What Affects How We Feel At Work

Here are some thoughts from the great book, Escape from Cubicle Nation. It lists down what affects how we feel (alive, passionate, relaxed, happy) at work:

Physical work environment: type of building, color scheme, how desks are laid out, natural vs. artificial lights, etc.

Type of business: for-profit, nonprofit, established, start-up, your own business

Business culture: how people treat each other, values displayed by actions of all employees (not just words), policies and procedures or lack of thereof

Communication styles of managers, clients, and coworkers: direct or indirect, confrontational vs. relaxed and open

Size of business: number of employees

Type of work content: what the company is in the business fo selling, e.g. financial services, retail, consulting, consumer products, software, etc.

Skills and talents used in work: which skills you are using in your day-to-day work activities

Here’s my take on the following:

• I had once worked in a start up company that started its operations at the condominium of the COO. Seeing the sofa and the television on only made us think of home and rest. I think you know how that worked (hint: sleepiness)
• I’m almost never going to work for a non start-up company. I just hate it. It must be a good thing for others. It’s just not something for me. I’d tell you about it later.
• I recently resigned from a company that vulgar words were spoken in almost every sentence when my co-workers spoke. I resigned two months later.
• The last one is a no-brainer. If you aren’t doing something you generally like doing, you’ll be miserable.
• I should probably add that salary also sometimes affect how we feel at work

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