Well, today I saw my new office for the first time. Let me say “wow”. I almost cried when I saw the view from my windows and the big 4 seat meeting table beside my new desk. It is gorgeous. It is clean, it is shiny-new, and my name is already on the door (YES! a door, a real door that shuts!!). My laptop was setup too. On my first day. Double “wow”. I don’t think that has EVER happened before. If I have to use one word to describe the environment I would call it serene. I am continually impressed by the professionalism this place exudes.
Now it’s time to reminisce. What kinds of office environments have I had?
- I once remember taking a tour during an interview and asking if an open linoleum floored area was going to be the new lab. I never got a good answer. When I started, I found that my cube was in that area. My chair rolled real good there. Aside from the fact that it was awful noisy, it wasn’t that bad…. not after I got used to it.
- I once worked for a startup that rented space in a former motorcycle garage. The worst part is that the bathroom flooded into the carpeting. Ew. Other interesting features include that we didn’t have a phone switch or even a broadband connection. Yes, for internet connectivity I needed to use a modem! The irony is that this company was building the next great core router. It is still funny to look back at it, but at the time it was a great place to work with a lot of energy. Eventually we moved into much swankier digs.
- I’ve worked in office space that was designed to feng shui principles. We had water features like salt water fish tanks and water walls. There were curved walls and meticulously designed workspaces. It was neat, but it didn’t reduce the stress of the workload or the overwhelming demands of the company.
- I’ve had desks that exacerbated carpal tunnel symptoms, and I’ve had to attach keyboard trays on my own. No biggie. Where’s my drill?
- I’ve cleaned sticky crud out of used desks, and suffered through lumpy used chairs as well.
- I’ve worked for VPs at small companies who used hanging large white boards as a test to determine who was “hands on” capable. I passed with flying colors.
I guess my bottom line is this: an awesome environment is nice, but it can never overcome inherent corporate problems. Those need to be addressed first. If the company is great, the environment doesn’t haven’t to be perfect for people to be happy. I’ve been miserable in nice environments, and I’ve been really happy in dumpy places too.
