Being Chained to a Desk

[Phoenix84]

With all of our discussions on jobs as of late, one thing stood out.  Some people, or people we know, say they can't have a job where they're chained to a desk all the time.  

I get that different jobs are for different people, but are there any other office dwellers out there that don't mind being "chained behind a desk?"  Are you a cube and office dweller that regrets spending so much time behind a desk?  What do you think the right balance is?

I work in a gray cube most days.  While it's not always sunshine and puppies, I definitely prefer that to working outside in the heat doing physically demanding labor.  I also prefer it to having to deal with people all the time.

My time in the cube is offset by the fairly frequent travel I have to go on.  I have to go do inspections, and get to get out of the office and see some pretty cool stuff, so I like the variety.

[alabamagal]

@phoenix84 - I don't see your job as being "chained to a desk" if you actually go out in the field and do inspections.  Sounds like you have office days and in the field days.  

Personally, I don't like having a job where every day is in the office (or cube) looking at a computer screen all day long.  You may have interactions with coworkers, or go to meetings, but basically it is an office job.  The output of your work is computer information, or plans.  To me I like to do something where there is an actual product (manufacturing, construction, etc.)

[MJ2.0]

I have had a desk job for many years and I HATE it.  I hate being chained to a desk/computer and I feel like the work I do is relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of things.  There is nothing tangible to see after a long day of work.  But I have back issues and would probably not fare well as a carpenter/roofer/etc.  Various other things I've wanted to do when I was younger (lawyer, teacher/professor, police officer/detective) were not what I would consider "desk jobs" and they didn't pan out for me.   And while I don't love my line of work, I can tolerate it enough to do it, so here I am.

[Deleted]

I HATE cube life!  I was ok for a few years, but lately I'm getting like the guy from Joe vs. the Volcano.  LOL  I think I'm losing my mind, the guy on the one side me constantly clearing his throat, the compulsive Cheeto eater on the other side, the account manager that calls her husband every day at 10 to talk about their cat and the stock market...it's just maddening.  I need more fresh air and sunshine, or at least to be up and moving around.  I've gained like 30 pounds since getting a desk job.

[Lizard Queen]

I worked in a cube farm for 15 years, without even a window to see what the weather was like outside.  Yes, it felt like I was chained to a desk, though I'd get up frequently to walk to the printer, or to the restrooms/mailroom.  I think getting a little of both is nice.  I'd hate to work outside most days, but it'd be nice to see if it were sunny or storming outside, too.  It was worst in the summer, for obvious reasons (missing out on beautiful weather) but also winter when I'd arrive to work as the sun was just rising, and leaving work as it was setting.  It just feels like a super long day when you've missed the entire day's worth of natural light.

However, it was really nice to be chained to a desk when I was feeling under the weather, but not so bad that I needed to call in to work.

[tcu2003]

Eh, I mostly likely like it. I have more meetings than I'd prefer, but that's more a function of my career stage than cube life. I do site visits a handful of times a year, and while I definitely enjoy getting out of the office for a day or two, it never fails to remind me that I much prefer inside work to outside work.

Now that I have kids, I also appreciate the flexibility my job offers. I can flex time to get kids to appointments or if they're sick, pumping time so I can send milk for the baby to daycare only has to be fit in around my schedule and not any preset breaks, and leave and come back if something is going on at daycare that I want to watch.

My company also has Vari-desks installed for those who want them, so I swap between sitting and standing throughout the day, which definitely helps.

