I sit alone in the office all day. "I hate office life

When I was seven years old, I once asked my mother: “what will happen after I finish school?” Even then I didn’t like getting up early every day, going somewhere, sitting in boring classes, and then doing my homework. I thought that at the end there should be some kind of reward: “Now I work, and then in a few years this work will be rewarded and I will be able to walk, have fun with friends and do nothing.” This seemed to me, a child, logical and self-evident.

My mother answered my question:

- Then you will go to the institute, there you won’t need to study so much anymore, the lessons go until 12 or until one and they don’t ask homework every day. True, there are exams, but they are only a couple of times a year.
Hooray! — I thought — Here it is, the reward at the end!
— Well, what about after college? I continued.
- After graduation, work! Mom answered.
— And how much to work?
- Every day except weekends.

…A feeling of terror had already begun to creep up on me.

“The same as at school?” Does work end during the day?
No, work starts early in the morning and ends in the evening!
- BUT summer vacation there is?
And they don't...
- And how many years to work like that?
Until old age...

This is where my childish concept of the logic underlying human aspirations began to burst at the seams! “How so, I thought, because everyone talks about school as a preparation for something more interesting and good!” “Here you are, they say, be patient a little, and then it will be better.” "It's hard to learn - easy to fight!"

But why endure all these responsibilities for the sake of having even more of these responsibilities in the future? Why wake up early now for the sake of waking up early all your life? Why sacrifice games with friends in favor of having even less time for these games?

Probably then, for the first time in my life, I realized some kind of senseless, deeply illogical and absurd tragedy of human existence. Going to school all your life - what could be worse?

But the years went by. Gradually my mind came to terms with this state of affairs. Then a feeling of absurdity, disagreement with existing order things still quite intensively (although extremely stupidly) manifested itself during the period of youthful hormonal storms. But then, after graduating from the institute, I, like everyone else, got a job in the office. I no longer saw anything terrible and illogical in the prospect of working until retirement. But a few years ago, a child who disagreed with such a destiny woke up.

Victim? Or…

In this article I will tell you why I do not like hired office work and do not see my future in it.

In presenting my thoughts, I will try to avoid the critical assessment of office work that the authors of such articles resort to. For example, some of them see hired work as sheer subservience to authorities and the loss of a free life, the lot of cowards and losers. A good (albeit a bit radical) article by Steve Pavlin "10 reasons not to go to work" is such an example (original and Russian translation .

Although I dislike a lot of office life, I am somewhat alien to this author's position. As I wrote in my article “How not to work at work”: “the office is different for the office.” I am sure that many people have the opportunity to get hired work on comfortable conditions. Whereas own business, in many of its manifestations, may represent a more sophisticated and painful version of slavery than the notorious work "for an uncle."

So while there is a lot of criticism in this article, I don't want to apply it to every single job in the office. Rather, I attribute it to the general trends.

Also, what distinguishes my position from the opinion of many authors is that I do not see the “victim” of an office worker. An ordinary worker does not seem to me a victim of a cruel System, a soulless machine, a terrible Moloch, which sucks all individuality out of a person and, against his own will, makes him a passive and obedient slave.

No, in my opinion, a person is not a victim, but an ally and partner of this system, he not only gives to it, but also receives from it. And this exchange cannot be called exclusively material, since it is also psychological. Office work satisfies some spiritual needs of a person. In other words, many people want to work there and even get some pleasure from it. What kind of sacrifice can we talk about then? And so, before moving on to criticism of office work, I will try to analyze the basic psychological premises of why people are willing to devote most of their lives to wage work with satisfaction.

Why do we love the office?

Happiness in contrast

Unfortunately, most people do not know what happiness is. Happiness that exists regardless of any achievements, awards, life circumstances. Happiness just like that, connected only with the fact that a person is alive and breathing.

Many people can feel some bright positive emotions only in contrast to negative emotions.

And office life provides them with such an opportunity. I remember how, during my office work, the gloom of Monday was set off by the relief of Friday. I saw before me the long-awaited weekend, which, from the perspective of Friday evening, seemed to have no boundaries!

For a whole week I worked at a job I didn't like, getting up early to catch a cold day. commuter train, but now I can feel free for a short time and do what I want! Drink, drink and sleep late!

