AT is all about the home, but let's face it: we're New Yorkers, which means we probably spend more time at work than anywhere else. So how much investment do we make in our work spaces?
For my work-mates and me (believe it or not, poetry isn't my day job), the answer is: an awful lot. A year or two ago, we moved into a dirty, dingy space that no one else wanted and spent our own time and money turning it into a great working environment.
We hung real framed art, bought Flor squares to cover part of the industrial gray carpet, and bought lots of lamps and succeeded in getting the overhead flourescents turned off. We found that the layout of the space--low-walled cubicles flanking a well-trafficked hallway, with space behind us for file storage and occasional temp help--perfectly suited our work styles, giving us easy access to one another without being on top of each other. Other groups with whom we worked closely were stationed nearby, so we could collaborate effectively and feel part of the larger flow of the office.
It's no flood or fire, to be sure, but when we were told last week that, as a result of corporate restructuring, our group has to move to another floor, it felt like a disaster and a demotion. The new, smaller space is truly soulless, far from our colleagues in other departments and from the hub of the office. Needless to say, it's near no windows, and nobody's getting an office out of the deal.
So, other than brushing off our resumes, what's a cube farmer to do? Everyone has their terrible moment, and Herman Miller's is surely the invention of the cubicle. How much effort should we make to personalize our new digs, knowing that we'll be moving again in another year, again to a place not of our choosing. I mean, what's minimalism, and what's just sad?
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Comments (16)
I've been through this a few times. I can't bring myself to believe that the answer is not to make your space nice, so I guess the thing would be to make yourself happy in your space in whatever way it takes, with the understanding that it's temporary. Kind of like the rest of life, only more so.
What makes you think New Yorkers spend more time at work than others?
I'm too lazy to look it up, but there's published research indicating that a pleasant work space makes workers more productive.
As soon as you get your lamps turned on, look for a way to turn your isolation into an advantage. I'm thinking vaguely of being able to invite members of other departments in for more intense, uninterrupted discussions, but you know your space and job, so I'm sure you can think of something better.
Shannon, you came to the right place. So to speak.
My job is 80% corporate interiors, including extensions/restructuring/reconfigurations.
What you could do in this situation: if your cubicles are formed by furniture system panels rather then low gwb partitions and therefore mobile, you could recalculate your needs (size of the station, amount of workers, lin.footage of the file storage needed, additional stations for the temps, etc) as well as desired color scheme - and contact your facility manager from corporate RE. They can do few optional layouts suiting your needs better in the new space, using their furniture inventory from other branches (they are all accessible in their database and warehouse), even give you better choices in fabric/glass/wood panels for your stations (especially if it's Herman Miller).
But you should be vocal in your concerns and come prepared; do your homework first.
My experience with employers (East Coast, Rocky Mtns., the South) is your workspace is always temporary. I've only been at my latest job three months and just got moved a month ago to a new floor along with the rest of the creative team.
Yes, it stinks, especially for creative types who need to feel at home in their space.
My advice:
1) In case you haven't already, use the new digs as an opportunity to get rid of excess desk toys, swag and really clear out your files. Maybe this is obvious for an AT-er.
2) The move will ultimately bond your team together and the quiet will help you get more done. Frankly, there are distinct advantages to being a bit separate from the rest of the office.
3) To make sure you don't miss out on important work developments and gossip that keeps you up on office politics, etc. consider having a biweekly "coffee time/chocolate time/bagel time/lemonade, etc." in your new digs. Maybe only invite one other department at a time.
3) Invest in daylight balanced lightbulbs for the lamps you bought for your other digs. And take a daily "sunshine" break to make up for the fact that you won't be near window light.
4) Get some plants, if you haven't already.
5) Try to limit the amount of complaining about the new space. It'll just drag the group energy down. Come up with creative "temporary" decorating solutions that you can use again for the next move.
5) Be glad your move didn't involve any pink slips.
Nice. I have never worked in cubes, but I know the feeling of putting in a lot of effort in the workplace only to have it all uprooted for no real good reason. It sucks and it makes you never want to put in real effort again.
