Welcome to part 3! We continue our remote vs. office work journey. Part 1 and part 2 covered our team’s attitude toward working remotely, so now it’s high time we found out what working in an office means to them.
Today’s destination is the challenges of working in the office. Fasten your seatbelts, and let’s go!
People
It is always about people that surround you. You may have the fanciest office, but if you do not get along with your colleagues, a deluxe table and chair won’t compensate for it. So, people you are bound to work with are the biggest challenge in any workplace.
Constant distractions
Anna, our recruiting specialist, says:
“Someone always needs your help (and they are not a message notification, so you cannot ignore them even for a while).”
And I share her point of view. It’s hard to concentrate on work when your colleagues bombard you with questions. There are many tasks that require close attention, and constant disruptions do not help to get things done. As a result, you spend more time trying to find concentration than actually working on a task.
Artur, our frontend developer, shares his experience:
“Communication distracts me when I work on complicated tasks, so I lose my productivity a bit. In such cases, I may go out for fresh air or use my headphones.”
When in Rome, do as the Romans do
Artur, our frontend developer, likes being in the office with his team, but he also notes:
“When you work in the office, you become its part. That usually means you are supposed to tweak some of your habits or principles to keep your work comfortable for you and the people around you.”
So, working in the office is about adjusting and adapting to a work pace, inner jokes, coffee breaks, etc. It may seem like a piece of cake, but it’s a real challenge for some people.
Social interactions and expectations
Maintaining good relationships with your colleagues helps to feel at home which, in turn, converts into higher productivity and better work outputs. The price of feeling a part of the team sometimes is quite high, though. Here’s what Anna, our recruiting specialist, says:
“I do not spend a lot of time [networking], but a lot of energy, though. It is necessary to maintain a good relationship with your colleagues and team members. It does affect the work.”
Besides draining energy, there’s one more detail about communication. There are certain social standards that shape the way we treat each other. I will illustrate what I mean using 2 examples.
- Communication
You have to do a fair share of kitchen chattering if you don’t want to be treated as a lonely weirdo. You should ask how your colleagues are doing, but do not get into too many details because you don’t want to seem nosey. Share your opinions and express your attitudes, but don’t overshare, you’re not a melodramatic character. Think before making jokes because humor is shaky ground, and laugh at others’ jokes because they are funny, don’t they?
- Appearance
Anna, who is our recruiting specialist, says:
“You have to look good, or at least decent.”
And I know exactly what she means. There are some non-written rules which we’ve been fighting for a long time, but which still exist. People do treat you based on how you look, and everyone defines “good” and “decent” differently.
A lot of people try to find a balance between what’s comfortable for them and what’s accepted by others. Or they have to decide if being accepted by colleagues means more than feeling comfortable. Disclaimer: I don’t say that it’s true for everyone, but it happens quite often.
Stay tuned and stay safe.
Yours truly,
CX Friend