But that's just the weekend. And what happened on the days before the holidays, especially on the days before new year holidays! It was much better than the period before the individual vacation, because in the days before the holidays everyone went on vacation, and my personal mood was supported by general euphoria and relaxation.

But what about the rest of the time? The rest of the time longing and waiting for the weekend! But the expectation turned into the offensive, which was always a small holiday. And for me it was almost the only time when I could feel that I was alive.

I don't like crude metaphors, but here's one that comes to mind. As if this routine holds a person in a tight grip on a causal place and sometimes lets go for a short time. And a person feels relief, which, in contrast to unpleasant sensations, seems like stormy happiness!

Filling with meaning

Moreover, there was a feeling that this splitting of time for work and rest gave this time some kind of consistent meaningfulness. It’s hard on Monday, but on Wednesday it’s already easier, not to mention Friday. Every day in this endless series of days acquired its own special meaning.

Before I started working, I wandered around aimlessly. Time rolled sadly day after day, each of which was similar to the previous one. It seemed that nothing was moving anywhere, and this feeling made me sad. But the office clearly demarcated my time for work and leisure. He gave meaning to every day. Monday is for getting back to work after a hectic weekend. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday also matter.

They play the role of small steps on the way to Friday. But from Friday to mid-Sunday, you really live. Weekends are made to live in!

But not only the very schedule of work and rest gives meaning to existence. Most people do not know why they live, and how to make the most of the short time of life that fate has given them.

And constant hired work gives them this.

They work, get some kind of social status, achieve some goals, after which new goals appear, they become bosses, they have power, they are aware of themselves as parts of some global goal! The office, like the army, like certain manifestations of religion, seeks to fill a void in a person, to give him a goal, some reason for self-respect and a means of self-identification. And if they satisfy such a need, then a person gives himself to this business with all zeal and gratitude!

Cure for boredom and excessive energy

Office work provides an outlet for energy that a person cannot use anywhere (or does not know how). 9 hours of work a day is enough to exhaust almost anyone. And for the especially energetic and restless, overtime and work on weekends are provided. Well, if after that there are forces left, then you can spend them on entertainment and shopping trips.

Hyperactive people and people who do not know what to do with themselves (if they are not told what to do) without a permanent job will be bored and therefore they choose an office. I personally know people who do not like their work, but they say that without it they will be even worse and more dreary than with it!

Means to meet ambition

Within the office system of relationships and hierarchy, each person can find application for their ambitions. Strong, powerful personalities will seek power, control and find their joy in this. More timid and gentle people will find solace in the feeling of belonging to something big and meaningful, something that cares about them. This, in principle, may be the psychological preconditions for submission to any hierarchy at all.

And in some ways, even serving office ideals is like a manifestation of everyday religiosity. Of course, I'm not talking about situations where a person works out of necessity, commensurating the effort expended with the result obtained. But many people seem to work "for the idea", sacrificing their health and youth for some semi-mythical benefits, which they may receive in an abstract future in which they will not have time to dispose of them. Or they work out of blind devotion to leadership. And for some, work is a great way to escape from real problems, just as religion can serve such purposes for some people (although, of course, not for everyone).

Consideration of psychological comfort

Somewhere I read an expression with the following meaning: "People have enough willpower to work in an office for 40 years, but not enough patience to build their business in 3 years."

Perhaps, in terms of energy costs, office work will indeed be harder than a well-established own business, where you get paid for the work, and not for the time spent in the office. But for reasons of psychological comfort, the decision to go to work in the office is an easier decision.

Why? Because almost everyone goes to the office to work. You can even find a vacancy that matches your specialization without even studying the market. Working at such a job, you do not need to take difficult decisions and take responsibility for them. You don't have to think about what to do, because you are told what to do. When you get used to work, then know yourself regularly go to 9 every day, do familiar work automatically and get paid. When you completely pour into this flow, the brain can be turned off. Let it be tedious and time-consuming, but there is less degree of responsibility and independence.

In addition, many people simply find it difficult to organize themselves. They need a leader to supervise them. Without this, they will be completely bogged down in laziness. So we can say that the office gives a good kick in the ass for the lazy.

