Remember several months back, when I wrote about the grumbling rumble around the office that professors were going to be forced to GET NEW FURNITURE? Oh, the howls and gnashing of teeth. What about academic freedom? We need our space to be. . .ours. We want to live the way we want to live. Et cetera, et cetera, and so on and so forth.
You can refresh your memory here, and also see the photos of how things looked.
Last week, I went to campus and unpacked my moving boxes and generally arranged things. At that point, I was the first one in our three person office to get my work done. I think the results look just fine.
Today, I checked back to do a little finishing up. One of my office mates has unpacked her items. Not bad.
The other office mate plans to go in next week and unpack hers. I hope so; some of her boxes were sitting on my desk. Truth be told--I am not using the desk during the summer, so no harm.
Now the real coup was the senior professor who grumbled the most. His space was the one featured in the first photo in my previous post.Here's the scene when the professor was half-way done. I asked if I could take a photo--and he protested--I am NOT done. Well, I said--I will take another one when you are done.
So, first you have the absolute BEFORE photo, then the midway photo, then finally the TADA all done photo.
While I can chuckle at all the fuss--I do understand it. After all, my colleagues who work full time spend a LOT of time in their office spaces, so appearances and comfort matter a great deal.
We are all defined by our space--we define it, it defines us. It's a symbiotic relationship.
14 comments:
Having worked at Stanford for 13 years, I can well and truly imagine the outrage over having to make a change in such an important area. Love the before/after pictures! :)
I don't know what I'll do if/when i have to clear out of my office for painting or renovation or moving offices. One of my colleagues had painted geckos on the wall of her office. now that it belongs to someone else, maintenance has to come in and carefully repaint the walls to get rid of the geckos. I feel a bit sad!
Oh, I know exactly what you are talking about. The only thing more threatening to people than new furniture is space re-allocation in which an entire department moves somewhere else.
We are indeed defined by our space. One gets a certain impression of people by the things they choose for their work space.
Looks fantastic and very scholarly!
;-)
How long before the new space looks as cluttered (oh my god!) as in that before pic?
That's look mighty fine. I had a sign that said "A clutter desk is the sign of a gifted mind." I was a genius.
How can one work in clutter like that? I hate tidying and filing and don't do it as much or as well as I should. But geez louise.
I like the soft colors.
I guess it was either new furniture of a secretary to keep your lives in order.
The next time you mess it all up they may send in Oprah's crew of organizers.
Quite a change, but for the better. Your space looks good, Donna - very efficient and utilitarian looking.
I really like the new office furniture and your space looks great Donna.
(One of the hardest things I had to get used to in my current job was the "Clean desk" policy--absolutely no paperwork can be left out on the desk when you go home, also desk drawers must be locked at all times and the computer set to "password protected mode" whenever you leave the work area.)
We have been finally allowed to "personalize" our spaces at work. To bring in accessory items from home and create an area that is more comfortable for us--What a difference it makes to feel that we can see ourselves reflected in our surroundings.
And of course, to recognize our spaces as finally feeling right--
I do remember your office furniture post. The colleague's space was reminiscent of the before pictures on disposophobia.com.
I love the way your desk looks now, so inviting in its wide open spaces. Wish my desk looked like that, wish all my work spaces were more space than work in progress. No one to blame but myself.
All of your offices look great with the new furniture!
My division is being sold to another company and we'll be moving up the road a piece to a new building and we'll have all new furniture. I can't wait, it will be so much fun to have new furniture. I think we've had these cubes and desks for about 12 years now, maybe longer. And of course I'll throw out a lot of "pack rat" stuff when we move!
BEFORE made me hee-haw. I've seen offices like that and never understood the passion for so many in-baskets and slots for filing paper that might not ever been seen by human eyes again. You need to watch out for paper fleas around people like that.
Your area looks great! I have an office, Donna, but I prefer a well organized cubicle.
Good job!
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