[tallguy]

I could never do it.  I was in college, without any real passion for a particular career.  I was always good enough at so many things that the basic plan was to just get a good job in a good office and go from there.  Got halfway through my senior year and decided (or realized), "I don't even want to do that.  I need something more physical."  So, I got into something more physical.  I am up and moving around, and basically do not sit down at all during the course of the day.  I have enough autonomy and do enough different things that I do not get bored, and the physical activity does wonders for my mindset.  Yes, I am underemployed and under-compensated, but I don't mind going to my job.  It would be FAR different if I were stuck in an office or chained to a desk.  Not only would I hate it, but I would DEFINITELY take it out on the people around me!  And besides, I've never been motivated by money in the first place.  Yet even without being highly-paid, I have still done well enough to semi-retire more than ten years before full retirement age.  I work two days a week as much to stay busy as anything else.  And as an additional bonus, it all fit well with one of my primary motivators of ultimate career choice:  To NEVER have to wear a suit and tie any more than absolutely necessary!      

[Rob Base 2.0]

A bondage thread? Kinky.... makes my workplace sound boring

<<dusts off resume>>

[seriousthistime]

I don't mind being chained to my desk and on most days I eat lunch at my desk while working.  I have a soundproof office, and it's in the far corner away from the office entrance.  I never hear any other people's phones ring, and mine hardly ever rings.  

I do turn out a computer-generated product, and I get to wear "business casual" (more casual than business) to work. I also get to telework a few days a week.

I LOVE my job!

But my siblings are very different.  I prefer a steady paycheck.  They prefer more flexibility.  But they are not disciplined to make it work for them.  They are living paycheck to paycheck, and when they get money it runs through their fingers like water.  Most likely, they'd be in the same boat even if they did have a desk job. 

[Sunnyday]

God! What I wouldn't do for a cubicle! When I worked ina cubicle, I didn't have to control my facial expressions. Now that I work in an open space, everything including my facial expressions have to be controlled. It's exhausting!

I hate open office spaces with the heat of a thousand suns!

[tskeeter]

I spent my career as a desk jockey.  It was the right choice for me.  I had a chance to explore other careers by the time I graduated college.  I'd worked as a rough carpenter in 20 degree snow storms, worked as a landscaper in 100 degree heat, assembled bicycles, waited tables, cooked and managed restaurant kitchens, stood ankle deep in clogged sewer manholes, and worked the customer service desk for UPS in buildings so cold that you kept your pens inside your jacket to keep one warm enough for the ink to flow.  Heat and A/C were the life for me.

I found that my desk life was as routine as I wanted it to be.  Operating reports could be a treasure hunt for process improvement opportunities.  City parking ordinances that limited building sizes could be challenges in creative thinking (what would happen if we put the employee entrance on the roof?).  Work that was a PIA was an opportunity to develop computer systems that automated processes and reduced the time spend processing payroll data from 22 hours a week to less than 30 minutes.  I estimate that during my 20 years behind a desk for one employer, I generated about $30 million in process improvements, cost reductions, and incremental income, in addition to doing the job described in my job description.  Work, it's what you make it.

[Deleted]

Mar 19, 2017 12:47:36 GMT -5 Sunnyday said:

God! What I wouldn't do for a cubicle! When I worked ina cubicle, I didn't have to control my facial expressions. Now that I work in an open space, everything including my facial expressions have to be controlled. It's exhausting!

I hate open office spaces with the heat of a thousand suns!

So many places are going to the open concept and I haven't found anyone that actually likes it better, I'm sure they exist though somewhere?

[Deleted]

Mar 19, 2017 12:47:36 GMT -5 Sunnyday said:

God! What I wouldn't do for a cubicle! When I worked ina cubicle, I didn't have to control my facial expressions. Now that I work in an open space, everything including my facial expressions have to be controlled. It's exhausting!

I hate open office spaces with the heat of a thousand suns!

OMG.  I would hate this.  I can barely deal with the distractions in a cube farm, I cannot imagine an open office.  I thought it was bad enough when I did my stint in a bullpen cube that I shared with 3 others. 

