office heaven

Got a great place to work? A beautiful setting in the countryside, an amazing office, a tricked out cubicle, awesome colleagues? What makes where you work so special?

I work projects, so have moved around a bit over the last few years when it comes to offices. I also make use of a small nook (think The Cupboard Under the Stairs, No 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging) when I’m working from home. Some of the places I have worked have been somewhat dark and dreary, others have been all shiny a new, but the best experiences are always those with the best colleagues. I have found that the environment can lack inspiration and the work is a grind, but throw in a few awesome people to work with and it changes everything.

People

I have been lucky in that in pretty much every project there has been at least one person that makes the work fun/exciting/challenging (in a good way)/educational. Here are a few of those people:

Paul

Why? He makes me laugh. And he manages to do it with very little effort too, and it’s not that I’m easy to amuse either (another story altogether). I met Paul some years back when I worked for a small company during my university vacations and by chance we are now working closely once again. He was hilarious then and hasn’t changed one iota. His mannerisms, his outlook on life, his witty banter and way with words all make the current project a fun place to be.

Kappow! Who needs Red Bull when you've got 'Whoop Ass'

Johnny & Jonathan

Why? Energy. Pure and simple. These two guys (both managers of mine) just had so much energy it was infectious. And their energy was natural too, not the kind that you can buy for a few bucks and tends to rot your teeth. Always positive, always encouraging, these guys got the most out of me and I thoroughly enjoyed working with them – and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Nxumsa

Why? She was learning about reporting services and gave me the opportunity to teach. One of greatest gifts is the ability to share our knowledge and to uplift the community where we can. Although, according to Buck Woody (Blog | @buckwoody), teaching/mentoring is also the best form of education (or ‘retention’ if you’re being pedantic). So, being able to impart some knowledge (ok, so some may have been a little dubious…) to a co-worker was a great experience for me too, and given the opportunity to do it again, I wouldn’t hesitate.

Godfrey/Johan/Pierre

Why? I learnt from them. Whilst most of what I learnt was technical – introductions to DTS, SSIS, scripting amongst other things, a lot of what I learnt was about tenacity, camaraderie, diplomacy & negotiation. If you thought that being a great developer/DBA involved just the technical stuff then you’d be wrong. There is a whole list of soft skills to pick up on and this is best done through working with the right people.

Anthony

Why? For all the above reasons. Funny? He’s hilarious. Intelligent? You betcha – but he didn’t know everything, so it was a great moment when I got to teach. Passion & Energy? Like no other. And I don’t think there was a time he didn’t have a smile on his face (that I know of anyway). He is a great mate of mine and one that I miss having around since having moved to the UK.

Environment

Working in a beautiful/funky environment is always a pleasure.  In the places that I have worked there are a few that stand out as Great Places To Work:

• A refitted barn on a river in the UK
• At home in the garden
• A converted warehouse loft space – probably one of my favourite places as there was so much space and I had a window out onto a garden that was home to many birds.

Here are a few pictures of those places:

at work in the countryside

my friday office

a lofty desk perspective

Other factors

There are many other things that could make where you work a better place. For me this includes:

• Not just ‘good’, but GREAT Coffee!
• Awesome colleagues
• A personal space (making your desk space your own)
• A great chair
• A clear desk
• Decent hardware (PC/Laptop)
• Being part of a team that shares a common goal
• A great canteen or coffee shop
• Access to online resources (in a corporate environment this can be difficult as web access is severely restricted)
• Challenging projects – forcing the need to keep learning new things
• …many more

So now you know a little more about where I have worked and what makes keeps my work satisfaction at a good level, I would like to know more about where you work and what makes it a great place. So I’m tagging the following to find out:

• Rob Farley (Blog | @rob_farley) – because [apparently] Adelaide is awesome and he doesn’t have a dedicated office space (his work is onsite mostly).
• Steve Jones (Blog Blog | @way0utwest) – because he lives in and works from a ranch in the middle of the US
• Jorge Segarra (Blog | @SQLChicken) – because he has a rubber chicken pinned to his office wall. Oh, and he lives & works in Tampa, Florida.
• Jenifer Stirrup (Blog | @jenstirrup) – because she is currently working for a University that is over 800 years old.