning everyone, and welcome back to the Breakroom. This week I want to talk about a topic that I have touched upon in the past but have been wanting to devote a piece to for awhile: quiet quitting. When this phrase first came to light, I thought I was going to miss my opportunity in being able to talk about it while it was still fresh. But we are around 3 years in and still this topic continues to come up so let us view if the world still continues to see this as an issue?

What is quiet quitting?

For those unfamiliar with the phrase, you might be thinking it means someone basically just silently quits their job. In reality, quiet quitting is defined as doing the minimum job requirements for your job. Some examples might be not working overtime shifts, only answering emails during work hours, not seeking extra tasks or projects not assigned to them, not attending meetings not mandatory, and not coming in early or staying late1. This phrasing became famous in 2022 when Gen Z employees began posting videos and content on TikTok talking about how they are doing the minimum required of them.

So this is not to say the work is not being completed, simply that employees are doing their assigned tasks in line with their job. You might be wondering where the concern arises from this. The primary belief is that this shows an employee is discontent with their job or company, no longer inspired or motivated to be overachievers at work. The belief is also that when people begin to quiet quit, they will inevitably fully quit or become so lax that they are fired. An article from Gallup chose to argue that quiet quitting is just the beginning because eventually employees begin doing less than their minimum work because every job requires a certain degree of extra work such as collaborating with colleagues or meeting customer needs2.

While many of us thought this might be a silly internet slang that would disappear, it seems to have some pretty strong staying power as it makes the knees of senior leaders quiver.

One of the key reasons leaders and organizations see this as an issue is they feel employees should be ready to prove themselves at work and continue to go above and beyond. As this practice goes on, they can see certain employees not engaging with their colleagues as often or being absent from unnecessary meetings or information events. There is then the concern that this could lead to poor attendance or quitting last minute, thereby causing strain on the remaining staff. Even if they do not quit, management has reservations about continuing to employ and pay someone not doing more than what is expected of them3.

Why do people quiet quit?

Unlike many of the articles I have reviewed, Paychex did go into detail on some of the primary reasons that people choose to become quiet quitters. Their list consists of:

-Lack of recognition
-Frustrations over compensation
-Poor work-life balance
-Lack of growth opportunities
-Toxic work culture

As you can see, many of these issues fall on the employee not having confidence in the future of their career with this company. There is that expression that no one notices when you do your job well but they notice the moment you make a mistake. Perhaps nothing has become more important to quiet quitters than work-life balance. Rather than wanting to work 50 to 60 hours a week, many employees would rather devote that time to family or personal hobbies.

Where Paychex starts to deviate from their informative prowess is their suggestions on how to address possible quiet quitters. Some of their recommendation include making it easier to establish a work-life balance and pay them a fair compensation. The former is what the employee is already doing, and the latter is something your company should already be doing.4

Opinion: Is quiet quitting an issue?

Now I have read a few articles in preparation for this, and I have seen dozens of others over the years and I believe I have come to a conclusion. This is nothing more than the McCarthys of the business world panicking over the fact that employees do not want to break themselves at work when they are seeing no true benefit. As the title of this blog post suggests, quiet quitting is no more a threat to the American way of life is than Communism is.

Every article confirms that quiet quitting is doing the minimum required of your job. That is not being bad at your job, that is literally doing your job. Some of the articles claim that quiet quitters have increased absenteeism, are making more mistakes, and simply are not doing their job to a proper quality. That is not considered quiet quitting, that is simply not doing their job and these two should not be equated to each other.

The purpose behind quiet quitting is still establish clear boundaries between work and life, something that we find baffling in the United States but is the norm everywhere else. The moment I clock out for the day, that is it. I am no longer being paid and work is not even on my radar. I will not do work tasks in the evening, weekend, or on vacation because I am no longer working. It is very easy for corporate executive who makes six or seven figures to criticize those barely making more than minimum wage for wanting to focus on their personal life rather than work. Some people enjoy centering their lives around work, but many people do not and that is okay. We should be encouraged to use our paid time away, spend time with family and friends, or just plain staying in and playing video games.

What about not wanting to go to a happy hour with coworkers after work or get together for a morning huddle to gab about things going on? For many of us, our coworkers truly are coworkers and are not people we would normally socialize with outside of work. So rather than having to spend 10 minutes listening to Susan show pictures of her grandchild, you are allowed to just skip it. And to those leaders out there, this does not mean they are an uninvested employee or someone who is not a team player. They simply want to be colleagues and if you try to say “but I think of us as a family” then that is a red flag and you need to evaluate if you are actually the problem.