[Tiny]

I like my 'cube'... I have a the option to sit or stand. I have a phone (I mostly ignore) and I have headphones (to listen to music or radio or whatever) while I work.   I actually "know" a lot of people in my office and around the US and in other countries who I "talk" to via email or the phone fairly often.    (I'm always amazed at the company x-mas party that I know dozens and dozens of people in my office - even though we don't "see" each other daily (or even monthly).    )


I have to walk to and from the office (atleast 1/2 mile each way if I drive cause I want cheap parking or a full mile each way if I take the train) so I spend some time outside every business day.  At lunch I usually try to get out side and take a walk (sometimes I have an errand - the post office,the library, shopping).  Sometimes I go and people watch.


I know for a fact I'd die if I had to work in a 'cube' in suburbia - where the only way to come or go from work is in a car.   I like working in the City. 


I like working on a computer all day...since I generally "hate" other people.     It is annoying that no one actually 'sees' the work I do - just the results but I do 'build' neat programs and processes and stuff and I find that entertaining and purposeful.    I do wrangle data into formats that non-techy humans can fathom.. that's fun!  

[Tiny]

Mar 19, 2017 12:47:36 GMT -5 Sunnyday said:

God! What I wouldn't do for a cubicle! When I worked ina cubicle, I didn't have to control my facial expressions. Now that I work in an open space, everything including my facial expressions have to be controlled. It's exhausting!

I hate open office spaces with the heat of a thousand suns!

OMG - if I had to not only hear but SEE my coworkers I would quit (or kill someone).     I don't think I'd survive an "open floor plan" or those goofy 1/2 high cubes. (in case they are separate things).  

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

When I first started out, I worked 90% of my day at the lab bench, up and moving around.  The further up the ladder I went, the more that I wound up staring at a computer screen in a small, windowless office.

I made it work for me, especially since I could spend 3 weeks in the lab, and one week at a computer on the other side of the country.  But I was seeing more and more of my job behind the computer and less on the technical side.  As I was pulled out of the lab, I also became more responsible for administrative and management crap for the lab too.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

I used to be able to see the bean in millennium park from my window, but we had to move and now I have a corner office, but it doesn't look out anywhere nice. the building next door and the building across the alley. I do still get some direct sun, and hope they don't build a taller building next door!  

I'm about 20% travel. When in the office, my work is almost strictly computer, except for conference calls and the odd out of the blue question calls. When I travel, I am standing up in front of a room talking, maybe with a powerpoint to flip through, but very not-computer based. 

I find it a good mix, but I'd like a few more quite days - no onsites, no conf or odd calls. Just me and my computer

[teen persuasion]

My spot is sitting behind a computer, but not exactly in a cube.  It's an L shaped desk, high on the computer side, low on the other, and the box is completed by low bookcases opposite the computers and bookcarts on the fourth side.  The whole box is dead center in the building, with all traffic flowing past me in some direction.

I probably only get to sit at the computer half the time, though.  Generally  I'm up and down every few minutes, most frequently in and out of the Director's office (our command center, there is essentially no door)  across the main aisle.

There's one patron who's begun using our handicapped ramp door (immediately behind my desk) since climbing the 4 front steps winds him too much (and then he curses himself for taking up smoking again    ) .  I generally jump up to pop it open, since it is heavy.  He is always commenting on how fast or fit I am, and asking how I do it, am I a runner, etc.  Constant motion!  It never fails that the phone rings when I'm at one of the farthest points from the desk on an errand, and I have to hustle back, or any of a hundred other issues happen.

There are definitely times I ditch the chair and work at the desk standing, especially if I'm mostly scanning items, but typing is a chore that way.

So I'm not exactly chained to the desk, more like on a retractable leash, constantly being pulled back to the desk.  Or a yo-yo. 

[formerroomate99]

Mar 19, 2017 10:35:40 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

I have had a desk job for many years and I HATE it.  I hate being chained to a desk/computer and I feel like the work I do is relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of things.  There is nothing tangible to see after a long day of work.  But I have back issues and would probably not fare well as a carpenter/roofer/etc.  Various other things I've wanted to do when I was younger (lawyer, teacher/professor, police officer/detective) were not what I would consider "desk jobs" and they didn't pan out for me.   And while I don't love my line of work, I can tolerate it enough to do it, so here I am.

