Life in an Office

[Mousse]

In practice, in a shared space, I would sometimes work late (when everyone else had left for the evening), in order to do stuff that required focus and concentration without distraction.

Oh testify!🤩

I can only get real work done after everyonek leaves for the day. Fortunately, I've got an understanding boss who let me come in 4 hours later than the regular crew and stay late. The biggest benefit--besides peace and quiet--is I avoid rush hour commute.🥳

I cannot handle a loud work environment. "I could set fire to the building..."

 

[BotchQue]

This afternoon I watched a "documentary" (it was only 10 minutes long, I could've watched his story for 10 hours) about a well-to-do kid who got a college degree, went to Vietnam, PTSD, gave up a "cubicle" job to build wood furniture. He made a statement that will stick with me the rest of my life:
"There are two types of jobs, those where you shower before work, and those where you shower after work. Its difficult to live financially comfortable without the former, but life's true meaning only comes with the latter".
Damn. That hit me hard, and is spot-on.
I've had my foot in "each shower", multiple times thru my life. I've worked labor on farms, janitorial, cabinetry, munitions and ICBM maintenance, cubicle farms as an engineer, "open plan" where I was the supervisor, up to Director of Engineering for ICBM Maintenance, with a conference table inside my large, doored office. As mentioned by so many above, office work can be fulfilling but at its worst its constant meetings, emails, and building PowerPointLess slides to brief to the "big boys", who are only there to catch you making a mistake so they can belittle you in front of everyone (this is their own Fulfillment).
Blue-collar Work can be repetitious, it can be very hot or cold, or standing on cement for 10 hours, but at the end of the day you could look at a set of cabinets, or a harvested field, or a Minuteman Missile that is now back on Alert, and know that you made a difference. I was able to make a difference, sometimes, as a White-collar Worker, but most of what I'd done is in the bottom drawer of various filing cabinets throughout the US, having done almost nothing good for anyone.

If I could start over, on my high school graduation day, what would I do differently knowing what I know now?
Hell if I know.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

This afternoon I watched a "documentary" (it was only 10 minutes long, I could've watched his story for 10 hours) about a well-to-do kid who got a college degree, went to Vietnam, PTSD, gave up a "cubicle" job to build wood furniture. He made a statement that will stick with me the rest of my life:
"There are two types of jobs, those where you shower before work, and those where you shower after work. Its difficult to live financially comfortable without the former, but life's true meaning only comes with the latter".
Damn. That hit me hard, and is spot-on.
I've had my foot in "each shower", multiple times thru my life. I've worked labor on farms, janitorial, cabinetry, munitions and ICBM maintenance, cubicle farms as an engineer, "open plan" where I was the supervisor, up to Director of Engineering for ICBM Maintenance, with a conference table inside my large, doored office. As mentioned by so many above, office work can be fulfilling but at its worst its constant meetings, emails, and building PowerPointLess slides to brief to the "big boys", who are only there to catch you making a mistake so they can belittle you in front of everyone (this is their own Fulfillment).
Blue-collar Work can be repetitious, it can be very hot or cold, or standing on cement for 10 hours, but at the end of the day you could look at a set of cabinets, or a harvested field, or a Minuteman Missile that is now back on Alert, and know that you made a difference. I was able to make a difference, sometimes, as a White-collar Worker, but most of what I'd done is in the bottom drawer of various filing cabinets throughout the US, having done almost nothing good for anyone.

If I could start over, on my high school graduation day, what would I do differently knowing what I know now?
Hell if I know.

Very interesting post, and I enjoyed reading it.

In an earlier life, I loved teaching - and that was very much a shower before work job; indeed, if I had a 9 a.m. class, without a bracing (and, piping hot) shower and some serious espresso, - for I am not a morning person by temperament - I'm not sure that I would have been able to have been - or presented - the best possible version of myself in that classroom that I could have been.

However, I take your distinction between "shower before work" and "shower after work"; there are days when I have done both.

 

[Crowbot]

Very interesting post, and I enjoyed reading it.

In an earlier life, I loved teaching - and that was very much a shower before work job; indeed, if I had a 9 a.m. class, without a bracing shower and some serious espresso, - for I am not a morning person by temperament - I'm not sure that I would have been able to be the best version of myself in that classroom that I could have been.

