The Lost Week

The last week of the calendar year, when office workers who are obliged to work struggle to keep themselves occupied.

In a splendidly Zeitgeisty N.Y.T. article, Alex Williams explored the psychological impact of working Week 52 in the current economic climate:

Normally, the unfortunate people who are stuck at work during the molasses-slow week between Christmas and New Year get to know its spooky charms. Corridors and conference rooms lie empty, the telephone on the desk sits as quiet as a headstone.

This year … with the economy spiraling downward, the traditional tedium may take on an ominous undertone. Does that silent telephone represent a brief reprieve from a harried schedule, or a reminder of deals evaporated, of clients and colleagues lost?