Just an ounce of thought is all it takes

[12string]

The company has poured $millions into renovating the building.  Gutting the building, new offices, fancy new furniture - no expense spared.  Of course, it's this dumb open office idea, so they are (correctly) concerned that  now that people are moving into the finished spaces, we'll just junk it up.  So they've instituted a new program and guidelines.  No coats on chairs.  Put stuff away, keep it clean, no clutter.  Use uniform company provided desktop mail holders, pencil holders, etc.  No potted plants, they will be strategically located by the company.  One desktop framed picture - in the company provided frame.  Catch words like "Sort, Sanitize, Shine, Standardize".  There's a committtee to enforce the standardization, in keeping with the "S" words, they are called - "5S".

Yes, I read it as 2 letters a whole bunch of times, too.

[bikeman564™]

Ah, 5S.  Years ago we went to lean office. But like most of the Kaizen events done company wide, the outcomes don't last long. Someone at my place didn't like coats on chairs...who tf cares.

[jsharr ★]

13 minutes ago, 12string said:

The company has poured $millions into renovating the building.  Gutting the building, new offices, fancy new furniture - no expense spared.  Of course, it's this dumb open office idea, so they are (correctly) concerned that  now that people are moving into the finished spaces, we'll just junk it up.  So they've instituted a new program and guidelines.  No coats on chairs.  Put stuff away, keep it clean, no clutter.  Use uniform company provided desktop mail holders, pencil holders, etc.  No potted plants, they will be strategically located by the company.  One desktop framed picture - in the company provided frame.  Catch words like "Sort, Sanitize, Shine, Standardize".  There's a committtee to enforce the standardization, in keeping with the "S" words, they are called - "5S".

Yes, I read it as 2 letters a whole bunch of times, too.

I suggest you point this out to them and suggest Kompany Kleaning Krew as an alternative

 

[Wilbur ★]

It is important to kill individuality and creative thought in the workplace. 

[jdc2000]

 

[maddmaxx ★]

Ve vill control your vertical.  Ve vill control your horizontal.  You vill follow orders ja.

[12string]

I can guarantee that I'll violate these rules in the first 10 minutes.

Wait til they see the kind of junk engineers absolutely need on their desks to do their jobs.  No way it's getting put away every night!

[jsharr ★]

3 minutes ago, 12string said:

I can guarantee that I'll violate these rules in the first 10 minutes.

Wait til they see the kind of junk engineers absolutely need on their desks to do their jobs.  No way it's getting put away every night!

I wear so many freaking hats that my desk is a constant cacaphony of misplaced files that need sorting.  I am surprised I do not lose stuff, but I don't. 

[Ralphie ★]

My office is a total shithole right now!

[maddmaxx ★]

In my lab, I had my desk and another desk behind my back.  The one in front had multiple monitors, parts orders, instructions, stuff and the one in back a stereo microscope and a dual soldering station, more parts, more prints and tools everywhere.

Needless to say they moved me out of cubeville quickly and into the lab.  Because it was a laser lab and I had control over most of the electronic parts and ckt boards I built a high wall cubicle around my desks made out of metal parts cabinets with only one access point.  One does not sit comfortably at eye height to work benches with operating lasers.

Everyone in that business has a Nike Swoosh scar somewhere on their body.  That's the result of "into beam, ouch, out of beam quickly"

[Wilbur ★]

My daughters first assignment at her Ad agency was to spend three days decorating her cubicle.  

[Dottleshead ★]

2 hours ago, Wilbur said:

It is important to kill individuality and creative thought in the workplace. 

This is one of the reasons I like my job... it is not this.

[Kzoo]

Thought is overrated.

 

[Dottleshead ★]

3 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

Thought is overrated.

 

So is stupidity... err intellectualism.

[2Far ★]

My office door is at the end of the hall, as in if you walk straight down the hall you walk into my office. The view from the hall is of a decently ordered office. Once you break the plane of the doorway, you get a sense of the catastrophe. 

 

[Further]

An ounce is a lot when all you have is grams

[shootingstar]

I currently work in an area where it's more paper and mess-clutter in our cubicles. And it's predominantly female based work group. Different from previous dept. where it was 50-50 gender split where a lot of folks were neat.  

No, most of these women don't include flowers, cutesy stuff and rarely any family photos.  You would be amazed..totally unlike tea-party /garden party stereotype.  Multiple prs. of shoes underneath desktops, etc.  Most of us, don't have time to dress up cubicles.  We're more worried about have right pile of functioning laptops for corporate group training sessions and matching cords, mice and mousepads when heading out to meeting rms.

I'm not totally neat...by comparison, moderate mess.  I used to be even messier.

But despite all these visual impressions, these workers are organized in delivering service. 

Is this standardization thing, a corporate private sector thing?   For public sector, in departments, that don't publicly face the public there's abit more individuality and clutter.  The biggest concern is not leave confidential info. lying around. Though more digital these days, there's still enough paper..it's just too expensive to scan large volumes of older stuff.  I have never seen any corporate communique about cubicle office environment standardization:  instead what is expected is conveying respect, etc.  Which means no perfume, no porn, no bad jokes, etc.

[shootingstar]

Rather interesting where I work, different floors are different depts. and corporate cultural differences is reflected.  I used to work for a department known through the corporation/bureaucracy, as more technical, support (GIS, information analytics, project management, field surveying, technical drafting, etc.). Furnishings are abit basic, carpeting is over 30 years old and same for colours.  Yet for finance, facility management, beautiful new finishes for employee kitchens, meeting rms.  Not sure you would call luxurious...because we're govn't.  Just more sleek, contemporary design. Instead of clean shabby 1970's retro.