However, I take your distinction between "shower before work" and "shower after work"; there are days when I have done both.

Working in a hospital, I always showered before and after work. And I wore scrubs so I didn't have to worry about bringing anything home.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Working in a hospital, I always showered before and after work. And I wore scrubs so I didn't have to worry about bringing anything home.

Did you shower at work? I know when I worked in a hospital many did to keep costs down at home.

When I worked in engineering even in an office I would shower after work. These days I shower before.

I’ve been off this week and I’m already dreading my two days in the office next week. Trying to decide which two to go in.

 

[Crowbot]

Did you shower at work? I know when I worked in a hospital many did to keep costs down at home.

When I worked in engineering even in an office I would shower after work. These days I shower before.

I’ve been off this week and I’m already dreading my two days in the office next week. Trying to decide which two to go in.

No, before I left home. (better facilities) But after hurricane Sandy my apartment's boiler went out and for a few weeks I had to use the shower in our break room. I'm glad it was there.

 

[Apple fanboy]

No, before I left home. (better facilities) But after hurricane Sandy my apartment's boiler went out and for a few weeks I had to use the shower in our break room. I'm glad it was there.

We had no hot water for a few days last month, as I cut through the gas line (don't ask!).

The cold showers were very brief!

 

[Crowbot]

We had no hot water for a few days last month, as I cut through the gas line (don't ask!).

The cold showers were very brief!

Ouch. Glad there was no boom.

I heated water in the microwave and splashed myself clean.

 

[ejb190]

"There are two types of jobs, those where you shower before work, and those where you shower after work. Its difficult to live financially comfortable without the former, but life's true meaning only comes with the latter".
Damn. That hit me hard, and is spot-on.

Sorry, I just came back to this post. As a farm kid who now works for a government agency and has a woodworking hobby, I totally get it. There's a satisfaction in seeing progress at the end of the day - a job that's done! (And stays done - not a pile of paperwork that self-regenerates every evening)

That's one of the other things about working solo at home. Everything in my office was put here by me. No one throws things on my desk. No one swipes my stapler (which happens to be a red Swingline 747!). My favorite pen is safe right next to my keyboard. Even when I had an office with a door, I didn't have that kind of security.

 

[Crowbot]

Sorry, I just came back to this post. As a farm kid who now works for a government agency and has a woodworking hobby, I totally get it. There's a satisfaction in seeing progress at the end of the day - a job that's done! (And stays done - not a pile of paperwork that self-regenerates every evening)

That's one of the other things about working solo at home. Everything in my office was put here by me. No one throws things on my desk. No one swipes my stapler (which happens to be a red Swingline 747!). My favorite pen is safe right next to my keyboard. Even when I had an office with a door, I didn't have that kind of security.

Having my own shop was nice. My problem was the other techs borrowing my tools. They tended to use the crappy little tool kit they were issued but I liked to have my own. Mine were better quality and many were specialized to a particular task.

 

[Mac Face]

The workplace chooses what kind of atmosphere. I worked in a factory for 6 years on milling and turning machines of various types and sizes. I really enjoyed working with the machines and the pleasure of creating. And of course the challenge was a very good driving force. Machining car-sized cast housings, welded racks, etc. I then furthered my education into a partially vocational field (Cad-Cam technologist). I eventually moved into designing with Cad software (not really interested in cnc machines as I prefer the traditional ones). I'm on my fourth job (been at my current job for six years). It was good at the beginning, but I find the incessant unnecessary rambling and whining very hard to take. So when I get to the office, I build an impenetrable wall around myself, which I break down at the end of the day so I can go home. Oh, and bonus picture, I listen to music.

 

[rm5]

I have never worked in an office, so I have no personal experience. Preferably, I'd work from home--I don't know what I'd be missing out on, honestly. Still got another three years till I worry about that though!

 

[Mousse]

I have never worked in an office, so I have no personal experience. Preferably, I'd work from home--I don't know what I'd be missing out on, honestly.