Results

What conclusion can be drawn here? It is clear that not always a person is a victim of a cruel machine that leaves him no choice but to be its slave. And no one exploits people against their will. It is they who allow themselves to be exploited in exchange for a sense of meaning, the consolation of purpose, and a lack of responsibility. And even if they do not get these things, often their own inertia and fear keep them on this path.

And now I want to answer the question, to what extent the satisfaction of the psychological needs that I wrote about above is necessary for a person? I'd better phrase the question a little differently. Is satisfying these needs the best way to find the happiness and peace that a person is looking for?

My answer to this question will be negative. It can be said that the very emergence of these needs is rooted in the imperfection of a person: he cannot “find himself”, he is in anguish when he is alone with himself, he needs to divert his energy, not finding a better use for it, he is not disciplined enough to work " not from under the stick ”… This is not very good! And if there are such needs, this does not mean at all that the best solution to our problems will be their satisfaction. This is as true as the fact that the problem of drunkenness cannot be solved by drinking. If a person constantly wants to drink, then you need to rid him of the causes of his addiction, and not buy him a new drink.

In my articles, I constantly urge readers to discover the roots of their problems, and not see these problems as a given or a norm.

When a person becomes more self-sufficient, emotionally balanced than he was before, when he discovers the source of harmony, calmness in himself, he ceases to need such emotional stimulants. His self-esteem ceases to be tied to the praise of superiors. To feel positive emotions, he does not have to wait for Friday or the New Year, when the routine releases its iron grip. He knows what to do with himself and where to direct his energy so that it comes out for the benefit of him and others. He rarely feels sad and bored alone with himself, and even when this happens, he does not make a big tragedy out of it, because he has learned to be with his feelings, and not run away from them.

Similar metamorphoses happened to me, and I described this in an article,. Gradually wage work ceased to be the sole purpose of my life. I realized that life is immeasurably richer than I thought before, and that I can do something more interesting and useful than this routine! And as a result of internal changes, I began to miss the space in which the office imprisoned me. Even, it is better to say that this space was too much in my life. It sucked all the energy out of me. And before me, numerous shortcomings of the office were exposed, because of which I decided to change my occupation. And I will talk about these shortcomings in the next part of the article.

What helps us make the right decisions in life?

But before moving on to the second part of the article, let me digress a little. I would like to take advantage of the fact that I have outlined here the basis of a certain idea that has been accumulating in me during last days. Perhaps this will become the basis for a separate article, but now I would like to talk about this position briefly.

It turns out that as a result of self-development, yoga, a person acquires not only happiness and inner comfort. Comfort that no amount of money will bring, but as a result of this, he begins to accept more correct life decisions, both from a domestic and from a moral point of view.

Because such a person is freed from addictions. I mean not only bad habits but also dependence on someone else's opinion, on one's own pride and ambition, on one's stomach and lust. Decisions begin to be made more with the mind and heart than with other organs.

Such a person will not betray a friend for money, as he is not so strongly attached to money. He will not leave his family for a short hobby on the side, as he has ceased to be in dire need of strong emotions and understands that they are temporary. It is more difficult to deceive him, to lure him into some kind of adventure, speculating on his greed, lust, vanity, since he has ceased to depend heavily on these qualities. The number and length of the strings for which he could be pulled in someone else's interests is decreasing.

According to the statistics of requests from Russian-speaking Google users, they hate their job four times less than their own mother, half as much as their life, and almost as much as their appearance.

The observer tried to understand the problem of the general rejection of everyday work and turned to the psychotherapist Valery Zalesky for comments.

Fatigue and fear

No wonder they say that mental work is much more tiring than physical work. Modern bigwigs office business, having sat to their heart's content at beech tables in air-conditioned rooms, every now and then they try to get out "to freedom" in order to get a little distraction from virtual negotiations and telephone conversations.

“For several months in a row I have not wanted to work. Pretty strong. So much so that it is already affecting the result of my work, as well as my health. Vacation helps a little - after 2-3 days I again cease to understand why I come to this office. Now I'm afraid to change jobs, because I'll most likely find another one that's the same or worse. Plus, there will also be added stress from an unfamiliar team and the need to earn a place under the sun (here, this, like, already exists). That is, as I see it, a complete dead end. I really hope that there is a way out, but I don’t see it.”

(Tatiana, accountant)

As a rule, depressive individuals, who, at any convenient moment, do not hesitate to complain about their work, are found in the ranks of office plankton. Most of the opinions expressed by the dissatisfied boil down to one thing: I work too much and get very little.