They do have those gadgets that you can put on top of your desk and turn it into a sit and stand thing.  
www.ergodesktop.com/wallaby
It helps with the tedium of sitting all the time and can do wonders for your back.  

[chiver78]

after spending the first 14 years of my career in a position where I was usually on the move, I am now a desk jockey. I kind of hate it, but I work 2nd shift with a pay differential for the hours (which are actually better for me, but I won't turn down more money) and I don't have to own any of the awful decisions being made by certain people at my site. I just have to sign for QA, and I have full backup by my Quality management that I don't have to sign for anything I'm not comfortable with. I haven't had to play that card yet, and I'm hoping I don't have to. some days, I wonder....

that said, my office has a window, and I share it with two other ladies I get along with very well....and all of us work different hours. it's a big office, we're all doubled up. we actually had a week before we moved into this particular office where we knew we were getting stuffed in. I measured all the available pieces of desk materials and cut out scaled pieces of paper, and we played Tetris with the layout before it got built. that was actually fun. (yes, I'm a dork like that)

but right now, I'm discovering that there's way more to life than just work. and while I'm in a hole at the moment, I'm going to milk the circumstances I have as long as I can to dig out. 

[msventoux]

I'm chained to a desk but I'm mostly okay with it. I wish I had a soundproof office. I've been here long enough that familiarity is breeding contempt and I'm sick of listening to my office mates. Or maybe it's just tax season.

I do think it's hysterical that our wellness program always has our step challenge during one of our busiest months of the year. We spend 9-14 hours a day trapped at our desks working, with brief breaks to get up to use the bathroom, make a copy, or go sit in the conference room with clients.

[taz157]

Mar 19, 2017 21:56:01 GMT -5 msventoux said:

I'm chained to a desk but I'm mostly okay with it. I wish I had a soundproof office. I've been here long enough that familiarity is breeding contempt and I'm sick of listening to my office mates. Or maybe it's just tax season.

I think it's both.

[Apple]

I'm am thankful that everyone likes different things, so that I never have to sit behind a desk again.

I had to do a desk job in a cubical for almost a year while they were "figuring out" the sexual harassment issue.  While that definitely made the job less pleasant, I truly just hate having to sit at a desk and work on a computer/study a manual/etc.  Even when I did "desk work" for my real job (when I'd program a plc, a relay, or work on print updates because we didn't have a draftsman), I could get up and go do something hands on if I needed a break.  With the cubical job, I "went to the bathroom" as often as I thought I could get away with, and for as long as I could.

Now I might go a couple days without logging onto a computer, and when I do, it's mostly just to delete a bunch of new emails, maybe enter a few numbers, and log off.  

I have a few miles of space I can roam freely (walking, riding a bike, a kick scooter, driving...) when my presence is not required for a specific task.  Inside, outside, as long as I can answer a radio call I'm free to be where I want to be.

While my current job isn't near as physical as the last one, I can make it as active (mentally and physically) as I want.  I no longer have the exact number of days until I can retire memorized (but I could still tell you if you give me a couple minutes to do some math...)

[taz157]

I work from home now, but it's tax season so I'm pretty chained to my desk.    When it's not tax season, it just depends on how much work needs to get done and other time commitments for the day.

When I worked in an office, it was very similar.  I would get periodically to talk to co-workers or my boss, scan items, get things from the printer, go to the bathroom, etc.  Now that I work from home, my scanner/printer is on my desk on the rare occasion I need to print, and I call my co-workers or boss when I need to them talk to them instead.  I do get get up periodically to go to the bathroom, get food or drink.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I'm currently stuck in one room for six straight hours, but I don't sit at my desk much. I had five years in which I had an office but I was rarely in it. If I could sit at a desk all day, I'd be an accountant. If I ever get to the point that I cannot teach, I'll probably transition to that type of work. 

