01 Aug Your work environment

In my previous roles I have been located in various different environments; a silent but busy and  resourceful office, a further silent, but tiny studio at a noisy factory, and now I’m based at home, which is hardly ever silent!

But which environment has inspired me to work in the best way? And does the place in which you sit impact your work style?

My PR role sent me into a world of music. Listening to my iTunes over headphones while working helped me to concentrate, to relax and to almost get lost in a world of work. It wasn’t busy all the time but it was a good space. There were lots of marketing minds to bounce those all important ideas off and to aid in the generation of new ideas. Very helpful and almost easy to work in, if you got stuck you piped up and someone would be able to lend a hand. If no-one was available, someone from the sister part of the same group of companies would definitely be able to step in and assist.

It was my first agency role. I was young and had freshly graduated, I learnt a lot both about how companies and agencies worked and about the world of work operated in general. I worked with large well known companies and also those little guys too. It was a good space and the memories, knowledge and book of work I have from there makes me feel good and happy, even though it ended with redundancy.

In stark contrast, the role that followed was situated in a tiny studio, situated off a large, loud factory, and I was 50% of a tiny team of two. This was a very busy studio where learning had to be sharp and fast and problems grabbed before the printing process began just metres below our feet. I still turned to my music. iTunes on … work ploughed through!

Then to today, now, my current environment …  well … everyday is different. Working from home, or sometimes an office or other meeting venue, it’s busy, but on a whole new level. And one huge missing factor … no iTunes! Whether it’s because there are so many other thoughts in my mind, (not just about work) or it’s something else, but the music just seems to get in the way and fails to help my concentration. I’ve tried it to calm my environment but it doesn’t help, even if it’s my favourite band.

But I’d also say that whilst I’ve been in the home environment I’ve been my most productive and learnt the most out of all of the places I’ve worked in. Is it because I’m based in my own home and everything is familiar already? Using my own computer and systems with just the clients to learn about, I feel that I know what’s expected of me. It certainly helps I know that.

Does music aid your concentration? What kind of environment brings out the best in your work skills?