Cool. Calm. Coffee.

in Reflections11 months ago

Not bad.

That is my experience with the new office we moved into today. It is a new building, newly fit and has some nice areas. And while it is a flexi-space, it isn't open plan, which means we largely work in small groups behind glass. Weirdly, I prefer the open office plan more.

It wasn't all smooth sailing though, as there are three apps required to use the office. A parking app, a key app, and a space booking app. Two out if three worked for me, but I eventually got the key app working, though it is quite clunky. So, I grabbed a physical key fob also, so it is easier, and faster.

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When I arrived, there was a range of preparedness of people, with most having it sorted prior, and some yet to install anything at all. What was interesting to observe was the various levels of disruption people seemed to feel.

The unprepared knew they were unprepared, but some of them got annoyed at the complication of getting apps, finding access strings and copy-pasting. But it was the prepared who seemed the most disrupted, because little things didn't work exactly as they expected them to work. It seemed that their preparedness gave them some kind of false sense of certainty that because they had followed the instructions, everything would go as they had imagined. And as you can imagine, in a IT company full of people who may or not appear somewhere on the autism spectrum, these little roadblocks visibly frustrated them more than they probably should have.

I get it though, because we are generally upset when out expectations aren't met, but it is worse when we are expecting safety. For a lot of people, that sense of safety disappears when there is any level of uncertainty, and some of these people need a lot of clarity. Under normal conditions, it is possible, but there are always degrees of change that will happen and it comes down to the amount of change a person can handle, or the type of change.

I was semi-prepared, but I did feel a little anxiety or nerves as I drove into the underground parking, and as I went up the elevator, with everyone struggling with the app, mine not working at all. It had a first day of school vibe.

I am not the cool kid.

Never have been, though I am "cool adjacent" these days. Not one of those people that everyone gathers around, but not the person who is avoided. I think this is a good place for me,

Out of the spotlight, but not in the dark.

Was just discussing with a friend that I wish I was more 007, more cool, calm, and collected. It is not that I get flustered that easily, especially professionally. But wouldn't it be great to never be emotionally disrupted? No matter what happens, there is always the clarity of mind to look for an alternative option, a way out of any predicament.

What I noted, was that my "007-ness" depends more on who is around me at the time. For example, if the people are colleagues, I will act with more calmly than if I am with my wife. And, when my wife and I were dating early on, I would have acted calmly then too, with very little "getting to me" at that stage. I think it is like if I stub my toe with people around, or when by myself, when by myself, I curse and get on with it - when people are around, the drama lasts longer.

And this came to mind as I watched some people today, as if they were by themselves, I wonder if they would act differently when they were "hurt" by the disruption. Would they be as anxious, or would they get on with it? I wonder how much of public anxiety is driven by social expectations and what we might think that others think of us?

I suspect quite a lot.

Likely, most of us don't lose our shit in front of strangers, because we care about what those strangers might think of us. But, in the comfort of familiars, we are more willing to be free with our emotions. But, when we are alone and can be as free as we want, we just suck it up, because there is no one there to listen to us complain, or give us sympathy.

In the workplace, most people have some sense of professional understanding, that they can't act completely like toddlers throwing tantrums, so they hold some level of decorum. Yet, I feel that this is also changing, as there has been more of a drive to "express emotions" regardless of the harm it will do, whether to oneself, or to others.

Look at the increase and escalation in road rage incidents.

As we are whittling away the social fabric, the social checks and balances that keep us civil are wearing down also and, more and more people are losing their shit, as if it is acceptable behavior. And, with the decrease in our patience due to the increase in our consumption of short-form consumables and other digital factors, there are an increasing number of opportunities to get frustrated.

Like waiting for an elevator door to close.

How fucking slow...

Who we surround ourselves with matters, and ultimately, we want to be surrounded by those who support us to be our best. This doesn't always mean the people who will support us blindly, and it could mean people who we don't even like, because there are plenty of lessons to learn that can help improve us, that come from sources we wouldn't choose ourselves. The workplace is one of those places, as there tends to be a range of personalities to observe and interact with, from people who we might not choose to spend our time with normally.

What I have found, is that I enjoy spending some time with a range of people in the workplace, even though the majority of my time is spent with people I prefer to be with. There are also various dynamics in the workplace with mixed groups of people that interact differently together, depending on who is there at the time, or if someone else joins mid-conversation.

It is fascinating.

Yet, there is a lot of uncertainty, a lot of variables, and a lot of room for "trigger events" to happen, that disrupt our desired run of show. Events outside of our expectations.

