Cubicle Hell: I understand the phrase, now

[haggholm]

As regular readers here all know, I have a number of issues at work—but mostly, that’s to be expected, inevitable, and not beyond my ability to deal with. I don’t expect any job is always fun and interesting; every job is bound to have times of stress; and in spite of occasional periods of very intense frustration, there’s no co-worker I have to interact with that I never get along with. (True, some I get along with much less frequently than others…)

But there is one thing that always bugs me, and it’s my work environment. In the old office location, I shared an office with two co-workers. When we moved into the new building downtown, the three of us, again, shared an office—an improvement, even, as I now had a window. Some re-shuffling occurred, and we moved into yet another room (within the same office), but I still had a window at my back. Then, finally, too much space was needed, and support staff needed private offices to reduce noise pollution as they spend all day on the phone, and we ended up booted out of our office.

I now share a cubicle with one co-worker. Behind me and on my left side are actual walls. To my left and above me is a vent, which blows cold air on me in the winter, but fails to give any impression of fresh air. To my right is a cubicle wall; in front of me is my co-worker, and half a cubicle wall (and a “doorway”). The lighting is fluorescent. I can’t see any windows from my desk. In this little pocket, air flow is poor in spite of the vent that had me shivering in the winter, and I often feel lethargic (even by my afternoon standards); stifled as from lack of oxygen. There are people in this office I might kill for access to an open window…

At home, I tend to keep my curtains drawn to get rid of glare, but that’s still very different from this dank enclosure. I have light curtains; they remove glare, but admit enough light that I have no need for artificial lighting at home during the day. When I do turn on lights, of course, they’re incandescent, or compact fluorescent lamps that emit light more similar to incandescents than to fluorescent ceiling lights. In this cubicle, I’m stuck under unchanging fluorescent light.

When I next look for a job, whenever that may be (certainly not right now! —I’ve a project to finish), I will definitely look at the physical work environment as one criterion. I want an office—I’d like some privacy, but most of all I want real air and real light. This hole is just depressing.

Comments

[libidolounge.livejournal.com]

Should you perhaps "lock" this particular entry? Just asking. :)

Hang in there handsome, it can only get better.

[petter-haggholm.livejournal.com]

Nah, the hubbub about the last entry was because I had included a company’s name, so it showed up as a negative in automatic searches when marketers (and, I suppose, potential investors) were looking for data on the company. I personally think the reaction was rather ridiculous, all the same—but, anyway, the hook isn’t there this time. But thanks for the heads-up…

I’m also not criticising any company, nor even anyone at the company. I’ve mentioned this openly to at least one of my bosses; it’s an open complaint. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s anyone in the hierarchy that can do anything about it. There just isn’t enough office space to give everyone a good work environment, and my company definitely doesn’t have the capital to get a better office.

Oh, how I’d love to work at a place like Fog Creek Software (http://www.fogcreek.com/About.html)…

[libidolounge.livejournal.com]

By the way, I JUST LOVE your sexy and hot user pic.

[sheepykins.livejournal.com]

Windows.. lol. That would require getting out of the basement..