# What opinion do you have on this workplace **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 20, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516 "2012-05-20T14:24:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![compositejoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/compositejoe/32/7232_2.png) [@compositejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/compositejoe)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/1 "2012-05-20T14:24:18Z")
In the late 1990s, I visited one of my friends in the United Kingdom and they showed me around their workplace. The place that they worked at was an electricity board company. The workplace from the outside looked like this: [http://i50.tinypic.com/34xq90x.png](http://i50.tinypic.com/34xq90x.png) I have also done a layout map of the workplace which isn’t 100% accurate, as my memory escapes me, but it should give you an idea of what the layout of the place looked like. General map: [http://i45.tinypic.com/mvp18k.png](http://i45.tinypic.com/mvp18k.png) 2 floor office downstairs plan: [http://i47.tinypic.com/35k53kl.png](http://i47.tinypic.com/35k53kl.png) 2 floor office upstairs plan: [http://i45.tinypic.com/168zc77.png](http://i45.tinypic.com/168zc77.png) (And the carpeting was actually mostly green and the walls in the offices were a mustard yellow colour). The question is, does it look like the sort of workplace you would want to work at. And what other opinions do you have of the workplace? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/2 "2012-05-20T14:28:21Z")
[As a comparison, this is where I worked at my first job out of business school (Manhattan’s World Financial Center).](http://www.nyc-architecture.com/LM/LM061.htm) So no. I would not want to work at the workplace you showed us. It looks like a temporary facility for housing war criminals. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/3 "2012-05-20T14:35:42Z")
Looks like a fairly standard small scale light industrial unit to me. Maybe not aspirational but certainly functional. What’s wrong with that? ---
**Author:** ![compositejoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/compositejoe/32/7232_2.png) [@compositejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/compositejoe)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/4 "2012-05-20T14:51:14Z")
> [@ticker](#): > > Looks like a fairly standard small scale light industrial unit to me. Maybe not aspirational but certainly functional. What’s wrong with that? Nothing wrong whatsoever! 🙂 However, everyone’s opinions on things are of course, different. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/5 "2012-05-21T03:28:57Z")
What the problem with it? It looks like any number of places I’ve worked in light industrial areas (which, frankly, is my preference, compared to all the hassles of working downtown). ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/6 "2012-05-21T03:56:11Z")
I’m not sure I’m seeing the problem either. It looks like a small industrial facility; not much different from a few places I’ve worked at before. Hey, if it had a job for me, and I needed one, I’d work there. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/7 "2012-05-21T11:55:19Z")
So long as playing ping-pong isn’t compulsory, I’m game… ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/8 "2012-05-21T12:02:17Z")
Well, from the outside it seems like kind of a dump, but that’s not a dealbreaker. But they really ought to fix those boarded-up windows, for one thing. The thing I can’t get over is that the TV in the fun room is facing the wall. What kind of SOB boss does something like that? “Have your ping pong table, have your couch… but just _try to watch TV!!_ Muh-hahahahaha!” ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/9 "2012-05-21T12:05:36Z")
> [@compositejoe](#): > > The question is, does it look like the sort of workplace you would want to work at. And what other opinions do you have of the workplace? A fun room? With a ping pong table? When can I start?! ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/10 "2012-05-21T12:13:20Z")
Worked at a number of places like that, both as an office drone and as light industrial worker. Whether or not the place is a living hell depends not on the facility but on the management and people working there. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/11 "2012-05-21T13:34:37Z")
I’ve spent most of my life working in industrial areas, but they were always fairly safe. So I’d want to know how safe it was, but otherwise I’d work in such a setting. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/12 "2012-05-21T13:39:01Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Worked at a number of places like that, both as an office drone and as light industrial worker. Whether or not the place is a living hell depends not on the facility but on the management and people working there. QFT. The most luxurious corner office won’t make you happy if you hate your job and your co-workers. A simple chair and a table in the middle of a room full of the same can be a place you enjoy coming to in the morning, with the right people and work you enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/13 "2012-05-21T14:22:27Z")
The open office floor plan is becoming quite popular. I know it’s a turn off for some people, but I could handle it. The outside of that building is not the prettiest, but I’ve seen worse. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/14 "2012-05-21T15:08:54Z")
> [@compositejoe](#): > > The question is, does it look like the sort of workplace you would want to work at. What’s the pay? Seriously, for minimum wage you can keep it. High two figures or low three figures a year; when do I start? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/15 "2012-05-21T16:42:59Z")
I hate open office, and sharing a desk would be a deal breaker, depending on how desperate I was. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/16 "2012-05-21T16:56:06Z")
Yeah sharing a desk is my deal breaker. I don’t even like the cube I’m in now, not after having an office with a window for over 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![compositejoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/compositejoe/32/7232_2.png) [@compositejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/compositejoe)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/17 "2012-05-24T22:38:19Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > What’s the pay? Seriously, for minimum wage you can keep it. High two figures or low three figures a year; when do I start? Since the company is a massive company, your minimum pay is $50 an hour! You can start whenever you are ready! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/18 "2012-05-25T21:02:32Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > [As a comparison, this is where I worked at my first job out of business school (Manhattan’s World Financial Center).](http://www.nyc-architecture.com/LM/LM061.htm) > So no. I would not want to work at the workplace you showed us. It looks like a temporary facility for housing war criminals. 😃 It’s the other way around for me, sorta. It looks junky, but at the same time familiar and cozy. I remember watching Transformers 3, when the main dude starts working in financial in a giant building like the World Financial Centre and I couldn’t get over how big and impersonal it is! ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/19 "2012-05-25T23:23:21Z")
I would try very hard not to work anyplace with a shared desk. That’s awful. I’d have to really really really need a job and I’d be looking all the time for something better. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516/20 "2012-05-25T23:46:40Z")
I’ve never not had my own office. The idea of not being able to fart or pick my nose whenever I want to at work makes me twitch a little bit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-opinion-do-you-have-on-this-workplace/622516.md?page=2)