June 11, 2015 - Written by: Poppy Gillian

Working In An Office: Pros And Woes

When I went to the job interview for my current job, one of the things that made me really want to get it, was the office. It was open-plan, light and airy with big windows and loads of natural light. Up until that point I had been situated in what was little more than a cupboard; dark and dingy. I found out that working alone is very different from working with other people and being in a shared office has it’s pros and cons.

1. Everyone knows what time you get in and when you leave. This is good when you get in nice and early and look keen. Not so good if you slept through your alarm and arrive with unbrushed hair and a burnt piece of toast hanging out of your mouth. Also, not so great if you plan on leaving the office ten minutes before your official end time so you can fit in a manicure before a big night out.

(Image via)

2. Everyone can see what’s on your computer screen. This means you can’t do a bit of sneaky online shopping or watch funny YouTube videos.

3. Everyone knows when you’re ill. This is good when you are genuinely ill and want to feel justified in taking a few days off. It will also evoke sympathy from your compassionate colleagues. But it’s bad news if you want to pull a sickie as this will require serious acting skills. It is also sod’s law that you will then get ill for real because bacteria spreads like wildfire around the office.

4. It’s easy to get distracted. When your colleagues are having funny conversations it’s hard not to join in. Who doesn’t want to hear the story about when someone tobogganed down a hill on a vacuum cleaner? However, it can be a nuisance when you have a deadline and find yourself reading the same sentence five times.

5. When you make tea you end up having to make ten cups with variations of strength and sweetness. By the time you’ve finished there isn’t any time left for you to drink it.

6. On the days you don’t feel like talking to people, people will definitely talk to you. Some days you just want to be left to get on with it, but you end up in a lengthy conversation about the merits of buying flat-pack furniture from Ikea.

7. There are lots of after work trips to the pub.

8. You are bound to get drunk and say something inappropriate which you feel extremely guilty about, and the next day everyone will bring it up when you’re desperately trying to forget it ever happened.