As V. Zalessky notes, the state of dissatisfaction with the situation related to working relations occurs among people working in a complex administrative system, for example, in big company, where a single employee can have several bosses at once.

The main reason for constant dissatisfaction with their work, the psychotherapist believes, is not physical, but emotional stress- from the fear of not coping with the task to the fear of losing your job.

The Office Worker Syndrome, which recent times they say no less than about various subspecies of the flu, it can progress, leading a person into a state of depression and even refusal to perform his job duties.

The psychotherapist advises all monotonously working middle managers, shifting stacks of invoices, contracts and their fax copies from table to table every day, to pay the utmost attention to their thoughts.

It is imperative to minimize gloomy, sad, and also exciting thoughts - it is they, and not the work of shifting papers, that make us more irritable and dissatisfied.

Try to relax even during the annual final meeting shareholders at the head office of the company. In the end, if you don't do it, someone else will do it for you, but definitely not in your presence.

Routine web

It would seem that the morning begins the same way only in one cult place - a statistical institution from the no less cult "Office Romance". However, it is not.

Mornings, days and evenings of individual workers on working days are like two peas in a pod. The usual route from home to work, morning greetings with colleagues, checking mail and the first cup of tea on the table - all this happens in almost every office in every city from 8 to 9 in the morning. And then along the thumb: calls, letters, meetings, calls, letters, meetings ...

“I hate my job. It brings absolutely no benefit to people, only harm. She is a product of the bureaucracy. I endure only for the sake of money - and they are paid above average, because no one wants to do such a *** job, especially with brains (and you can’t do without brains here). So they pay for what I endure ... "

(Julia, manager)

Coping with the feeling that work is just a forced necessity for making money is not so easy, especially if a person ceases to believe in the significance and necessity of his labor actions, V. Zalesky notes.

One day a person is faced with questions that he himself is not able to answer for himself. Why am I doing all this? Does it benefit other people? What is the significance of my actions compared to others?

According to the psychotherapist, the solution to the "routine" problem can only be found in cardinal changes - promotion through the ranks, horizontal career movement as well as changing jobs.

And although the latter option, as a rule, is tried on by employees only as a last resort, it is he who can help distinguish a real stagnant routine from a banal depression.

Too easy or hard work

On one of the women's forums, the browser accidentally stumbled upon the following message:

“The worst thing that makes my work unbearable is the lack of work! The volume of work is very small, it is practically non-existent! But on the other hand, instead of my duties, as the “youngest”, they hang all sorts of secretarial duties on me: photocopy this, print it out, decorate it beautifully. God, how hard it is to "work", or rather, just sit every day for 8 hours, doing nothing! Moreover, I am a very hardworking person, quite ambitious, I dream of a career, not stupid, preferring to work and return home late rather than sit like this, staring blankly at the wall. As a result of such a “time in prison”, I feel that I am starting to forget what I learned at the university. I’m thinking about resigning to nowhere, but now there is a crisis, and the work experience is very small - I’m afraid to be left out of work at all.

The discrepancy between a person's abilities and the functions assigned to him is directly related to feelings of disappointment and unfulfillment of his capabilities, V. Zalesky believes.

Sooner or later, a person gets used to a smaller amount of work, although it is difficult to experience the presence of unreleased energy that he could spend on solving work problems.

However, the imbalance between the desire to perform that piece of work that is “too tough” for him can lead to much worse consequences - depression, a feeling of distrust on the part of the management, which supposedly does not want to give the employee a responsible task, loss of qualification.

According to V. Zalesky, the solution to far-fetched problems associated with a lack or overabundance of work lies in the plane of relations between the worker and his own "I". Soberly assess your ability to perform a particular task. You feel additional strength in yourself - initiate new goals and tasks, offer them to your colleagues and superiors. The water of self-realization will obviously not flow under a lying stone.

Favorite Colleagues

Another favorite motive of dislike for one's work is dissatisfaction with the work team.

Colleagues can “take out” for various reasons: from rustling bags during a business meeting to inappropriate behavior and non-compliance with subordination.

