The Worst Question You’ll Ever Be Asked at Work, And How To Answer It

“So, what do you do for fun?”

If you manage to still be breathing, while face-to-face with your boss, answering this godforsaken question, you really only have two options. You can lie like a dog: “Oh, me? I like reading a lot, visiting museums on occasion and I’ve recently gotten into this new series on the History Channel!” Or you tell the truth: “Oh, me? I like drinking a lot, normally to the point of sickness, visiting people’s Facebook pages where I’ll spend two, maybe three, hours stalking the sh*t out of them and I’ve recently gotten into raunchy stand-up comedies! Did you know Bob Saget had sex with one of the Olsen twins and did coke?!”

Why is this question so hard to answer? It’s horrible, yet should be a piece of cake when compared to questions like, “Are you ready for your drug test?” or “Exactly how much time do you spend surfing the Internet on company time?”

Now, we all know the Mother Goose-type broad who asked you this question isn’t going to want to hear the truth. She was honestly probably trying to make casual conversation. The truth would either completely ruin the mature, polished image she has of you, or send her straight to HR if she’s one of those tattle-tale types. Those are the worst.

To make your transition into the adult working world smoother, and to never be left ill-prepared with this heart-stopping question again, be prepared! Have a generic answer you can whip out at the drop of a hat. To make it easy, think of your answer like swirled, soft serve ice cream: half-vanilla, half-chocolate. Half-lie, half-truth, equaling the perfect, oh-so-scrumptious white lie.

There’s nothing wrong with a white lie, no matter what people say, especially at work. Here is a revised version of a good, swirled answer: “Oh, me? I like to have a glass of wine when I sit down to read a good book, or if I see an art exhibit or museum event on Facebook, I’ll usually check that out and I’ve recently gotten into some new shows on Netflix. The categories on that thing are never-ending!”

See? Now that wasn’t so bad! But really, always have something to say. It’s always going to be the worst question ever.

 Photo credit: Chris Haston/NBC/The Office