One of the more important things, aside from actually enjoying the work you do, is the environment in which you do it. People always say to work effectively, your chair can’t be too rigid, and it can’t be too comfortable‒its finding that balance between your happy place and a productive work space that is often tough to achieve. Personally, I am an advocate for creating an ideal work environment before I can even think about being productive. If you aren’t content in your situation, you will be grumpy regardless of the work you produce. At the same time, it seems that the best work is produced when an employee is as happy as can be.

My last job was an engineering position at a small start up company: the walls were blank, everyone was 30+ years older than me and my boss was crabby. There was nothing except bad coffee and my bike ride to work to keep me happy. Yuck! After that experience, you could say I was scared to death of my future in the job market. Luckily, there was a position at Synotac which fit me perfectly.

At Synotac, I have found a lovely balance between working in a professional, effective environment, and being comfortable. For the most part, when I am in the world of programming or web design‒staring at the lovely, glowing goodness that is my flat-screen monitor‒I have my headphones on. This plays into the same chair-theory that i mentioned before. I suppose if the music were too loud or distracting, I wouldn’t be very productive, but it always seems to keep me sane. In the last 15 years of my life, its a rare day when I don’t enjoy some form of music. Especially when it comes to getting work done, I encourage all of you to find some music that is the perfect blend of mentally stimulating and relaxing. Lyrics can be distracting sometimes, so good instrumental tunes are always a plus. Some of my personal work-favorites include Led Zeppelin, DJ Shadow, The Shins, The Talking Heads, and A Tribe Called Quest. Here at Synotac, many of us share our music libraries, so if I’m curious I can always find out what other people are listening to.

Besides the music, there’s a plethora things at Synotac which keep me happy…

-Twelve-foot windows illuminate the walls of our lofty office, each of which is covered in beautiful paintings by Mama-Synotac, Jan Madill; having a well-lit, nicely decorated office can do a lot for a dreary morning. You can see her art at www.jamimi.com.

-Another thing which helps is a nice cup of coffee. Lately, we have been frequenting Stumptown Coffee Roasters for our beans, which is yet to let us down.

-Recently, we scattered several house plants around the office, giving it a nice jungle feel. Office plants are always nice; its something pretty to look at, and its always fun to take a quick break from work to water them.

-Similar to Google (check out their workspaces), here at Synotac we work in one giant room, all interacting with one another and having fun while we work. I think it gives a feeling of connectivity and unity. My best work is done when I am working for a clear common goal, and it is a great motivation when you are constantly face to face with co-workers that you care about.

-Another key element is food. I love food. Without it, my afternoon productivity would come to a grinding halt. As many of my co-workers (playfully) criticize me for eating out all the time, I can’t help but indulge in going to “The Carts” as we call them. There are about 10-20 carts on SW 5th between Oak and Stark streets. Each cart is a family-owned mobile food vehicle which serve everything you could ever want: Thai, Indian, Polish, Mexican…you name it. Check them out.

So, if you aren’t feeling happy and productive at work, try some of the things we do at Synotac…It might work for you.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 11:37 am and is filed under Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.