Unfortunately, modern system selection of personnel, first of all, focuses on the professional qualities of the employee, and not on his rich spiritual world. That is why you always have a chance to be a shy, hard-working quiet outcast in the company of boorish loafers who have conspired against you. And where is there to be work for joy ?!

A positive microclimate in the team is a guarantee successful work companies in the macro environment, says V. Zalesky. However, the decision personal problems employee is not the primary task of the management of the organization. That is why often a person who cannot cope with the pressure of other employees leaves the company.

As a rule, the solution to the problem is at the mercy of the employee himself, who is in a situation of moral choice: to give a damn about everyone and continue to work, because work is the main thing, or to quit everything, because it is simply impossible to work without normal communications with other employees.

In this situation, the psychotherapist advises not to “cut off the shoulder”, but to correctly weigh the pros and cons. If for some reason it is not possible to establish a positive microclimate, it is worthwhile to analyze well what damage strained relationships with colleagues can bring to you personally.

In some situations, the psychotherapist notes, one has to make deals with one's own conscience, because the fear of not finding a decent job is now felt much more acutely than the threshold of the self-preservation instinct.

What thoughts come to your mind when you think about your work? Do you love your job, and does it bring you not only benefit, but also pleasure? Share your opinion in the comments! We are ready to discuss especially “severe” cases at a consultation with a psychotherapist and talk about them in more detail in the following materials.

The classic office service has many disadvantages. The first one is possible problems with health. A person who sits in an office chair for long hours and hardly moves can earn:

• Problems with the spine
• Cardiac diseases
• Decreased vision
• The appearance of excess weight.

Such problems lead sedentary image life. The constant work with the computer also has a negative effect. It can cause:

• Vision problems due to sharp image flickering
• Pain in the joints due to incorrect position of the hands when working with the keyboard
• Allergies due to the layer of dust that accumulates on objects.

Another big problem that people working in the office face is malnutrition. Often people are so busy with work that they forget about a full meal, limiting themselves to harmful snacks. As a result, the work of the gastrointestinal tract is disrupted, which leads to gastritis and excess weight.

Completes the picture of constant stress. Constantly hanging tasks, responsibility, deadlines, large crowds of people negatively affect psychological state person. As a result, working capacity decreases, mood decreases, and even real depression may develop in the future.

How to reduce the harm from office work

There are several effective ways, which can be used to correct negative sides work and direct them in a positive direction. It:

• Special industrial gymnastics
• Regular breaks
• Healthy snacks
• Building psychologically comfortable relationships with the team.

Physicians and fitness professionals have developed many training systems designed specifically for office workers. They do not need additional tools, a lot of time. Such exercises can be downloaded on the Internet and performed at a convenient time, sitting at a table or standing near it. You can do them alone or in company with colleagues to cheer up and become healthier.

Breaks in office work are provided even by SanPin. Take your eyes off your computer every two hours and give your eyes a rest. You can perform special exercises for the eyes, or you can just go to the window and look carefully into the distance. Competent exercises will help reduce eye strain and prevent problems.

problem malnutrition can also be solved with due diligence. Instead of unhealthy sandwiches, bring fruits or nuts for snacks. And for lunch, be sure to have a full meal. Food can be bought at the canteen or prepared at home in advance.

Stress will be lower with healthy, easy team relationships. Be friendly, but don't be afraid to say no, or you'll be burdened with too much. Do your job first, then help others. Do not neglect simple human communication - this will significantly reduce stress.

How to understand that office work is not for you

But in some cases the problem is deeper than private inconvenience. In this case, there is only one way out - to look for work in another mode. Otherwise, you can earn a nervous breakdown.

You are not an office person if at least one of the following statements applies to you:

• Working in the office, you constantly feel inner discomfort, Bad mood don't let you go.
• Career growth does not interest you.
• There are only two days in a week for life - Saturday and Sunday.
• Thoughts of leaving do not leave.
• You don't care what your colleagues and boss think.

If you understand that you want to change your life, look for work outside the office. Fortunately, in modern world there are many different options.

Work outside the office

If you think there are alternatives for sedentary work in the office does not exist, then you are mistaken. There is no need to do everything working time at the computer screen in my office. You can discover the world, engage in your favorite hobby, develop and communicate with people - and get paid for all this.

