Your workspace

[8 Bit WWBG]

I have a decent sized cube with some bright windows.  I have some sand art, a few trinkets, and a great cube mate.  Work provides a laptop, a 22" widescreen monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, phone, and dock.  I have a few cabinets that lock, and a decent ergonomic chair.

And they want to take all that away from us and give us these tiny little stations where we are seated 4 to a row with almost no privacy.  Which will force a lot of people to "choose" to work from home.

[Deleted]

Mar 24, 2013 10:29:05 GMT -5 @tbird said:

we have cubes, which is kind of odd considering how many conference calls we have, but not a big deal overall I suppose.

I've recently moved into the smallest one as it is the only one with a south facing window.  I can see the bean in millennium park.  All the others just see the high rise to the east of the building - not only a nice view, but actually sunshine through the window, particularly in winter when the sun is low in the southern aspect.

Material-wise, desks etc are low end and older, computers are new, large monitors.  Back in the day, I had a nice office with cherrywood furniture.  But oh well - that was suburban and we are on Michigan ave, just a few blocks south of the "magnificient mile" designation.

Moving from company to company, one interesting thing is how different places dole out such thing as money, titles, offices, support staff, etc. 

Some places are cheap with titles, another is very generous - such as a research associate vs manager but the job description is quite similar.

I made 46-50k while in the large cherrywood office, with a secretary and data coordinator.  Now at 89k, I'm in a tiny cube.  Just got some support staff for the first time this year (7 years into the job).

So it is quite variable. 

An interesting question to add to the thread (if OP doesn't mind) is what is most important to people in a workplace/job?

Titles and offices seem in many ways to feed the ego, make one feel important with the outer trappings of success.  I certainly appreciate the money more than anything, but I sure would like it hooked up with a nice title and office, lol.  And I enjoy having multiple support staff and coordinating projects across group members.  And in some ways, that is a prestige component as well.

Money is really the only tangible you take away, but these other factor influence job satisfaction as well.

What components are most important to you?

For me, having an office isn't about status. It is about having a space that I can close the door and get work done. I can also play some music without needing headphones. Combined with our casual casual dress "code", it makes for a very relaxed working environment.

[midjd]

An interesting question to add to the thread (if OP doesn't mind) is what is most important to people in a workplace/job?

Titles and offices seem in many ways to feed the ego, make one feel important with the outer trappings of success.  I certainly appreciate the money more than anything, but I sure would like it hooked up with a nice title and office, lol.  And I enjoy having multiple support staff and coordinating projects across group members.  And in some ways, that is a prestige component as well.

Money is really the only tangible you take away, but these other factor influence job satisfaction as well.

What components are most important to you?

Having a physical office with a door that closes is probably the most important to me. I deal with some pretty sensitive information and make a lot of confidential phone calls. It's nice to be able to hold a conference call or interview people without having to reserve a conference room. If I remained in a similar line of work and switched employers, they would probably have to pay at least $20K more for me to give up an office. Quite a few of our IT people make more than I do but are in cubes or 2-3 to an office, and I'm betting the two are correlated.

ETA - although we all have offices with doors, almost no one regularly keeps theirs closed. One afternoon I closed my door from lunch to 5pm because I really needed to get something done, and 2 people emailed to ask if I was OK.

Support staff would be a close second. It took me about a year and a half before I was comfortable giving them much to do (seemed faster to print a label myself than walk 20 feet and ask someone else to do it) but as I've had to absorb more and more duties, it's been nice to foist off most of the clerical/bookkeeping stuff (and gives me some time to surf YM, lol!)

[Nazgul Girl]

    I have a dual office space.   One is our slightly messy den/office at home.   I can function well in there, and the only interruptions I get are the mini poodle, and my DH, who will sometimes make me lunch.

     On breaks ( I do take only my regulated breaks ) I can watch the old movie channel and fold up clothes, or walk around our sub for a little while.

     At my work office, I have a really lovely cube to myself with a closet, two cupboards, a cart on wheels which locks, an L-shaped desk, a prety good desk chair, a tray for my ergonomic keyboard, a large monitor, a docking station for my laptop, and all the office supplies I could ever need.   I also free parking just steps from my entrance door.   I also have some pretty surly coworkers, so I'm grateful that I'm only there two days a week.   My manager is pretty good and I like working for her.

