Much of my day is spent in Manhattan at the office. But I rarely show you what goes on there. And while I won't bore you with the 'work' part of that ... I can show you some of our new digs. 
About 6 months ago we changed our building location and moved into a a new style of floor plan. It's what's called an 'open floor plan.' Sounds nice, right? Plenty of space, big windows, lots of lounge-like areas. So what's the catch? The catch is that in order to get lots of cool fun common area, you have to give up offices. Wholesale. There are no doors in this place expect those on the bathroom stalls, a handful of conference rooms and the front door to the office. We sit in rows of desks. In fact, we don't have assigned seating. Instead we all were issued a locker (the size of which you'd get at the bowling alley to keep your shoes and jacket in). Seriously, no kidding.
But there are fun things about this open floor plan. Lots of collaboration (aka noise) and people leaning in to impromptu meetings. The entire floor is the length of a New York City block, which makes for a lot of walking in a day. It is really common for people to wear the biometric bracelets to keep track of steps, heartrate, etc. I've heard from several people that they'd made their 'step goal' by noon.
With this week being St. Patrick's the office threw a little party in our beer garden. Yes, we have a beer garden. It is fully stocked with one of our client's products --- beer (from Miller Coors). It is always stocked with beer, so if you feel like grabbing one after work with a co-worker then it is only a few steps away. I especially love the gnome side tables. They make me giggle every time I see them, and they make me think of Christine and Bobbie who seem to have an affinity for them.
To date my blog has been mostly about beads, various travel and history. But I've been doing so much lately at the office, including business travel, that I thought I'd share some of these stories. This part of my life seems to be eating into my beady life, so I might as well show you what is consuming my time lately. Hope you all have a happy (and safe!) St. Patrick's celebration!
Your very own Beer Garden! Do they serve schnitzel, giant pretzels, and butterkasse?
ReplyDeleteTop o' the morning to you, Cynthia!
ReplyDeleteI am completely intrigued by this office space! The whole of it.
And while I love one particular gnome, I would LOVE these little dudes in my yard to hold my coffee, cards, and beer (and beads too!). I will be on the lookout :-D
The beer garden including gnome tables is great!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I would feel horribly uncomfortable working in an open plan office...;-)
Sounds really different. I don't think I've ever seen a work space like that.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun work atmosphere :) Love the beer garden!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds and looks so fun! It is actually awesome that you are sort of forced to exercise. I love the beer garden idea for the work place! This environment must really foster creativity.
ReplyDeleteI love the gnome, even if he is so much better behaved than Christine's...
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting office space to work in!
I worked for 10 years in an open office environment -- which took me 10 years to get used to! It was hard enough to hold a conversation with the person next to me, yet alone talk on the telephone! Not my cup of tea! On the plus side, however, I learned how to tune out just above every noise around me, working this way. Nowadays, I can sit on the couch now with the TV ABSOLUTELY blaring with 2 adults in the room deep in conversation, and read an intense novel, and not be fazed by the din within the room!
ReplyDeleteMy yard is FILLED with what I call garden - art - ceramic pieces lovingly made by my mother. I will have to share a picture of the gnomes in my garden - they are my FAVORITE pieces!
Now, the Beer Garden - yes...that would make the open office space worth it to me! :)
I love hearing about your work adventures! It's so different than what I'm used to that I find it fascinating! I do like my private home office with kitties though.
ReplyDeleteOMG - LOVE the gnome tables, how fun are those! your office looks very bright and the open concept would be interesting to say the least.
ReplyDeleteHi Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteWow that is some kind of work environment, never a dull moment with all the folks around you. A beer garden now that is a great concept, too bad I work in Law Enforcement, cause that would never be allowed. I love the little Gnome tables they are so cute. What is this about Christine's mischievous Gnome? I must have missed that conversation.
Thank you for sharing another side of you with us.
Therese
What a fun post, to see a completely different side of your life. Do you think the open office floor plan is more productive? I went from having my own office to sharing an office and I love the change. Not sure how it would work with a huge group though. Very interesting.
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