Office Culture

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get an urge to make a big change in my life. I’ve recently been thinking about finding a new job. I don’t have the worst job in the world, but I would love the opportunity to experience a new organization and get a change of pace. Thankfully, we live in a world where leaving a company after just a few years isn’t unheard of. Long gone are the days of being loyal to a company for 20 to 30 years of your life. 

I’ve been with my current company for the past three years and I’m in my third position here, all of which have been drastically different from each other. I started off as a Marketing Coordinator, spent the majority of my tenure as a Service Coordinator, and now I’m in my favorite role so far, an Office Assistant. 

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to understand what older people mean when they advise younger people to get a job with good benefits. It’s not necessarily just about the pay either. Having decent health insurance at an affordable deduction rate is something that you just don’t think of until you need it. Same deal with employer sponsored retirement plans. The match percentage for 401(k)’s and Roth IRA’s are indeed important when analyzing the strength of a company’s offerings. 

Going forward in the future, I would love a fully remote position where I can save time, money, and energy so my work wouldn’t take up so much of my life. I’m honestly 100% fine with having to work to fund my life, but I’m not okay with living to work. If your job title or company defines who you are, you might be missing out on what makes life worth living.  

I currently commute to work five days a week, and the traffic alone makes me question how people do it for 10, 20, or even 30 years straight. There’s no way to predict if there will be a random wreck so some days the commute definitely takes a little longer than others. There’s also no quick way of getting home, so you often spend hours in a week just sitting in your car. 

There are some people out there who absolutely love office culture. They love going to the break room and connecting with their co-workers. They find the routine of getting up super early and going to an office building makes them more productive and less susceptible to distractions. They also find comfort in the monotony of knowing, within a reasonable percentage of variability, what each day will bring. 

For me, I don’t necessarily like office culture and I don’t go out of my way to really engage in it. I believe that I was hired to fulfill a job and that’s why I show up to work each day. Most days, it’s a struggle for me to wake up super early, rush out of the house on time, and sit at a desk in a cold office building while wearing uncomfortable clothes. I’d much rather complete my tasks while in the comfort of my home surrounded by my puppies. That way at least if the stress of work starts taking a toll on me, I can take a mental break to play with my dogs and decompress. 

I would love a position where I play a vital role, but definitely nothing that requires too much leadership or responsibility. I also value autonomy in a role and dislike being micromanaged. If you give me a list of things that need to be accomplished, I’ll get them done effectively, efficiently, and accurately as long as I have the time I need to work on it at my own pace. I also enjoy my privacy and don’t need much human interaction to keep my morale up. 

My husband and I are all about optimizing our time to stay as productive as possible. We’re always on go and have things scheduled out days, weeks, and sometimes even months in advance. Because we spend so much time analyzing and perfecting our schedules, I can’t help but notice all the wasted time that passes during an average day of work. 

Staying focused for eight hours straight is an extreme task that only certain people can actually accomplish. For those normal people like me out there, we have to utilize mini breaks to keep us from getting burned out. Sometimes that means taking a ten minute break to check Instagram or even walking outside to get a breath of fresh air just to reset your mind. 

I imagine that one day the way we work will get a major overhaul. I bet the movement will be sparked by attempts to reduce the amount of waste, unproductivity, and expenses that come with operating a brick and mortar business. Of course, some jobs will retain the traditional working model that we know now, but I think a majority of jobs can move to a more flexible model that allows for more autonomy in getting tasks done. Allowing people to have the freedom to fit work in around their specific life situation would significantly increase morale amongst workers. For the majority of office jobs, there just isn’t that much consistent work to keep you completely occupied, engaged, and tapped in for an entire eight-hour, five-day work week. 

I think it’s also important to be mindful of the effort you put into your job and make sure it doesn’t surpass the effort you put into your family, personal growth, and hobbies. Even though you spend a good portion of time working, you don’t have to break your back for your job. Of course, some days will naturally require more effort than others, but I don’t think every single day should be stressful to the point where you’re mentally exhausted and it starts impacting other areas of your life. 

It’s okay to show up, do your job effectively, and go on about your life when it’s quitting time. It’s also okay to work just to get the money and resources you need to do things outside of work that you’ve always wanted to do. So often people get shamed for not wanting to climb a corporate ladder or advance to the next position. Despite being an efficient hard worker, I personally don’t want to get to the career level where I’m constantly in meetings, making big decisions, and forced to actually sacrifice time with my family just to keep someone else’s business afloat. 

Ultimately, working is hard. Finding a new job is hard. Not putting yourself out there and trying something new, might be the most detrimental because it not only keeps you stuck in your current situation, but it also impacts your future by making you complacent. 

Sometimes we all need a change to keep things interesting and fresh. When I find and land a new job, I’m sure it’ll come up in a future blog post. Until then, I’m staying confident that whatever is for me, won’t miss me. 

If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by giving this video a thumbs up, leaving a comment, and subscribing to my channel. I’ll see you in the next episode! 

Signed, 

Jessica Marie