Work environment

[smittenbyu]

It's amazing that in the world today you can do work (in some fields) where each of you lives in a different part of the world. Of course, the main challenge is figuring out a good time as the time differences vary.  But it allows people to have flexibility to work from home/office/starbucks, etc. It's helped me immensely to be able to return work.

One thing I absolutely dread and I am finding out I am not alone is the amount of time spent on teleconferences, either through actual physical phones or Skype or GoToMeeting or whateverOtherWebPlatform. I didn't realise till I started work, how much I dread speaking on the phone. I get completely tongue tied and it's so stressful.

So, I prefer taking teleconference calls from home and not the office. So, I walk around the house before the call "loosening up" like I would before going up on stage for a performance. ha! Isn't that funny! I love the stage. I guess I like seeing my audience. I like people. I like being around them. I like the company. And that's one thing I miss the most about the current work style.

I do go to office twice a week when N is around. So, I do get my working-people fix now and then. One of the partners who join the call also have their office in DC. Sometimes (once a month) we go to their office instead of a teleconference. It's fun. It's nice.

I guess though, I wouldn't trade the benefits for anything else. And yet, in 20 minutes we have our weekly call. In the past month or two, I was just the note-taker, backstage-worker. Now, I am a lead on one of the project's aspect! yay! But it means I have to actually report on something lasting more than 5 minutes!! arrrrghhhh...

I dance and sing to, oh goodness I know, but to Shake it off! It's daughter's and my favourite song to get all our sillies out!

What is your work environment like?

Comments

[echomyst.livejournal.com]

I get stressed out by phone calls too. I prefer talking face to face. Visual cues, maybe? When I used to phone parents (of my students), I'd scribble down things I want to say before dialing.

Post graduation, I've only ever really worked in school settings - not counting volunteer work with hospice - and that's where I'm most at home! :-)

[amygooglegirl.livejournal.com]

My team has 6 people in the UK (all of us near each other) and two people in Pune, India. They work quite late in the day Indian-time so our working hours overlap mostly. We talk daily on the phone, instant messaging and email, and they've both spent a year in our office in the past so we got to know them. It's not an ideal situation really but we do our best to make it work.