David's Saga: a continuing series on work today: Episode 1: "Open" Workspaces

David's Saga will embed unvarnished realities and principles of making it in today's tough work world plus my opinions on all manner of things. 

I hope it's more enjoyable as well as more helpful than if I presented these ideas in yet another how-to article or public policy essay.

EPISODE 1: "Open" Workspaces
As usual, David awakes grateful: grateful that he's alive, grateful he's well, and grateful he has a decent job.

Expected to help his wife, Susan, get the kids ready for school even though she only works part-time while he works very full-time, he tries to get his son Damien, to take his own cereal but he likes being served and so throws fits. Too often, Susan gives in, frustrating the hell out of David.

He's grateful to finally escape into his car--Even sitting in gridlock is preferable to his home's morning madness. But gridlock raises his blood pressure too. He's angry not at the drivers but at the damn transportation planners for--in an utterly vain attempt to stop global warming--refusing to build more freeways so--a la slowly ratcheted-up torture--we're forced out of our cars and into the much more time-consuming and sardined mass transit. David would rather sit in gridlock in the sanctuary of his car.

He arrives at the double-glass doors. "It's showtime," he reminds himself.  He pastes his corporate-acceptable smile and makes corporate-acceptable greetings to coworkers as he strides to his cube. In corporate America, especially if you're 40+, you may not trudge, you must stride. But not too fast--that would make you seem insufficiently controlled, just a moderate stride, with good posture: chin up, back straight, shoulders back, chest out. As Cosmo founder Helen Gurley Brown said, "After 40, it all comes down to posture."

HR had sent an email indicating they might finally listen to employees' pleas to add high walls to the cubes. David thought, "What a stupid idea: "open space workplaces.". Yeah, it lets us collaborate, if listening to people blab about their kids is the sort of collaboration you want. But you can't think, let alone get work done." But it's been six months since HR sent that memo and, no surprise, still no wallettes, let alone walls. "I guess they're too busy revamping the corporate mission statement. After all, it's hard to justify keeping "People are our most important product," when they keep announcing layoffs to reduce headcount, oops, "rightsizing the organization."

No sooner does David's butt hit his chair when a colleague comes in: "The Big Enchilada wants to see us in five."

"That can't be good. Will I still have a job?"


HERE is the link to Episode 2.