The Nature of Riding in Elevators

Just like every other morning during the work week, I quickly walked into the building and noticed that the elevator doors were about to close, so I increased my pace to catch a ride before the doors shut in my face. Luckily the woman who entered before me saw that I was close and held the door open for me. As we rode up to our respective floors, I began to think about how predictable people are when it comes to riding in elevators.

The first person into the elevator automatically becomes the King of the elevator, or the Master of Controls. He stands by the buttons and as more people join him in the elevator, he pushes the corresponding floors. There is, of course, no eye contact made. Each person makes a conscious effort to stare at the floor or the ceiling, but never directly at the other passengers.

The second person in the elevator will quickly move to the opposite corner of the Master of Controls. It is important that all persons at any given time, riding in the elevator are as far away from one another as possible, such that they are evenly distributed. If more people start to enter the elevator, you will notice that all pre-existing riders will try to back themselves further into the corner so as not to collide with the other passengers' bubble of personal space. If bags or personal belongings are brought aboard the elevator, it is important that they remain close to the owner so as not to bump anyone else.

As the elevator stops at each floor and picks up more people, it becomes so full that the air is stiff and uncomfortable. When the doors open to welcome the last person trying to board, he is greeted by several passengers impatiently waiting for him to step into the elevator. The only problem is that the elevator is nearly full. He steps in, and realizes he needs to turn around to face the door (people get very uncomfortable when they can't face the door), but it is too crowded and he can't manage making such an akward shift. So he stands there, face to face with an absolute stranger who is trying to avoid eye contact with him, and fidgits with his briefcase as the elevator rises to the first floor that passengers will depart. For what seems like an enternity, but is really probably only a few seconds, the strangers stand in silence and wait for their designated floor--their relief from this nearly unbearable situation. When the elevator dings and people start filtering out on each floor, the tension in it becomes less and less. If the Master of Controls arrives at his destination before all passengers have departed, the person closest to the controls replaces him.

This is a process that we do naturally, without even thinking about it. We ride on elevators all the time--sometimes we are the Master of Controls, and sometimes we are the last man to join, making an already akward situation more intense. Now you know why the people that you once thought were selfish for pressing the "Close doors" button repeatedly so you could not enter the elevator, were really just trying to save you from having to endure such an uncomfortable ride up to work. You should be thanking that person as you wait patiently for the next available elevator to pick you up for a nice quiet ride up to your floor. I am certain that you too, have once been that person pressing the button quickly to make an escape from one minute of stress.