Dear Jewish Fairy Godmother:

I have a problem at the intersection of work and play that has the
potential to be embarrassing and cost me a job or promotion. I am
wildly torn between true confession and trying to bluff my way out of a
tricky situation. Here’s the scoop: I’m addicted to on-line games.
Nothing expensive like gambling, but interactive scrabble and chess. I
have 20 games going at a time. Mostly they are with friends but
occasionally I get assigned a “random” partner, some of whom have
been duds and some challenging.

One of the best randoms, it turns out, is my boss’s boss. The problem
is that we’ve both been playing during working hours. Not just a move
here or there during a break but pretty consistently throughout the day.
Now that very person has issued a memo saying too much game playing has
been happening and stating that anyone who has been playing during
working hours can confess and get an amnesty but people who do not come
forward or who are caught in the future are subject to disciplinary action.

‘Fess Up or Not?

 
Dear ‘Fess Up:

I’d give a quarter to know if the boss’s boss set you up or if the
invitation that connected you was truly random. And when I say you, it
is possible this was an entrapment campaign in the company designed
to identify all manner of malingerers, not just the scrabblers. Every
employee has a computer and/or a smart phone and it is almost
impossible to manager who is doing real work and who is playing
fantasy football or surfing the net shopping. So employers with
legitimate concerns have started to strike back.

 
I’d confess, and giving your own game name and the game address of
the boss’s boss, though without giving his real name. Take your
lumps, put your smart phone in your pocket and break your habit.
Take your lumps and get back to work. You won’t be alone and you’ll
get points for truth telling. Some day you can ask him to play off
hours. Don’t let him win.