So I will not accept anyone trying to explain that quiet quitting is a problem, because it is not. Not every employee should be expected to prioritize work over their personal lives because for many, work is simply a means of affording their hobbies and passions. But I will say, I know plenty of people who might change their tune if they were suddenly being paid that same wage that senior leaders see, so perhaps Paychex does have a point in offering people more money.

If I am being fully honest with everyone, part of me is convinced that promoting the “epidemic” of quiet quitting is simply gaslighting on major scale. We have leaders, executives, and business experts all overpaid and have likely not worked a real job in decades telling us that doing standard requirements of jobs are not good enough. That you are not a good employee unless you work overtime, come in early and stay late, work off the clock, and prioritize work over everything else in your life. You read these articles from experts and I truly felt gaslit into believing I was living in a parallel world and I was the crazy one.

Quiet quitting is not a threat to the American workplace and frankly I am going further to say it is not even real. It is quiet literally just doing one’s job.

  1. Klotz, A. C., & Bolino, M. C. (2022, September 15). When Quiet Quitting Is Worse Than the Real Thing. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved November 13, 2025, from https://hbr.org/2022/09/when-quiet-quitting-is-worse-than-the-real-thing ↩︎
  2. Harter, J. (2022, September 6). Is Quiet Quitting Real? Gallup. Retrieved November 13, 2025, from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/398306/quiet-quitting-real.aspx ↩︎
  3. Masterson, V. (2022, September 2). What is quiet quitting and why is it happening. World Economic Forum. Retrieved November 13, 2025, from https://www.weforum.org/stories/2022/09/quiet-quitting-explained/#:~:text=Quiet%20quitting%20is%20the%20art,Xer%2C%20reports%20the%20LA%20Times. ↩︎
  4. Whitney, H. (2024, May 14). Quiet Quitting: Meaning, Signs, and How To Prevent It. Paychex. Retrieved November 13, 2025, from https://www.paychex.com/articles/human-resources/quiet-quitting ↩︎

Quiet Quitting: The Corporate Red Scare

Quote• Posted on by Nathan Westerberg
Posted in Coffee Break, Finer Things Club, The Office

Souvenirs of Perspective

Posted on by Nathan Westerberg

Good morning everyone, and welcome back to the breakroom! I do apologize about not getting a post out last week, we spent the last two weeks in France and optimistic me thought I’d find the time to put together a post last week. I ended up finding myself very busy and wasn’t able to get anything together, but did want to put together a special post for my return. Rather than a Breakdown of an office episode, I instead wanted to talk about some of things I’ve brought back with me from my trip.

This is not specifically about physical objects, but rather focusing on the many ideas I had while there on how I want to do things differently when I return. I know we all have those moments when we are on an amazing trip and think about what we want to do when we return. This could be inspiration to take up a hobby, doing afternoon tea every day, maybe an idea on a new tattoo. Too often we lose momentum and let those ideas be cast away as youthful optimisms. Well, I would like to not let that be the case and to help with that I want to talk about some of the specific inspirations I want to cement in my life.

Shelves filled with jars of 'Baba' desserts, labeled with prices and flavors, showcasing various sizes and types.

Food Inspirations
One of my favorite things about going to France is experiencing the food; they truly do have some of the best foods in the world. As someone who loves to cook, I really wanted to bring some culinary inspiration back with me so I could recreate some of it. One of my favorites was going into a sweets shop and getting to try some dangerously boozy rum babas in adorable jars. Rather than trying to figure out how to bring them over to the states, I really want to try to recreate them as a fun Christmas gift. My other big one, which will be trickier, is mastering the art of the French baguette. In theory it is simple but definitely requires proper French flour as the gluten content is much different than here and the states and those with gluten intolerance can actually eat it. Unfortunately, with the current tariffs in place this will likely be tricky. But certainly the culinary highlight was being able to take part in a 5-6 course meal at a 5 star restaurant in southern France. From the drinks to the meal to the dessert, it was potentially one of the greatest meals of my life.

A table set with a cup of coffee and a croissant on a plate, showcasing a cozy café ambiance.

Simple Moments
Rather than do major touristy things in Paris, we mainly just walked around and visited the zoos and aquarium again. Of course, the first thing we did was grab some coffee and a fresh croissant. I think we often put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do big activities when some of the most memorable can be sipping on coffee, enjoying a pastry, and taking in the atmosphere. That being said, I know my husband would say I need to learn to be more “lax” and “go with the flow.” I did struggle in France because I prefer to always have a plan or itinerary and I can sort of fall apart trying to plan on the fly with no clear direction.