Becoming a travel blogger is the first option that comes to mind. If you are writing about interesting and exotic places, you simply need to visit them - otherwise the story will be dishonest and fake. You can truly appreciate the local landscapes and cultural component only live. And communication with the office can be maintained through a tablet, laptop or mobile phone. Savannah will be your workplace, African deserts, mediterranean coast. What else can you dream of?

If you love and know how to cook, and not just buckwheat with meatballs, but fine dining, think about a career in cooking. You can work both in restaurants and in families. Many rich and famous invite chefs to live in their luxury homes. You will purchase products, think over and coordinate the menu, work in the kitchen. Such work, although it is hired, but in better side different from boring office activities. Even if you have paperwork related duties, you can do them at home.

Organize events. Such work is suitable for active and sociable people with a managerial mindset. You can plan your wedding and birthday remotely. Most of the work will take place in fun chores, and the place of work will be a beautiful restaurant or other attractive location.

People will always need a roof over their heads, which means they need people who will find this roof for them. Become a realtor. You will be engaged in the sale of houses or apartments, show them to potential customers, and constantly travel to the place. Of course, part of the work will take place in the office and you will have to fiddle with papers a lot, but there will also be time to take a break from papers and chat with new people.

If you really want to push your limits, learn something very unexpected, risky and new. For example, flying an airplane. After a while, you will be able to work on commercial flights. Being constantly on the road, spending hours in cramped aircraft cabins, spending the night in hotels is not only romance, but also stress. But you will have a beautiful shape, a life full of adventures and a reason to brag to your friends.

Take a short break from the office in the summer and work as a lifeguard. Saving people's lives is a noble occupation, besides, you can spend sunny days on the beach by the water, enjoy fresh air, sunbathe and enjoy the summer, while the rest suffer in cramped offices near air conditioners.

Love mixing cocktails and making people happy? Become a bartender. Good drinks will always be in demand. And you will be right there with a delicious cocktail and a willingness to listen to complaints about life from office workers. If you become a true professional and come up with your own unique cocktail, you will be able to travel around the world, participate in competitions and develop your own unique menu.

Many employers no longer see the point in keeping employees captive in the office. They understand that freedom and comfortable conditions conducive to better productivity and offer remote work. You can do all the same - but in a pleasant place, for example, in a bed or in a gazebo. If your job doesn't require you to be in the office all the time, try discussing the possibility with your boss.

That's why I don't go to interviews. Interviews go against the very idea of ​​freelancing. If freelancers were hired through interviews, then freelancers would spend most of their time attending interviews.

Therefore, freelancers very rarely go to interviews. For more than 10 years of my professional experience, I have been interviewed 4 (four) times, including yesterday.

Freelancers don't go to interviews. But I got a call from a friend whom I know only from the positive side and, saying that the company with which he cooperates is looking for people, he asked if I could come to talk.

Remembering

fundamental rules of quiet work

Don't be an asshole
- Don't work with assholes

And having estimated that the person is good and the firm, most likely, is also adequate, I decided to agree.
In general, there was a positive impression of communication, and although in this moment I'm not looking for a job, the offers voiced to me were quite interesting.

However, the condition was set - work only in the office. No remote.

As a result, I left there with an order to think until Monday. There is really nothing to think about. Office work is not an option. As I parked my car in front of my house, I thought about how to phrase the rejection letter. The comrade with whom I spoke made me good impression and didn’t want to just write “I don’t want to work with you” in a reply letter. I decided that I would describe in detail the reasons for my refusal and the importance of remote work for me. In the process, the response became so large that it turned from a letter into this article.

I'll try to tell you why distant work- this is a special status, which is very difficult to refuse.

Of course, there are already a billion articles about what freelancing is and how remote workers live, with an analysis of the pros and cons.
However, in my opinion, these articles treat freelancing a little one-sidedly.
For example, almost the most important advantage of freelancing is often announced as "the ability to work on the beach / in a hammock."
Well, I have the beach 10 minutes away, and the hammock is right outside my door.

99.9% of work time was spent at one of their desks.

Main workplace

Let's try to formulate the main reasons why I will never agree to work in the office for full time and continue to freelance.