But you have to. You have to because - ultimately - you did it for YOU and you will do it for you again. Forget those who had you move, who don't even know what they did, the important thing is to shake it off as best you can, let a little time go by and - like ants - stubbornly go back to making your workplace a place you can really work (and perhaps being a bit careful to invest your time in things that are as portable as possible).
And remember that it is for you that you do this and your own high standards. Don't let anyone take that away from you.
Best of luck, Shannon!
My workplace is pretty ugly, but even if it spites me in the long run, I'm not paying to make the space nice. A company that actually cares about retaining employees (ours talks about that constantly) would be smart to put some money into the place they spend a minimum of 8 hours a day.
Working in a cubicle can feel like living in a Jail cell, can you give us any advice on making it feel less like a jail cell? And why do they (corporate decorating companies) decorate them like jail cells anyway? Huh?
I am in my first job with a cube. After the first year I thought I was going to have to resign, missed having a door and privacy more than anything else. But I am surviving, and I know I am leaving in 8 months. But as for decorating, I bring nothing but a calendar. It's too temporary, and I don't want to feel any more "at home". I am trying my best to not spend too much time at work, so in a sense I guess I keep it from being enjoyable enough to hang around. There are a few folks who have prettied up their cubes. They are teased. Some adults.
i thank my lucky stars every day that i don't have to work in a cubicle. we have an open-plan office, and well, being arty types the place sorta decorates itself. half the walls are covered in cork-board, which makes it easy to hang art and doodles and inside jokes. it's funny, the carpet is industrial, the light is fluorescent, and most of the furniture is either formica or plywood, but still somehow it feels homey. it might be that i like the people i work with, and i think we all mostly like what we do.
and i think that's the bottom line. if you're unhappy at work, no amount of fancy lighting and nice furniture is going to change that. if you and your colleagues work well together, you'll manage to create a liveable space, however temporary.
Without any credible evidence other than self-regard, I cannot accept that New Yorkers spend more time at work, unless you mean that we're present at the office for longer hours than anyone else. Yes, we may be at the office, but are we productively working? No - we're probably attending to personal business, calling the contractor about the kitchen or bathroom demolition, chasing down a design lead or else responding to an AT posting.
You're probably right, Alex. Thanks for the great advice, everyone.
Zak + Alex:
"We're New Yorkers, which means we probably spend more time at work than anywhere else"
is an ambiguous sentence. I'm pretty sure Shannon meant that New Yorkers spend more time at work than they do at home or 'anywhere else'. I misread it myself the first time, and was about to write a remark about how I know of factories in Asia where they work even longer hours :)
It's all about the office chair slip cover. The fabrics they use on office furniture routinely pill up expensive fabrics so a cover helps in that area as well as a quick and portable instant cubicle pick-me-up.
Do I want my workplace to feel like "home"?
No.
I want it to feel like a workplace. Clean, professional, comfortable. A place where focusing is easy and getting work done is what comes to mind.
But, I have a cube. With only 2 walls, yet. I'm in a team that vetos overhead flourescents, so our area is also generally dark.
I have acquired 3 desk lamps (company provided 1 for me, bought another from Staples at my request, and I got the third when someone else left).
I bought grow-bulbs for all 3 of them.
I got a folding screen via Craigslist to put a "wall" between my back and the aisleway.
I bought a couple cheap monthly calendars with outdoor scenes which display as pictures (no grid).
I have an "origami-a-day" calendar and a coven of demos, which makes for a great conversation starter (I started in Nov of last year, so this helped me to get acquainted with coworkers outside my group).
The company provides hooks which hang on the cube walls. I use binder clips to hang info connected to current projects from the hooks.
I brought in a couple candles in mild but pleasing scents (pumpkin and mango). No, I don't burn them often. But orange is the "company color".
I bought a low-light plant.
I brought in a fan to help with air movement.
I folded origami boxes for binder clips and pushpins.
I bought hand sanitizer - it's good for cutting down germs, but I also use a little on a kleenex for wiping down the desk, cleaning the keyboard, and such.
Yes, did spend my own money on some of this. $25 for the screen, $18 for the 3 calendars, $20 for lightbulbs, $7 for the plant, $6 for candles. However, most of it I can take if and when I leave. And at the moment, I have a work area where I'm more productive and that reflects well on >me<. :)
Charles Keen, only hinted his vision.
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