After a month out of the office, and then the dramas of the heating issues we had at the house, it really was nice to be back with colleagues who for the most part, where positive and curious about the new premises, and the opportunities it holds.

And the coffee is much better than it was.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]

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If it makes you feel any better on the tech side of things we get just a frustrated with people as they do with technology. I can at least respect someone who tries. I'm more than happy to help them if they tried and they couldn't figure it out. Then you have those who just throw their hands in the air and don't try. Those people get moved to the bottom of the list for me. We actually just had a discussion at work about what the expectations are for checking your email on the weekend and over breaks. My feeling is it's your job. That isn't widely held. People choosing not to be informed and then being annoyed because they aren't informed seems to be the norm these days.

Then you have those who just throw their hands in the air and don't try.

Yeah, I know these kinds of people too. For many things, not just tech. I have never understood why process minded people avoid learning about people - we are just algorithms, for the most part!

I think people can choose whether or not to check, but I don't expect them to act on anything over the weekend. At least on emails. If something really urgent comes up, a few people have my private number.

I don't know, I still come from that old school thinking of being dedicated to your job. It's hard for me to just shut it off.

It is difficult, but we are also so much more accessible by the job now. I wonder what it looks like if I add all of those little out if work events as overtime hours.

I guess I wouldn't know, I am salary, so there is no such thing as overtime!

I prefer an office without stairs so that you can go out anytime when you have break.

At least for our company, it is pretty relaxed when it comes to taking breaks - as long as you get your work done, no one cares.

At least you've settled into the new office. Soon you will be able to adapt to the situation. I don't consider myself the 007 type, not even close, but I'm learning to be more that type of person because we need it to be able to deal with tough situations more appropriately. Have a great day.

Being cool, calm and collected, means being able to face whatever is thrown - not easy to get, valuable to have.

I think all company systems are the same, sometimes they work smoothly, sometimes they don't. What makes the difference is having people who can help you get unstuck.

Things work out in the end and the sky never falls down.

Wishing you all the best in your new work space

What makes the difference is having people who can help you get unstuck.

Having a good reference group is vital.

We all appreciate our own comforts with those we know and return to patterns we are used to. The coffee tastes better then.

It is so easy to fall into default behavior. A big part of my role is helping people recognize and then shift their defaults to behaviors that help them more.

Congratulations on the new office. Sounds like a move into the future using applications to get things that can be done manually. Every new experience is an amazing experience. Congratulations once again

I don't know if relying on apps is better, nor easier at the moment, but it is the way it goes :)

We moved offices at my last job and it does kind of amuse me that people get so fucked up by the whole thing. There’s nothing constant in life - we have to deal with the changes and adapt. It’s interesting that people think that we can be status quo all the time but that’s never how life works.

New offices are nice though, good to get things in order and all that. The novelty wears off but it sounds like this office should work out well for you in the long run since you can get to it via bus. That’s nice!

I think I work with a number of people who "need" constancy and stability to function. It is strange in IT, considering that the companies themselves are looking to disrupt.

I am on the bus now!

Like a pleb.

Always fun moving to a new office, we did the same recently, I like how when I scanned my card to open the gates, it calls the lift to my floor automatically, does your new office do that?

Oh, that is cool. Ours doesn't do that, but there are also other companies in the building. I wonder if it would get annoying?

There is nothing wrong with not being a 'cool kid' , we cannot all act and behave the same every time. But I also think that sometimes our environment can also determine how we act.

The environment definitely influences our behavior. Bit we can't control it all.

I think change is always disruptive. People don't like it initially because humans are creatures of habit, and having to learn something new is always troublesome. But once they get over that learning curve, they find out the benefits, and can't imagine living without it.

It's great that the coffee is better, and I hope you find more nice things in your new office.

Creatures if habit is a good term O think. I do feel that we are becoming more habitual as we engineer out own environments for convenience and comfort, making change more disruptive than it was.

The food was pretty good at the building restaurant. :)

I don’t really care about what people say but I don’t like to lose my control or anything of such in the presence of strangers
First impression matters a lot so I am always mindful of how I react outside and all

I'm not in a practical life I'm still a student and as according to me when in the school time we shift to new classes it's an exciting thing. And I think their is no compromise on coffee and food.
Well wish you a good luck with your new applications.

New office, new air, new people. Oh no, people are the same :D but in some cases this can be a great thing!

Best of luck for your "old" adventure in the new place!