Ability to manage your time

The need to travel to work

workplace comfort

The workplace is also the temperature in the room, for example. And also, for me personally, very important condition- sound design. It so happened that I live all my life surrounded by music. The surround sound audio system appeared in the house before the microwave oven. Every day some kind of ambient, chillout plays around me... Can you imagine a company that will allow a programmer to put an audio system in the workplace other than headphones? But the audio channel - main part perception, strongly influencing thought processes.

Yes, by the way, back to the temperature in the room. Everyone loves air conditioners! Except me. Previously, every trip to the street in the heat became a torment for me. I think everyone knows this feeling when the heat presses, it becomes hard to breathe and move. But not everyone knows (almost no one?) that you can easily get rid of it. You just need to get used to the heat and stop living in the cold. It's a huge thrill not to die in the heat. Now I can go at +35 packed in a bulletproof vest with a heavy backpack and it won't kill me. Workplace without air conditioning - many employers are willing to give it to their employee?

Separately, it is worth talking about air quality. It was a discovery for me that the humidity of the air and the amount of CO2 VERY strongly affect the state of the body.
A series of articles on Habré on this topic:.
After thoughtfully reading materials on the topic of air humidity and CO2 concentration, I acquired not only humidity and CO2 sensors, but also a humidifier.
Suddenly it turned out that you can live without headaches and cracking skin.
I assume that the employer will allow you to put sensors and a humidifier in the office. But in winter, one cannot avoid a war among employees on the topic “it is necessary to ventilate” and “it is impossible to ventilate - it’s cold.” Yes, and in the summer too, if there is an air conditioner: “do not open the window! the air conditioner!” Normal ventilation is a rare guest in most offices, which means that all employees live in conditions of cold, but saturated with CO2 air. After all, they basically put air conditioners cheaper and don’t care that they don’t know how to take air from the street ...

It has already turned out to be a huge footcloth about comfort ... And I haven’t even described a percent of everything that creates this very comfort.
You can say - yes, it's all the little things. You can work in ascetic conditions.
Sorry, we live at work. We spend five days out of seven there. Everything must be perfect at work, because work is our life. It makes no sense to equip the car in which you go to the country - you do not live in it, it makes no sense to install a mega-comfortable toilet - you do not live in it. But at work you live. You nowhere do not spend more time awake than at work. So all the little things are important, because this is your life. NOT a comfortable sofa that you sit on for half an hour a day, but an office chair that you sit on for 9 hours out of 16, five days out of seven.

Let's talk a little about psychology

Freelancers don't care about layoffs. From the word "generally".
The freelancer is permanently in the process of being fired. For “normal” people, being fired is stressful. For a freelancer, quitting and changing jobs is a common workflow. Today, all projects will be closed and all my clients will be lost ... Well, ok, I will be without money for a month or two. Then I will find new clients. I am a good specialist, so even if I can’t immediately reach my current balance, it’s not scary, I’ll definitely earn a living for myself, and then, you see, I’ll restore everything.
It does not cause panic, tantrums or anything like that.
A freelancer cannot be blackmailed by dismissal, lowering, salary cuts. Because the freelancer will say goodbye and tomorrow he will be working on another project with other people.

For several years I was surprised how lucky I was with customers. They are all very appropriate and smart people. I thought it was luck. Not so long ago it dawned on me that this is not luck. This is filtering. Shitty clients live in my world for no more than a month and disappear. Sometimes with my money. Sometimes silently and without conflict. Cool customers stay for a long time, regularly supply orders and just keep in touch. In the end, it turned out that I was surrounded only by really worthy people.
Working in the office, I can't filter frames. It’s good if the boss manages and selects adequate people himself ... And if not?
When remote work, it also happens that some kind of inadequate works on the customer's side. Of course, abandoning a project just because some proger is inadequate is not always justified. There was a situation when a person got along well with everyone in the office, I got along well with all the employees, and only we could not communicate with each other normally. This was decided very simply - we communicated exclusively on business issues and only in a general working chat, on Skype. At a distance, even in such a situation, a person can be filtered out. Live, if a person with whom it is impossible to get along is sitting at the next table, these are constant conflicts and a bad mood. Why live like this...

