New ‘App’ Keeps Annoying Coworkers at Bay

Let’s say you’ve been in the office for 2 hours and your coworker, “Sally,” has talked your ear off for 1¹/₂ of those 2 hours. You can’t get anything done because Sally just doesn’t know when to stop. Don’t you wish there was something to help you escape the constant chatter?

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Luckily for Google Chrome users, there’s a new extension that will help you escape Sally’s seemingly endless yakking. According to Lifehacker.com, the new extension—called “NOPE | Can’t Right Now”—activates your phone at the click of a button, giving you the perfect excuse to interrupt Sally and hope she goes away.

NOPE is similar to having your friends call and rescue you during a bad blind date, except instead of sneaking into the bathroom to call said friends (to alert them to call you and rescue you), you just discreetly click the icon and a person from New York will call your phone to save you. The extension can be downloaded from the Chrome Web store and features a small green box with a capital “N” that sits at the top of the Web browser.

One user, who reviewed NOPE, claims, “This is a great idea. Time is money and people wasting our time are wasting our money. This can be used not only for coworkers. If you receive a call and want to get out of it just use the nope extension to fake an incoming call. Bam! your [sic] off the phone and working again.” One issue with this extension, is that it only works in the United States; however, some users have reviewed that it works for cell phones in Canada.

While management may encourage you to download this extension—if you use Google Chrome as your Web browser—your Information Technology (IT) department may discourage you based on your Internet usage policies. It’s best to check with IT before downloading anything to your work computer. But isn’t it nice to know that there is an escape plan if needed?

Melissa Blazejak is a Senior Web Content Editor at BLR. She has written articles for HR.BLR.com and the HR Daily Advisor websites and is responsible for the day-to-day management of HR.BLR.com and HRLaws.com. She has been at BLR since 2014. She graduated with a BA of Science, specializing in Communication, from Eastern Connecticut State University in 2008. Most recently, she graduated in 2014 with a MS of Educational Technology.