Question about office etiquette

[Orrex]

Suppose that, after returning to work following an unscheduled absence of several days, Joe needs to explain the corresponding delay some project he'd been working on. Unless he's dealing with icy cold, corporate drones, the conversation often goes something like this:

Joe: Sorry that the TPS Report is late. I was out of the office for most of the week.
Mary: Gosh, I hope everything's okay.

Well, what if it's not? If Joe lies and say "everything's fine," then Mary might very reasonably say "then what the heck was the delay?" But Joe probably doesn't want to go into a whole big dissertation about it anyway.

So what's the correct response?

[AirmensMom]

1. Thank you. Everything is OK now.

That tells them that it wasn't OK, but it's none of their business what the problem was.

[Orrex]

6. Hey, that's good

Simple and direct, and it doesn't invite a big, awkward discussion.

[Deep13]

2. "Well, at least I'm off the smack now."

[Orrex]

4. That's just it--what if Joe's *not* off the smack?

I mean, he doesn't want to misrepresent himself, does he?

[Deep13]

7. Then he has bigger problems than office etiquette. nt

[meegbear]

3. "Yep, not guilty by reason of insanity" ...

give a thumbs up and a wink.

[Orrex]

5. Coincidentally, I went with "I was acquitted," which seemed to work

Combined with a fiendish rubbing-together of the hands, of course.

[SteppingRazor]

8. "OK?! Of course! Why wouldn't it be? .... Did they tell you something?"

Then just shuffle away, shooting a paranoid stare over your shoulder. Works every time. Plus, it has the added bonus that Mary won't bother you for the rest of the day.

[NashVegas]

9. "It's Family Business" or "Personal Business" to Take Care Of

Should do the trick.

The thing: unless Mary is an asshole who can't keep her mouth shut, maybe it wouldn't kill Joe to discuss what was going on. He might find a new, supportive friend.