     I'd rather be at home, but for a workplace, I have it pretty good.

[Deleted]

they are conducting classes underground?  That seems odd to me.

Yup. To me too. The first time I went to the Paris campus (I was interviewed at the main campus in the north, which I already knew because DS2 went to that school) I nearly ran screaming out of the building.

Everything is totally state-of-the-art: lighting, climate control, etc. It's done up as nicely as could be, it's functional, warm and extremely well-designed. But yes, it's still difficult not to have windows. I have issues with claustrophobia. But I don't work FT, and that makes a difference. And, some of my classes (albeit few) are in the other building, which DOES have windows.

I LOVE my job, my bosses, my colleagues, my students, my commute. So, I live with it. Last year I worked there two days a week, this year I work three. I am struggling with whether or not to offer to do a fourth day there next year, largely because of this issue. I think I would prefer to keep "hustling" doing a bunch of other things rather than do a fourth day there.

In all fairness, there are two issues about the fourth day: the lack of windows, AND the HUGE amount of marking.

[Chocolate Lover]

Mar 23, 2013 2:46:39 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

Mar 22, 2013 16:09:47 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

I have a nice big office and my own bathroom and kitchen area, the only thing I hate is the glass door. I don't want people staring in at me all day from the lobby.

Wow, you have some pretty sweet digs , you must be a hot shot at your place of employment. 

 Thanks for the laugh! I'm a peon, I justgot "lucky" to have had down sizing empty most  the space I would have shared. 

[hoops902]

I have a monitor, a docking station fo rmy laptop, 2 phones, and a stapler.  All company supplied.  I also have some pens that were either company supplies or that people visiting gave me.  That's about it.  I have a water bottle that's mine.    Nothing else is on my desk.  I take a decent amount of heat for not having photos of people up, or cutesy calendars, or other things taht annoy me. 
My "decorating style" is essentially that I want to be able to stand up, put my coat on, walk out the door and never come back if I choose.   

I work in the interior section of the building, I definitely miss my window desk.    I park across the street in a parking garage and use the skywalk to get to my building, not a bad setup. 

[The Captain]

Oh, forgot to add - I always bring my own stapler.  Red Swingline built like a tank.

[Iggy aka IG]

Mar 22, 2013 12:17:12 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

Describe your office/cube/workspace.

What items in your workspace is company supplied?

What items in your workspace is personal? 

Are you happy with where (the physical location) in which you work? 

How far out do you have to park and walk? 

My own office suite in earth tones featuring paintings of cowboys, horses, eagles, etc.  It's my goal to make it as comfortable and welcoming as possible.  It's got vast mesa views. 

I supply everything.  I'm welcome. 

Personal items include family pictures, numerous plants, water fountain and my Aquarius coffee mug. 

I just moved here November and love it.  The building was renovated a few years ago and is located in the heart of downtown.  It's a professional building with a turn of last century flair including wood work around the doors and windows, wood floors, a picture of the original buidling in the foyer, etc.

I park in the public lot in the back.  The problem w/ being right downtown is lack of street parking.  Our lease encourages tenants to park in the back for this reason.

To answer Rukh's question:  The most important thing to me is a professional setting in which to conduct business.  My client must be comfortable.

[Phoenix84]

"An interesting question to add to the thread (if OP doesn't mind) is what is most important to people in a workplace/job?"

Well, in my workplace, the most important people are the scientists bringing in the funding.  It's really the only reason why any of us are here.

Regarding titles and offices and ego.

I won't deny my ego is stroked a little bit by having an office and contracter support.  But I try to not let it go to my head, it's not as important as it sounds on paper.  But there is some reason behind it.  I do deal with PII and medical records on occassion, and sometimes have to deal with sensative stuff.  But mostly I got lucky because I need to be close to people who work with certain types of things. 

My title isn't over inflated or under inflated.  It is what it is.  In my field, it's standard for what I do.  It's established by the regulatory agencies. 

[wvugurl26]

Only managers and up have offices. We all deal with the same sensitive information so we are expected to be adults about it. The conference room is often booked. Our "walls" suck anyway. You can easily hear what someone is saying in the next office even with the door shut.