A dramatic painting depicting a fiery landscape with a looming historical building in the background, framed in an ornate golden frame.

Artistic Inspiration
I always find myself inspired when I see unique pieces of art (this photo is actually from a previous trip but I found myself looking at my old photos). I feel the emotions and thoughts that went into the art and I feel compelled to try to do the same. While I am not skilled in painting or photography, I do considered myself versed in writing. And I will admit that I have been wanting to actually write more than my blog articles. I have thought about a collection of short stories, trying my hand at playwriting, and I’ve even had a couple book ideas. Besides losing the motivation you get while abroad, the moment you try to make something real you have to admit you care about the project. And that is when you face the fact that you can fail and you have to ask yourself if you are okay with that. Of course, there has certainly been a part of me that wishes I had that special touch and could learn to paint, do photography, draw (one of my book ideas could be a cool graphic novel). But the realist in me knows that not everyone can be good at everything so we learn where our unique skills lie.

A picturesque vineyard with rows of grapevines under a bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds.

Professional Aspirations
More than anything, I did get inspired about being more serious about that next step in my career. I have been too passive the last four years and evidently I need to be much more aggressive and willing to step out of my comfort zone to get the job and salary that I have been working towards and deserve. I need be more thoughtful with where I am applying for, and if I can actually line up an interview I ought to have the confidence to go in and stop playing by the rules. It is easy to try to answer their questions in the way you believe they want to be heard but perhaps we need to have a bit more of our personality come out. It is easy to find a “yes man” but it is individuals who are hard to come by these days. It is interesting the sorts of things that inspire you, but it was seeing so many polished professionals in Paris that made me realize that I do miss that. As much as I love being at home with my puppies, part of me does miss getting to get dressed up and take some pride and confidence in going to work.

I know it is very easy to say you will do something, but it completely different to actually put that into practice. One of my common themes here is to encourage and hype my reader(s) because I firmly believe we need this encouragement. Of course, people like me are always so encouraging because we are also partially trying to motivate ourselves. As Jan Levinson once told Pam, there are always a thousand reasons not to do something. And as Jim later told Pam in that same episode, you have to take a chance on something sometime.

So this is me saying I’m choosing to not let the thousand things keep me from trying to accomplish something meaningful and I am going to design the next steps in my goals. I’m currently in the process of getting a large amount of job applications out to various locations, this being my big project over the weekend. My next goal is continue with this blog and podcast to make that into something meaningful. And I am going to evaluate what the next steps in my writing will be whether I take up writing articles/essays, stories, plays, or experimenting with it all.

For further inspiration, what sort of goals have you received from trips? I think we should make it more commonplace that we come back from trips not just relaxed, but changed for the better. To paraphrase Gandalf the Grey, if you get the opportunity to travel abroad you should expect to not return the same as you were. This should be encouraged because if you return unchanged, did you really learn anything about yourself or the world?

I wish you all an amazing weekend, and I hope you will share some of your own stories from traveling. Until next week, I’ll see you around the Breakroom.

Posted in Uncategorized

How do you deal with difficult customers?

Posted on by Nathan Westerberg

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the Breakroom! I hope you are all having a great week, I’m happy to report this has been a surprisingly good week at work! I was nervous that things would feel crazy as I prepare to go out on vacation next week for the remainder of October. I always feel nervous when I am going to be out for so long and need to have my colleagues cover for me, primarily because I know full well they have their own duties and I hate putting too much extra work on them. Thankfully we have got my duties spread out nicely and there is quite a bit I am going to be able to do ahead of me leaving. So now the big stress is coming down to ensuring my luggage and house are all in order to head out. Thank goodness for the weekend!

Having finished my Breakdown up to Season 5 this last week, I decided to cover a topic rather than starting a new season. Just the other day there was an incident in which my colleague was dealing with a very difficult person on the phone, essentially disregarding her instructions and refusing to accept her answer. I decided to talk about tips and strategies to deal with difficult people at work, which I previously recapped back in The Office: Season 4, Episode 5 “Launch Party Part 1” so maybe we can go a bit more into detail.

