My Top Four Workplaces: Ranked From Worst to Best
I have worked in quite a few different places over the years. Ok, decades.
Open-plan offices. Tiny offices. Studios. Voiceover booths. Parisian attics. And, of course, my own home. And it turns out I have some very strong opinions about what makes a good workplace. Those with a canteen and a chef who can cook you a minute steak rank very highly, tbh.
Inadvertently, over the years, I managed to create the best workplace sort of without really thinking about it. Now, being more mindful about such matters, I reflected on those workplaces that enabled me to do my best because my body was happy and didn’t need to stage a small rebellion.
So, with no scientific research at all, here is my ranking of the workplaces I have worked in and made some pretty dreadful puns in, from worst to best.
4. The Open Plan Office
The worst place I have ever experienced.
What do you mean that I have to hear and see everyone all the time, all day long? The phones ringing, the conversations, people popping up from their little cubicles like meerkats. Too many distractions. Homemade muffins and focaccia on tap was nice though. The raspberry and white chocolate muffins the head of press made remain my faves.
Too many voices, facts, opinions, sound. And, of course, the massive fights over the ambient temperature. And nope, the many blankets peppering the backs of office chairs weren’t a fashion statement.
A firm 5/10.
3. The Tiny Office
Ok, so I have fond memories of tiny offices, one in Paris, on Rue Royale, and one in Mayfair.
The Parisian attic lift-shaft office, where I shared the space with three other stagiaires and a lot of paperwork, I’m talking floor-to-ceiling, was a wonderful space.
I was responsible for the instructional text on the back of shampoo and styling products. Yes, walnut-, pea- and satsuma-sized amounts. That was all me.
But I inadvertently discovered the wonders of a post-lunch siesta. Heads on tables. Lights off. The whirr of the lift mechanism to lull us to sleep.
Cosy, even on some pretty long and stressful days.
Who runs the world? Us stagiaires, each summer, apparently. I hear Rue Royale has had an upgrade. I do wonder if that lift-shaft office still exists.
A Good 7/10
4. The Open Plan Office
Why a padded-cell-like environment became my happy place.
Before Covid, I used to record voiceovers in Soho studios, and I discovered that the humble voiceover booth was basically an accessibility dream. There were snacks. There were herbal teas with honey because apparently people who use their voices professionally are allowed to have their throats treated like precious national infrastructure.
There were padded walls, which were excellent for acoustic reasons but also happened to make the whole environment feel wonderfully contained, cosy and warm. There were seats where you could actually sit down between takes.
Scripts could be provided in a larger font, which was much easier on my eyes.
The lighting could often be dimmed.
And nobody looked at you strangely if you needed to pause or drink water. In fact, it was encouraged. Unless, of course, you had to deliver a lot of words in an impossibly short amount of air time, in which case needing the toilet was a highly effective way of testing your breath control.
You were there to do a job, and the environment was designed to help you do that job. And that, to me, is the important bit. The accommodation wasn't the point. The work was the point. Nobody needed a dramatic conversation about whether I was “really committed” because I wanted a larger font, needed to sit down, or fancied a snack or two.
The environment simply allowed me to work. Imagine that. A solid 9/10.
1. Working from home
And finally, my number one workplace.
Home. Obvs.
I can have the lighting, temperature, chair, cushion, blanket, water breaks, toilet breaks, snack breaks, snooze breaks and all the cat cuddles I want.
Home allows me to have a quiet day when my capacity dips.
It allows me to work with my body, with my own rhythm, rather than against it.
10/10 chefs kiss, no notes.
While WFH isn't for everyone, for me it made something very clear: Accessibility is often about giving people enough flexibility to work in the way that works for them. And this is why I think workplace accommodations matter so much for people living with disability, chronic illness and fluctuating conditions.
I feel sometimes people might think accommodation is specialist and takes up resources, when in fact it can simply be a larger font size or a quiet room to think. Sometimes it is flexibility around when and where work happens.
And sometimes it is simply being trusted to know what helps you work well. The interesting thing is that many of these things aren't exclusively useful to disabled people.
Quiet spaces help people concentrate. Flexible working helps people manage caring responsibilities. Better lighting helps tired eyes. Breaks help people maintain energy.
Comfortable seating helps… well, pretty much everyone.
And perhaps that is the bigger lesson from my highly scientific workplace ranking. The best workplace isn't necessarily the one with the fanciest office, the newest furniture or the most impressive communal kitchen.
It is the one where people have enough understanding, flexibility and choice to do their work well. Because perhaps instead of asking:
“What accommodation does this person need?”
we could sometimes start by asking:
“What kind of environment allows this person to do their best work?”
That question benefits rather more people than we might initially think.
And if you’re reading this thinking, “Actually, I’m not sure the way I’m working is working for me anymore,” that’s something we can explore together.
Through coaching, I help people living with chronic illness, disability and changing capacity make sense of where they are now, find ways of working that fit their reality, and perhaps most importantly, find their story again.
Because sometimes the answer isn’t to push yourself harder.
Sometimes it’s to ask a different question.
Comments