Myths:

"Teamless" work

S.R.F. Rally

Okay, an example from commercial development:
I had a chance to work on the Striker project. This is such a shooting complex:

I have been leading this project since the very first day of development as a Senior Developer. By the time I left the project, there were 6 programmers in it. Plus, countless modelers and artists have gone through the project.
I managed the entire project remotely. Live, I talked directly with the boss and with one programmer who was implementing the project for one of the clients, and I drove up there to look at the project as a whole (yes, I first saw the project that I was doing, only after 3 years of development, when it was already installed by one of the clients and fully worked in panoramic mode with seven computers united in a cluster).
A large-scale project, several years of development by a fairly large team, the main architect of the project is remote, and everything is ok.

stupid kindred

Total:

P.S. Minuses

A PHOTO Getty Images

“It happened out of the blue, there was no explanation for this feeling. I suddenly realized that I had reached the handle, - says 37-year-old Yulia. - Every day the same thing: two hours of travel, the same faces and the same conversations! I told myself to just be patient. But six months have passed since then, and it's only getting worse. I have a resignation letter on my desk. But I love work!”

Many of us know that feeling when we don't feel like going to work in the morning. During the day, we dream of going home as soon as possible. Forces seem to leave us in the office, but there is no energy, even if we are doing what we love. What is the reason for such fatigue?

I don't have enough personal space

We have a biological need for own space. “The distance at which we communicate with strangers is from 1.2 to 3.6 meters,” says Gestalt therapist and business coach Iskra Shestakova. “We allow good friends to approach us at a distance of 1.2 to 0.5 m. Closer - only close relatives and lovers.”

Open offices force us to constantly monitor how we look. It requires constant effort and generates a feeling of fatigue.

In an office organized on the principle of open space (open space), the distance between employees according to the standards should be at least 1.2 m, but in reality it can be even less. Our personal space is violated, discomfort arises. It is a little easier when the tables are at least separated by partitions. But sometimes employees just sit around. “At the same time, in open space, everyone is in sight,” the coach continues. - This means that he must look in a certain way, follow his posture, facial expression. It requires constant effort and creates a feeling of fatigue.”

I don't manage my time

“We have to eat at lunchtime, not when we are hungry; we can't go out for a walk; in offices with strict rules, even the number of exits to the toilet is rationed. Our biorhythms are broken, “and any biological disorder leads to psychological stress,” emphasizes Iskra Shestakova. Even when it comes to work, we are not completely our own: the boss may interrupt our activity and give another task, colleagues may distract us with a question or request, after which we will have to re-focus ...

I'm tired of talking

In the office, we don't choose our environment. Even if we don't like someone, we can't avoid meeting that person. “Most often, tension is associated with bosses at various levels, because it is more difficult to express dissatisfaction with them,” Iskra Shestakova explains. – But habits or personality traits colleagues: one walks around in a wrinkled shirt, the other leaves a cup with a tea bag on the table. In my work, I often see clients repress relationship-related causes and perceive their dissatisfaction as depression or fatigue.”

What to do?

"Assign" space

Little things will help you make your workplace more habitable: a pen and a notebook for notes that you chose yourself, and did not receive in the office, your own keyboard in a form that is convenient for you ... Even in those offices where any desk can be used by any employee and therefore it is forbidden leave personal belongings, you can still bring it with you and put your "totem" animal or other trinket near the computer that will please you.

Personal experience

Evdokia, 43 years old, bank employee:“It's not easy to find a job in our city, so I'm not ready to change it. But it's getting harder and harder to bear. So I decided to come up with something before I got really sick. First, I switched to part-time work. Then I went to yoga to feel better physically, from this my mood changed for the better. Now I plan to go to language courses, improve my English, it will be both education and communication with new people so that my thoughts are filled with something else besides work. I’m going to turn to a psychologist to help me discover some other interests and hobbies in myself.”

Make your own schedule

Set aside time for a light walk before or after work; schedule short breaks; warn colleagues that in the next two hours you will not be distracted by giving someone advice or discussing something; agree with your boss in advance about what task you intend to solve during the day ... Think about what else you can do to make your stay in the office more comfortable and efficient. Remember that taking care of yourself is your task, and it will be up to you to solve it.

Understand relationships

If someone speaks too loudly or someone's cell phone is ringing on the table, explain why this bothers you and what you would like (to speak more quietly or take the phone with you). Most often, colleagues go towards each other. If the problem is in relations with superiors, then the search new work can be a good solution, but even in this case it makes sense to talk with a psychologist first: perhaps the difficulties can be resolved in another way.