So the topic is how to detail with difficult people at work, which means this could cover both your colleagues as well as customers. Given that I work in Human Resources, they are one-in-the-same which often makes our work more difficult. We do not have the luxury of banning someone from our store or hoping that person never comes back. At the end of our call we still have to work together and this means our interactions are under a certain level of scrutiny. But just because we are colleagues, doesn’t mean that we do not have instances where those employees can be just as difficult and upset as a toxic customer in a store. So what are some pieces to remember during this interactions?

Remain Calm and Professional
If remember nothing, the key is maintaining your composure during the interaction. Even when the employee is starting to yell and even curse, do not match that energy. You want to remain calm and professional, maintaining the same tone you would normally give a customer. If you get upset as well, this can only add fuel to the fire and just make the situation worse. Additionally, if the situation is reviewed by leadership later you might risk being reprimanded for treating that person poorly.

Attempt to diffuse the situation
We obviously would like them to calm down if possible and if you remain cool and professional, this can often begin that process. The hope is that they will realize that they are starting to sound crazed in response to your calm demeanor, and they will self correct. While we do not want to get angry like them, it can be helpful to show empathy and acknowledge their emotion and understanding how they got there. You should let them speak and vent, reaffirming their statements to confirm for them you are listening.

Offer solutions/answers to their problem
What happens most that the individual is upset for so long is that they are unable to get the immediate resolution to their problem that they want. Too often in society people are “rewarded” with their solution because we believe this is the simplest option. While you might not be able to give them the solution they want, what you should do is walk through the solutions that can be done. Often I will use phrasing such as “I am unfortunately not able to do that, but I do have an alternative that I can walk you through.”

Establishing boundaries
While we are taught that the customer is always right (which is rarely true) this does not mean you are not entitled to setting up limits to their tantrum. Following the recent step, if they are not willing to accept that alternative then I would have to respond with “If that is the only solution you are looking for, I am unable to assist you further.” It is important to let them know that there are limits to what they can get and you are attempting to assist them within those limits. Perhaps the biggest boundary is that even upset, they do need to present themselves with a certain level of decorum. If the person starts swearing and getting angry to a point that you do not feel safe, or that they are not a willing recipient for assistance, you are entitled to eject from the situation. I work with people over the phone so I would first ask that they calm down, explain I am trying to help them but it is important that they stop behaving that way. If this does not work then I would explain that this all is over and that they can reach out when they are prepared to accept assistance. I would then document this and loop in my leader so they are aware of what happened.

Do not take it personally
Regardless of how this turns out, it is important to not take it personally. While they are yelling at you and being rude, do not believe it has anything to do with you. A call like this has a way of ruining your day and can often stay with you for awhile, I recall one instance where the person said they would sue me personally because I was not doing what they asked me to do. You are not the source of their problem, you are simply a target for their blame and anger.

While these are my primary steps that I have learned over the years, each organization will be a little bit different and there are countless trainings out there. One of my favorites is from Zendesk Blog and they not only identify the types of problematic customers, but they offer a flow chart to follow when dealing with a difficult person courtesy of Mozhdeh Rastegar-Panah. Check out their article here; I am glad to see that my own methodology is very in line with what they recommend.1

Flowchart illustrating steps to handle a difficult customer, including remaining calm, using positive language, actively listening, identifying the issue, offering solutions, and wrapping up the interaction.
How to handle a difficult customer; Zendesk Blog (https://www.zendesk.com/blog/5-types-difficult-customers-help/)

While I am making it sound easy, there are customers out there that truly can be difficult to work with. I have had instances where I get so caught off guard by their sudden reaction, that I find myself mildly speechless and I panic. In those situations, if nothing else this is what you need to remember.

  1. Remain calm and professional.
  2. Do not make any promises that cannot be kept. While it is easy to make a promise to get them off the phone, if you cannot commit to it you will just make it worse.
  3. If you need assistance, get it. If you are in that situation where you are speechless and panicking, especially if you haven’t done this before, it is okay to say that you need to speak to a manager and will call them back. Sometimes that extra time does help calm the person down, but it is okay to “call in backup.”

So how about you, do you have any other tips on how to deal with difficult customers? How about specific scenarios where you either did something well that diffused the situation, or perhaps you handled it poorly and it got worse. What did you learn for the future?

I look forward to your insight into this topic, and I also hope you all have an excellent Friday and weekend! I’ll watch for your comments for our fellow readers, and as always I’ll be sure to watch for you around the Breakroom!

  1. Rastegar-Panah, M. (2025, August 11). How to deal with difficult customers: 13 tips + examples. Zendesk Blog. Retrieved October 16, 2025, from https://www.zendesk.com/blog/5-types-difficult-customers-help/ ↩︎