My office is just a quick drive from my apartment (score!) and so far I'm really digging the office culture; which happens to include an "open office floor plan", AKA all cubicles. There are only about 10 people in a staff of 200 who have closed door offices (the Executive Director, HR department, a few finance people, etc.), and everyone else is organized in little cubicle pods (often consisting of four cubicles, open facing inward with half walls in between).
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As a new person in the office, it was really easy to get to know people because they'll just pop over to say hi, or I'll stop and chat with them over their cube wall. But I will say, those same elements can be really irritating. Sometimes you just need to meet a deadline or make a phone call. But you learn to tune out the background noise, and make good use of the conference rooms.
You can't elect to be anti-social and spend the day with your door closed. This was a real problem at my previous office, so I'm quite frankly happy to be done with that type of environment.
But it's not all quippy little conversations and friendly pop ins...
I am constantly fighting the urge to get up and show people how to use their computers. I understand there is a "generational difference" or whatever politically correct title you'd like to give it, but I mean come on. It's a computer. You've, presumably, been working on one for at least 20 or so years now. Don't be afraid to click around a little bit before loudly proclaiming that it's broken or the file is lost.
Someone burnt the popcorn. Approximately 200 yards away from me. But it might as well be in my own trash can. Dislike.
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I can, with 100% certainty, ensure you that everything someone says to you on the other end of that phone does not deserve the "oh Jesus, help me now!" response it seems to be getting. Jesus doesn't work here. And if he did, he certainly wouldn't need to call IT.
3 comments:
Wowza. That sounds like quite an environment. I'm also in a cube farm, but for the most part things are fairly quiet... the lovely recent exception has been the smoker sitting by me hacking up a lung. (Delightful.)
Hope people ease up on the loudness! If nothing else, headphones do wonders. :)
Having worked in an all-office environment on the Hill (that was definitely very isolating), it's so interesting to hear about the good and bad of an all-cube office. Don't even get me started on the "religion in the workplace" stuff, either. I once had coworkers who prayed over their meals during group lunches and talked about God all. the. time. I respected their views, but it absolutely made for some awkward moments.
Ahh I feel your pain... especially on the burnt popcorn front! I work in an open cube farm like you, but we all have separate cubes-- no open facing inward. I like this because I can do things like comment on your post while here! (shh!)
I have definitely come to love headphones, and often have an Oust or other air freshener nearby in case people do heinous things like cook fish in our kitchenette microwave... gag!!
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