Office work is a Sisyphean hell. Just when you think you've completed your paperwork, there's more. There is always more.😱😱😱 I envy the craftsmen, the builders, the artisans who get to see their completed works. I push that pile of paperwork up a hill everyday, only to see it at the bottom of the hill the very next day.

As soul crushing as office work is, it's practically heaven compared to customer service work.😬

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I have never worked in an office, so I have no personal experience. Preferably, I'd work from home--I don't know what I'd be missing out on, honestly. Still got another three years till I worry about that though!

It’s nice to have a mix of both. I work from home whenever I want but like to sit with my colleagues in an office too as it’s just better for relationship building and collaboration in general. It all depends what sort of office you work in too of course. If it’s crowded cubicle style offices then those are not nice.

 

[Apple fanboy]

It’s nice to have a mix of both. I work from home whenever I want but like to sit with my colleagues in an office too as it’s just better for relationship building and collaboration in general. It all depends what sort of office you work in too of course. If it’s crowded cubicle style offices then those are not nice.

I hate my days in the office more and more to be honest. I have to go in 2 days a week. I would rather go back to 5 days at home. The dynamic has changed in the office over the years and not for the better.

 

[eyoungren]

Office work is a Sisyphean hell. Just when you think you've completed your paperwork, there's more. There is always more.😱😱😱 I envy the craftsmen, the builders, the artisans who get to see their completed works. I push that pile of paperwork up a hill everyday, only to see it at the bottom of the hill the very next day.

As soul crushing as office work is, it's practically heaven compared to customer service work.😬

My very first job (that I count as a job) was mowing lawns and 'fixing' things for seniors in a small mobile home community. I learned that lawns grow back and things don't stay fixed.

My second job was inventory. The crew went out and inventoried stores (usually when closed). There was always another inventory. Because, you know, people buy stuff and it kind of messes up the old inventory count when that happens.

Third job was UPS. Same thing every night. Unload the air containers, unload the trucks. Eventually I was pulled out to actually sort packages, specifically bulk and irregular items. Since those don't go through the conveyor system they have to be loaded on to carts and delivered to the load side for…loading into air containers and trucks. But that job was the same every night too. Another night, another wall of bulk/irregs coming down at you to sort and deliver. Christmas was hell. 6-8 hours of non-stop stuff coming at you.

Fourth job was ad design for a newspaper. Oh hey, ANOTHER ad to design for tomorrow's paper. Or to correct or add something (or remove something). Same stuff, different customers.

5th and 6th jobs. Same industry, only now I'm helping to build newspapers. Same thing, every week, only the ads and the editorial, the classifieds and the legals change. How you handle it all? Same process, just depends on the day as to where you are in the process.

7th job. Weekly fliers for Sav-On/Osco/Albertsons. Only the names change. Well, the deals and the pics too. Otherwise, same process. Every night.

8th job. Back in newspapers (for 14.5 years). Same thing every week, I know which day of the week it is by what I am doing that day. By year 14 it got to the point where I was just handling corrections, new ad builds and building the paper in a hurry each week. Because after that, all I had to do was wait for editorial's side and make PDFs. By Wednesday afternoon I had the rest of the week to screw off and just do whatever I felt like at work.

9th job (current). There's a database list. Everything is in the database. When one job drops off the bottom, X more are added to the top. Grab the next and work that. It's all golf yardage books, scorecards, etcetera. Same stuff. But now I work on 'golf time'. So, the job I just did today or yesterday likely won't be back for corrections or changes until 6 months from now when the golf course managers finally decide to look at the PDF the sales rep sent them. In the meantime, same old, same old with other customers.

I do not believe I have ever had ANY job that didn't repeat itself.

 

[MisterSavage]

Life in an office...

