Do you want to work in a place like this? Part 1
Most of the time when we're looking for work we think about things like salary, location, prospects for promotion and whether we might enjoy working with our new boss and colleagues. In other words, we focus on the relative merits of the JOB. In this article (in 3 parts) we consider what it's like to be employed in different types of WORKPLACES.
Do you want to work in a place like this?
Workplace #1: Action Stations!
Who would work here?
Highly-skilled technical and professional roles: television producers, surgeons, air crew, military personnel, air traffic controllers, news broadcasters, traders in the financial markets, astronauts, law enforcement.
The setting
Something like 'The West Wing': fast-paced, fast-thinking and even faster-talking. Wherever a combination of real-time events, rapid decision-making and high technology needs to be managed, interpreted and acted upon. Television production galleries jammed full of monitors, microphones, consoles and clocks with highly-strung people barking instructions and timing their actions to the millisecond; on the bridge of an aircraft carrier in the midst of a battle, the terrifying roar of jet engines interrupted only by klaxons and gunfire; operating theatres six hours into a heart and lung transplant operation.
The regime
There is usually a strict hierarchy but all present have to concentrate on their own responsibilities, there is little time or provision for acting on instructions. Individuals are expected to apply their expertise in a consistent manner - each person must carry his or her own weight for the duration of their shift. In return for such sustained commitment there are usually high levels of professionalism, mutual respect and minimal explicit discipline.
What to look forward to
When all systems are go, expect adrenaline, instant results from your actions, high levels of mutual trust and camaraderie, excitement and professional fulfilment. However, once one's shift is over, and all one's stress chemicals have been metabolised, it's easy to become listless and bored: everyday reality is somewhat dull in comparison and there may be long stretches of complete inaction between broadcasts, operations, flights or missions.
Many of these jobs are considered prestigious, exclusive and even sexy. Some of them happen to pay very well.
What to brace yourself against
Even after you have won the job thanks to natural aptitude and fierce commitment (expect fierce competition from other hopefuls), a long period of training must be completed. You will have to be able to withstand high levels of stress, especially if things go wrong (and they inevitably will). Prestige, exclusivity and sexiness are signs that there is a long way to fall after spectacular failure. Your skills may not be transferable to more mundane jobs if the need arises. The hours are likely to be extremely irregular and shifts may be very long - these are definitely not 9-to-5 jobs, you may have to say goodbye to weekends and public holidays while having to adjust to having days off in the middle of the week.
A career at the leading edge of your field may be relatively short - burnout or physical demands may mean that you have to look for less active alternatives long before you become eligible for retirement.
Who will survive here?
If you are a quick and effective thinker with physical and mental stamina who thrives in stressful situations and can cope with long hours, you will flourish in these working conditions. In fact, having to work anywhere other than where the action is will leave you bored and lacking motivation. If your current job is tedious and leaves you unfulfilled, think about finding work in a place like this.
Workplace #2: Hotdesking in the Flexible Workspace
Who would work here?
Until recently, hotdesking (or location independent working) had been the modus operandi of young, dynamic information workers in the consulting and high technology sector. However, in recent years, the cost of providing permanent office space for all employees, increased dependence on information technology and a wider liberalisation of ideas about the workplace has seen hotdesking spread throughout the economy: the practice is being introduced throughout the public and private sectors.
The setting
Hotdesking was originally a cost-cutting technique that was adopted by companies where employees were found to be spending less than a third of their time at their desks. It may have it origins in hotbunking, a system introduced to make the most of limited space on naval vessels. A significant proportion of the ship's crew would always be on duty so it would be a waste of space and resources to supply beds for all of them.
Hotdesking relies on a similar assumption that a predictable proportion of people are going to be away from their desks at any given time. Hotdesking therefore lends itself to organisations where meetings with clients and extended periods away from headquarters can be expected. For example, PriceWaterhouseCoopers has 4,500 employees yet the firm provides office space for only 2,500 personnel - the remainder are distributed throughout meeting rooms, client offices and business class lounges around the world.
The regime
Flexibility is the principle that governs the hotdesking workplace. For some this means the freedom to get on with one's work without extraneous concerns about where one is working. For others though, flexibility is another word for insecurity: how could one work happily without family photos, familiar surroundings, colleagues who have become close friends or a feeling of indispensability?
Hotdesking regimes are usually examples of flat hierarchies - management roles and chains of command are hard to discern. Instead, the emphasis is on the performance of individuals who are corralled into temporary teams. Formal professionalism and a commitment to after-hours drinking or sport make up the glue that holds the teams (and the company as a whole) together. Otherwise, all is flux.
The IT department wields enormous power in the flexible workplace - without their continuous battle to keep everything and everybody efficiently interconnected, the hotdesking system would collapse under its own internal pressures and contradictions within hours.
What to look forward to
You will be your own boss - the only way to find more freedom, in terms of where and when you do your work, would be to run your own business. Hotdesking offices depend on technology, so if you like to plug-in and play with whizzy new gadgets and are happy being drenched by a continuous wash of information, you'll enjoy yourself.
The flexible workplace characterised by hotdesking has the potential to be a chaotic mess of self-interest and internal conflict. To counter this, a lot of effort is put into fostering a company culture, or esprit de corps. If you are able to buy into this, the efforts your employer makes to bring people together by means of parties, perks and generous bonuses may make your working life very satisfying. You might even enjoy singing the company song to yourself while twirling your company umbrella on the way home from the company gym.
Your bosses will not expect you to be at your desk all the time: think of the possibilities.
What to brace yourself against
Insecurity - the companies that invented hotdesking also invented downsizing and being cancelled . The technology that permits hotdesking, though ingenious and highly developed, is far from perfect - network downtime may become a regular entry in the minute-by-minute logging of your day's activities. The company culture and the go-getting people you work with may get up your nose. Despite thinking of yourself as super-efficient consulting machine, the creature comforts of having your own desk, drawers and familiar surrounding and people shouldn't be underestimated.
Who will survive here?
Only those who have the enthusiasm and adaptability to work anywhere, without prompting or coercion, will thrive in the flexible workplace. You need to be stoical self-starter, a person who can slot into any team at a moment's notice - ditherers or incompetents need not apply.
If you can do all of this, drink your share in the company bar and still entertain thoughts about going to the gym in the morning you might one day win a permanent seat in the boardroom.