I've always had very physical tendencies, something that isn't necessarily bad, but doesn't always gel with the intellectualism and general quiet nature of research. I can achieve some sort of hyper-focus that allows my best work to happen if I act on my natural inclination to be active (even at a computer). It means that when I'm doing research, I fidget constantly, knocking a Slinky back and forth, clicking a pen, or rubbing on a worry stone when I don't need both hands to type. It also most likely annoys the crap out of people around me, but I have to move in some way, especially when I'm trying to work out a really difficult problem or need to find inspiration for a completely new solution to the issue.
I love that my job really does push me mentally and creatively, since I don't think I could work for too long where it's always bland and boring. I'm not an extremist, but most of my jobs have been either very physically demanding, which alleviates some of the need for intellectual stimulation through bodily exhaustion, or intensely intellectual, which while excellent for maintaining my ability to think of fresh ways to approach problems, saps my desire for any physical exercise since I'm mentally drained.
Maybe I should found a new type of firm, one where half of your time is spent on the type of logic puzzles and challenging questions we face everyday. Half is spent cleaning the office, maybe working in the kitchen if people love to cook, gardening, mopping floors or whatever physically appeals to the person. Google kind of has a hybrid version of this, Facebook as well from what I hear. But having experienced doing both kinds of jobs 100% at the time, I really do wish this hybrid existed in many work environments.
It would solve so many problems for both employees and employers. Employers are constantly harping on "health" and "wellness." Fine, offer your employees part of the day to do physical labor for your company. It's more productive for you than paying for a gym membership and is great exercise and stress relief. Give the rest of the time for them to face those tough questions, embrace new solutions and innovate better and faster ways to answer the difficult, if not impossible, requests. Let them structure their days however they're most comfortable doing each part, and as long as the work gets done, then they've managed a balance that would be the envy of most office workers. Some people aren't inclined toward physicality, have a third option. They get to work whatever percent they want on the intellectual side as long as they contribute physically at least every day for an hour. Let them know there are sanctioned options outside of the current work/gym/home/sleep world where each is separate and you have to sacrifice one to answer the others.
In the meantime, it might teach humility as well. When I say I've had physical jobs, I'm talking about tossing bales of hay, cleaning cages for small animals of all types (including hedgehogs), mucking out stalls for various livestock, mopping the entire building, hauling giant trash bags that were literally almost my height, and myriad other things that happened to be my responsibility at the time. I'd never been in better shape, and after these experiences, I know I'm not "above" anything asked of me, unless I know they do it to exploit me. If I choose the job, however, then I have no complaint.
Do I think this would happen? Not in a million years. But it's an option in the future that might exist. If it did, I'd be there in a heartbeat instead of annoying my colleagues with my Slinky.
I love that my job really does push me mentally and creatively, since I don't think I could work for too long where it's always bland and boring. I'm not an extremist, but most of my jobs have been either very physically demanding, which alleviates some of the need for intellectual stimulation through bodily exhaustion, or intensely intellectual, which while excellent for maintaining my ability to think of fresh ways to approach problems, saps my desire for any physical exercise since I'm mentally drained.
Maybe I should found a new type of firm, one where half of your time is spent on the type of logic puzzles and challenging questions we face everyday. Half is spent cleaning the office, maybe working in the kitchen if people love to cook, gardening, mopping floors or whatever physically appeals to the person. Google kind of has a hybrid version of this, Facebook as well from what I hear. But having experienced doing both kinds of jobs 100% at the time, I really do wish this hybrid existed in many work environments.
It would solve so many problems for both employees and employers. Employers are constantly harping on "health" and "wellness." Fine, offer your employees part of the day to do physical labor for your company. It's more productive for you than paying for a gym membership and is great exercise and stress relief. Give the rest of the time for them to face those tough questions, embrace new solutions and innovate better and faster ways to answer the difficult, if not impossible, requests. Let them structure their days however they're most comfortable doing each part, and as long as the work gets done, then they've managed a balance that would be the envy of most office workers. Some people aren't inclined toward physicality, have a third option. They get to work whatever percent they want on the intellectual side as long as they contribute physically at least every day for an hour. Let them know there are sanctioned options outside of the current work/gym/home/sleep world where each is separate and you have to sacrifice one to answer the others.
In the meantime, it might teach humility as well. When I say I've had physical jobs, I'm talking about tossing bales of hay, cleaning cages for small animals of all types (including hedgehogs), mucking out stalls for various livestock, mopping the entire building, hauling giant trash bags that were literally almost my height, and myriad other things that happened to be my responsibility at the time. I'd never been in better shape, and after these experiences, I know I'm not "above" anything asked of me, unless I know they do it to exploit me. If I choose the job, however, then I have no complaint.
Do I think this would happen? Not in a million years. But it's an option in the future that might exist. If it did, I'd be there in a heartbeat instead of annoying my colleagues with my Slinky.
posted by AnonymousX at 10:25 PM
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