• Unproductive meetings that could have been said in an email.
• Boss/supervisor walking by to "chat" and that chat ends up being a gigantic waste of time.
• Resisting the urge to set your email signature to "Sincerely, **** all the way off..."
• Someone nuking a can of tuna in the microwave and turning the entire building into a fish factory.
• God awful commutes. Even worse commutes in the winter.
• Knowing someone ate an expired breakfast burrito and having to both hear and smell the results of it when you walk into the bathroom.
• Someone WILL use the condiments that you brought for yourself in the fridge, even after you put your name all over them.
• Looking forward to the 10 minutes you spend in your car before you walk into the building, rethinking every choice you've made in your life.
• Having an instant headache just by seeing or hearing that co-worker.
• HVAC always being set to the wrong season. Sub-freezing temps in winter and satans anus in summer.
• Getting email blasted by HR about "Mental Health tips" as they try to organize company yoga sessions on your lunch break.
• Getting hounded to take PTO by your supervisor and then criticized for taking PTO because your supervisor can't do their job to cover your shift.
• Yearly performance reviews that amount to jack ****.
• Walking past a window outside and wondering what fresh air feels like.
• That feeling when you walk in on Monday morning and you walk out Friday afternoon and you have no idea what day of the week it is.
• Knowing that if you want a promotion, you will have to do unspeakable things to get it. i.e. kissing your bosses butt, possibly accepting the smallest of pay bumps and an ungodly increase of responsibilities that doesn't match up with the job description you applied for.
  
  And my personal favorite...
• Getting an email from the CEO saying that the company has made BILLIONS in the 1st quarter of the year but there isn't any money for legitimate, cost of living raises so you are forced to be ok with having pennies added to your paycheck but hey, at least you get a pen with the company logo on it...

You get it.

Oh testify!🤩

I can only get real work done after everyonek leaves for the day. Fortunately, I've got an understanding boss who let me come in 4 hours later than the regular crew and stay late. The biggest benefit--besides peace and quiet--is I avoid rush hour commute.🥳

I cannot handle a loud work environment. "I could set fire to the building..."

I'm the same way. It's just constant, endless distractions. I can only wear headphones for so long. I was recently stuck sitting near the support team and it was just endless non-work related banter between them between calls. I thought I was going to lose my mind.

I also love being forced to go into a noisy, distracting environment so that I can sit alone in a cubicle working on my solo projects that I could do from home.

 

[Chuckeee]

In my opinion at all, comes down to the manager and management. Excellent facilities and accommodations don’t make up for a lousy manager, but if you’ve got a good manager, that sure can compensate for almost any type of facility.

Using electronic design as an analogy. A good manager acts a filter, Blocking most of the stuff coming from higher up unless it’s really important and relevant to what you’re doing. The worst managers act as amplifiers, not only do they autonomously just pass on everything that comes to them. They actually add to it, in an attempt to make themselves look good.

 

[avro707]

My work from home setup is far superior to what I have in the office so I’m more productive.

I get things done much more quickly and it’s nice not having distractions from other people spending first 30 minutes of the day talking about the reality TV shows at high volume.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I still think it’s important to have face to face contact when working as a face on a zoom or teams call is no substitute. I do get more work done at home though as when I go into the office a lot of the day is taken up by chatting. I wouldn’t meet my deadlines if I didn’t have days at home to get work done. Nobody can approach your desk and ignore your ‘do not disturb’ when you’re at home.

The people I deal with that are solely WFH tend to be quite socially awkward and completely cut off from the general news and politics of the company. Some might say that’s a bonus but it is a disconnect that isn’t ideal.

 

[rm5]

I have never worked in an office (and have no desire to), but it's been interesting reading through this thread!

 

[avro707]

completely cut off from the general news and politics of the company

That's an important point.

It's probably more important to be good at playing politics than doing the work properly and to a high quality. Just my little rant - you probably can tell I don't have a lot of time for office politics and those who play those games.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

That's an important point.

It's probably more important to be good at playing politics than doing the work properly and to a high quality. Just my little rant - you probably can tell I don't have a lot of time for office politics and those who play those games.

Sadly one of the most important parts of working somewhere. If you don’t get involved in the politics you don’t get promotions or get your sway on changes, sad but true.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Sadly one of the most important parts of working somewhere. If you don’t get involved in the politics you don’t get promotions or get your sway on changes, sad but true.

So very very true. Not good at politics. Better at telling it like it is.
Probably explains a lot in my career.

 

[avro707]

or get your sway on changes

You let them get their way and watch them fall flat on their faces when they are clearly out of their depth and don't have the required experience to back up the grandiose claims. Or someone complains about it and they get called out by someone higher up (because said person didn't listen in the first place).

It's a huge waste of time and effort and really impedes productivity.