Do You Clarify Yourself About Your Work Environment Preferences?

Summary: Your work environment conditions are extremely important to you. This affects your performance at the job. Be aware them at the same time try to find out what areas of your job provide you discomfort. Always try to balance these two as this has a direct impact om your career building.

By setting up these condensed listings described below, you will not have to constancy flip back through this book to review your preferences. Plus, they will be more firmly imbedded in your mind when the time comes to remember them the most. That time will be when you are actually doing your agency reviews and job search and then evaluating a job offer. Having a clear picture of what you need to function at your best in a new job will help you to eliminate, right from the start, those agencies or positions that are not comfortable or suitable for you.

In this exercise, briefly list all of your A through D statements from Workshop 1 under the appropriate headings below (1 through 4). As you write down each statement, reduce it to as few words as possible. For example, under heading #1 where you will list all of your As, try to simplify them to read something like this: My own office; Casual dress, except for meetings; A friendly office, but people keep to themselves; etc. Do the same with all of your B, C, and D statements under their headings.

1. An ideal work environment for me would include any of the following: (Briefly list all of your As)
2. I am comfortable with a work environment that includes any of the following: (Briefly list all of your Bs)
3. I am uncomfortable but will accept a work environment that includes any of the following: (Briefly list all of your Cs)
4. I should avoid a work environment that includes any of the following: (Briefly list all of your Ds)
   

You should pay close attention to the description listings you included in #4 above. They represent some of the elements in a work environment that are not at all suited to your basic needs-whether that involves your need for privacy, office camaraderie, or your personal relationship with your boss. Be aware that you will always be pressured in the working world to set aside your own needs to accommodate those of your employer. Of course there will indeed be times when you will have to compromise on something that is important to you or risk losing a job altogether. After all, advertising is an incredibly competitive field and there will always be someone just as qualified waiting to take your place. As a result, you will walk a fine line, and you will have to use your best judgment to determine when and where to cross that line. But a compromise should come only after serious thought about its ultimate influence on your job performance in the long run. If you are accommodating just to please an employer, it could be at the expense of your own future success. Because in a contrary environment it will not take long for frustration, stress, and finally apathy to set in.

WORKSHOP 1 - Examining job structure preferences

A compatible job involves not only your preferences for a work environment but also the structure of your job responsibilities. Certain duties, expectations, and job functions that you are called upon to perform will make you feel comfortable and confident, while others will create anxiety and discomfort. It is important to learn to recognize both.

In this exercise, you will find another set of "you" statements describing a variety of job structures that you could encounter in a new position. Once again, evaluate how you would react in each situation by writing one of the letters from A to D in the space provided below. [A] I would love it; [B] It would be comfortable; [C] It would be uncomfortable, but I'd accept it; [D] I would hate it, and would not accept it.

1. You are continually asked to change the elements of the project you are working on.
2. You are able to work at a steady and predictable pace.
3. You are given assignments that are clearly outlined.
4. You have a boss who says, 'Take the ball and run."
5. You have a boss who says, 'You make the decisions-if you're wrong, it's your head!"
6. You always work under the pressure of tight deadlines.
7. Occasionally, you have an important deadline to meet.
8. You juggle many different projects during the day.
9. You are able to work on one assignment to completion before beginning the next.
10. Your work on each new assignment is expected to be superior to your last project.
11. You are asked to verbally explain your approach to each project to other members of your creative team.
12. You are responsible for only one aspect of a project-without concern for the big picture.
13. You have full responsibility for an assignment from beginning to end.
14. As the group leader on a project, you are responsible for other people's contributions.
15. You are working on assignments that involve only your best skills.
16. You are working on an assignment that involves something you never did before.
17. You work on assignments that other people think are too difficult.
18. You work on long-term projects.
19. You work on short-term projects.
20. You are given more responsibility as you are able to handle it.
21. Your job requires follow-through on all the small details of a project.
22. You get to see your own ideas used in a project.
23. It is your job to pull the various elements of a project together.
24. Your job requires a periodic review or critique by members of the staff.
25. Your job requires a periodic review or critique by your superiors.
26. You are responsible for making major decisions that involve other people.
27. You have no responsibility for decision making.
28. You have a job that allows you to be your own boss.
29. Your job involves being part of a creative team who will depend on your work and your follow-through for their ultimate success with each project.
30. Your job involves a lot of training that you must pick up on your own time.
31. While you are working on a project, you must work directly with your agency's client.
32. To keep up with the work load, you are expected to take work home.
33. Your job often requires you to work evenings and weekends in the office.
34. You are expected to participate in agency presentations to new or prospective clients.
35. Your job requires you to give a periodic review to your co-workers of their work.
36. If you make a mistake on a project, you are expected to correct it on your own time.
37. When you go home from work at night, you can leave your job behind.
38. Your work will be evaluated based on not only your performance but also that of your creative team members.
39. You will be required to put together price quotes for each project you work on.
40. It is your responsibility to make sure your projects stay within the specified budget.
41. You are not directly involved in any of the creative or production work on a project. Instead, it is your job to develop the project's schedule, coordinate each phase of the project, and assign creative and production responsibilities to others.
42. You are responsible for bringing in new business to the agency. Once you do that, you turn over the account to an account coordinator.
43. You bring in new business, and you also work directly with the client and the creative team to implement the project.
44. You are not directly involved in any of the agency's creative or production activities. It is your job to oversee the billing and financial record keeping of the agency.
45. You are in charge of a creative department within the agency. In that capacity you must oversee and supervise your creative team, decide who will work on various aspects of each job, and monitor and tally for final billing all costs involved with each project.
46. Your job with an agency is clerical only, but you have an opportunity to learn and move up to positions of your choosing in the future.
47. Your job is clerical only, and there is no opportunity for advancement. But you will not have the pressure that the creative and management teams face daily. You can enjoy the creative atmosphere around you and still go home with a free mind.
48. You are given many short-term tasks to complete during the work day. These tasks are assigned by your supervisor. You are not responsible for or encouraged to make your own decisions about what you will work on or how your day will be structured.
49. Your position is totally autonomous. You are expected to take charge and anticipate what needs to be done in your department. You structure your own assignments, work whatever number of hours you need to complete a job, and you are free to come and go as you see fit.
50. You must do the majority of your work at home because the office is too distracting to concentrate.