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Apparently with a Business degree it seems I'm somehow destined to these styles of bull pen office. It's like everyone and their grandma does it to save money. I don't like any open office with more than 25 people, that's my maximum (I'm used to it from school). But having 50+ people, it's annoying. I end up hating the job wight from the first week. It's like working in the middle of a train station waiting room all day, except even worse. And those typical white/gray walls and carpets... it's so sterile. I think cubicles sound not that bad in comparison lol. Yet, it has been so hard to find ANY job for my degree that has less than 30 people. What the hell's wrong with companies these days? If I knew I'll end up like this, I wouldn't study at a uni at all! The huge rooms with people at uni were bad enough. I miss my high school days when our classes were of about 20 people.
I hate feeling just an invisible wheel in the machine. Even if I am one, I prefer to have some respect. I'm ready to trade it for the lunch coupons. If the suits up there really think this open office hell boosts morale, they're wrong. It lowers morale as it causes even more gossiping and most such environments are toxic. And the work itself is so repetitive, it slowly tears away at your soul. I'd rather go sell used cars really as you meet clients on one on ones and it's more personal.
1. Ear plugs. They wipe out 90% of sound but you can still hear a phone ring. The little foam ones by Hearos are great. Get at least NRR 32.
2. Move your monitors to block out as much visual stimuli as possible.
3. Find out which conference rooms are used the least and book them for a couple of hours a few times a week. It's an easy way to work alone. Take your laptop, work, and enjoy that little bit of peace and quiet.
@charlygal,
Thanks for your suggestions!
1. I can't use earplugs as we're collaborating with a colleague as a team. That way our supervisor spends less time to manage our progress as we're new.
2. Good suggestion, I will lower my chair as I can't do that.
3. We have no conference rooms. Really. Nada. Even team leads are there with us and can't use one.
@charlygal,
Thanks for your suggestions!
1. I can't use earplugs as we're collaborating with a colleague as a team. That way our supervisor spends less time to manage our progress as we're new.
2. Good suggestion, I will lower my chair as I can't do that.
3. We have no conference rooms. Really. Nada. Even team leads are there with us and can't use one.
[snip]
You have my sincerest sympathies. I use ear plugs the full 8-9 hours a day. It's Friday afternoon, and I'm about to spend the last few hours of the day alone in a conference room with my laptop and phone.
I will say that offices in manufacturing facilities seem to have less of the open-office nonsense - at least in the ones I've worked in. You might still be in a cubicle farm, but the distractions are less severe. Your Business degree may be useful in one of those environments.
I will say that offices in manufacturing facilities seem to have less of the open-office nonsense - at least in the ones I've been in. You might still be in a cubicle farm, but the distractions are less severe. Your Business degree may be useful in one of those environments.
^Or maybe I can become a counselor of sorts or a car salesman? I know travel agents often have smaller office.
BTW, our HR team is just a few people (3 or 4) in a small room. Is it also your experience that HR teams have it the best at big corporations? They have it better than regular team leads even! Even in the larger US-owned company I worked before there were never more than 5-6 HR people in their open office which was also much smaller. It was much friendlier and I could get more social in such environment. Maybe I could try to go into HR? They get all love-dovey no more than 10 people offices and we're like the slave workers. I like talking on the phone and meetings with many different people every day but not in an open office so maybe HR might be better fit for me.
I do much better in smaller groups, it feels much more personal. Both you and your client(s)/coworkers are more than just faces in the crowd.
^Or maybe I can become a counselor of sorts or a car salesman? I know travel agents often have smaller office.
BTW, our HR team is just a few people (3 or 4) in a small room. Is it also your experience that HR teams have it the best at big corporations? They have it better than regular team leads even! Even in the larger US-owned company I worked before there were never more than 5-6 HR people in their open office which was also much smaller. It was much friendlier and I could get more social in such environment. Maybe I could try to go into HR? They get all love-dovey no more than 10 people offices and we're like the slave workers. I like talking on the phone and meetings with many different people every day but not in an open office so maybe HR might be better fit for me.
I do much better in smaller groups, it feels much more personal. Both you and your client(s)/coworkers are more than just faces in the crowd.
Everywhere I've worked so far, each HR person has had their own individual office. That could be a good route for ya.
I don't think open floor plans are going away any time soon sadly. They put such an impression on visiting clients and photo ops that companies like them for the presentation. Moreover, since they're so fashionable now, managers don't to look like tyrant or hear things like "you don't still use that pig pen CUBICLE system, do you?"
It's not just open plan, but it comes with other things like lax management style, laissez-faire direction, "train yourself", e-learning courses where you even score yourself, overall leaving things up to you to work out by your own. No rulers and no rules! Yeah... except when you want to work somewhere where people take you seriously.
I don't think open floor plans are going away any time soon sadly. They put such an impression on visiting clients and photo ops that companies like them for the presentation. Moreover, since they're so fashionable now, managers don't to look like tyrant or hear things like "you don't still use that pig pen CUBICLE system, do you?"
It's not just open plan, but it comes with other things like lax management style, laissez-faire direction, "train yourself", e-learning courses where you even score yourself, overall leaving things up to you to work out by your own. No rulers and no rules! Yeah... except when you want to work somewhere where people take you seriously.
OMG. Dial it down a notch. The sky isn't falling. Work is work. Work has always been work with questionable stuff. No different today than years past
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