[Shooby]

 There are pros and cons to every job.  And, for some people, a desk type job just doesnt' fit them.  My oldest son is very much more of a hands on guy.  And, he would not do well that type of work culture in a suit and that type of structure and environment.  So, working in a garage or pounding shingles on a roof is more his forte.  
  Staring a computer all days seems kind of grueling in a way.  But, then i see the road crew working on roads when it is 90 degrees out and maybe the desk job looks quite nice.  It really is how you choose to look at it i guess.  
  

[mroped]

Don't mind the heat, don't care much for the cold since I don't have to work in it.
Me and a desk job is like trying to defy physics and mix oil and water: not gonna happen!
I can barely stand the half hour at the time when I have to write a contract or something and even that I'm doing it on my iPad now just so I don't have to sit upright in a chair.
100 degrees heat? Bring it!
20 bellow, well thanks God or nature or that cave man that gave us fire!
And I love It!

[MJ2.0]

Mar 19, 2017 21:39:27 GMT -5 formerroomate99 said:

Mar 19, 2017 10:35:40 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

I have had a desk job for many years and I HATE it.  I hate being chained to a desk/computer and I feel like the work I do is relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of things.  There is nothing tangible to see after a long day of work.  But I have back issues and would probably not fare well as a carpenter/roofer/etc.  Various other things I've wanted to do when I was younger (lawyer, teacher/professor, police officer/detective) were not what I would consider "desk jobs" and they didn't pan out for me.   And while I don't love my line of work, I can tolerate it enough to do it, so here I am.

They do have those gadgets that you can put on top of your desk and turn it into a sit and stand thing.  
www.ergodesktop.com/wallaby
It helps with the tedium of sitting all the time and can do wonders for your back.  

I doubt my employer would pay for that. I have thought about getting one of those balls though.

[Deleted]

I always appreciated having a job that allowed me to be indoors in bad weather and wasn't strenuous.  I nearly always managed to get in a daily workout but that was on my time (or in the company gym) and not part of the job.

In my last few working years, though, I found Cubicleville increasingly irritating.  Up until 2012, I'd had the flexibility to work at home and by 2012 I was coming into the office only a few days a week. I could see the handwriting on the wall and that job wasn't going to last forever and I jumped ship to another company where teleworking wasn't part of the culture.  It was SO hard to focus with people on various sides of my cube on the phone a lot (it was very client-faciing).  I ended up bringing in my Bose headphones which helped somewhat, but open offices are the pits for those of us with a touch of ADD.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I would not be able to work in a cube.    I was slowly withering away/going crazy in that tiny ass little lab at BT with no windows.   I was never able to leave the sound room because they didn't have a way to keep the mice restrained so if they woke up they couldn't escape.  I would have panic attacks every morning as I drove to work.   I was insanely isolated during that job.

I almost cried when I walked into my current lab and saw the windows!  

BT was an extreme example.   However I know I would not survive well in an Office Space type setting.  I need to be able to get up and go during the way.   As much as I hate animal work I do find it immensely satisfying to look at my wall of organized and color coded cages downstairs and I know I did that.

There are days when I am chained to my desk crunching numbers.   I don't mind so much because there is a lot of hustle and bustle going on around me to keep me from feeling like the walls are closing in.

It was the same at the College of Pharmacy.  I worked alone in the lab but I had windows that looked out onto the quad and I could go out into the hall way if I wanted to interact with my fellow humans. 

I need to feel like my job means something and is going somewhere.   I have a very hard time when it feels like all I am doing is pushing papers/mice around.    I had a talk with my boss at my performance review about it because I wanted to know where generating all these mice was head because right now it feels like I am doing it for poops and giggles.    I am a lot less moody downstairs now that I know the end goal and roughly how long it's going to take to achieve it.

If I feel productive and like I am moving forward then it doesn't matter so much if I am at my computer crunching numbers or running around downstairs.   I could not handle sitting in a cube generating TPS reports all day.