While the problem of street gangs is well documented, a newer concern is the trouble being caused by office gangs, whose numbers have increased dramatically since the start of the pandemic. According the US Bureau of Documented Statistics, there are more than 120,000 such gangs in the US, mostly people who don’t know what to do with themselves.
“Your typical gang consists of people not taking well to working from home, plus some cost accountants,” says business behaviorist Merrill Pandor of Moline University. “Without task force meetings and planning sessions to attend, they don’t know what do do with themselves, so they’re acting out.”
Unlike their street counterparts – who often engage in activities like drug trafficking, robbery, even murder – office gangs tend toward less violent deeds.
“They’re hesitant to break the law,” says Pandor, “because it would show up in their personnel files and look bad on their resumes.” Some of the most common office gang related activities include:
- Approaching people from behind, tapping them on the shoulder, and then looking around like it was someone else who tapped
- Staking out their “turf,” but then running away and hiding if a non-gang member encroaches
- Sneezing repeatedly during Zoom meetings
- Hacking into co-workers computers and changing the color codes on their timelines
According to Pandor, companies have already spent millions trying to rid themselves of the gangs through various counseling and other programs. He believes this is a waste of their money.
“If you just tell them to stop it or face disciplinary action,” he says, “they’ll usually disband on the spot
