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I tried the midwest large insurance company job, and it was not a fun experience. I often had full weeks where I was waiting on something from other slow-moving

I tried the midwest large insurance company job, and it was not a fun experience. I often had full weeks where I was waiting on something from other slow-moving departments and had literally nothing to do, and my boss knew and didn't really care, although I still had to show up and sit in my desk for eight hours a day. And I was a developer but had to ask permission and make a case for every single program I wanted to install to help do my job, which isn't necessarily bad (there are understandable security concerns with downloaded software from the internet), except when Net Ops rates it a low priority and takes weeks to give you the permission. I eventually just stopped asking. The atmosphere was also the most subdued environment I've ever been in. Most people not talking to or acknowledging each other unless their cubes were near, very few jokes, I almost got the feeling I'd get in trouble if I ever showed exuberance. Not that I ever felt like it anyway. The lighting didn't help with that either, since we were in a room with very little natural light and soft florescent lighting that made it difficult for me to even stay awake there. I did learn some new things there, and people were polite and friendly, so it wasn't all bad, but I'd never go back.

stuxnet79 11y ago
> The atmosphere was also the most subdued environment I've ever been in. Most people not talking to or acknowledging each other unless their cubes were near, very few jokes, I almost got the feeling I'd get in trouble if I ever showed exuberance. I know exactly what you mean! It is suffocating! Currently struggling with this right now. I can't stand it because it just feels so fake and phony. To me work is easier and more manageable when you are getting along with colleagues, not when it is overly formal, and corporate, etc. Idk, that's just my perspective.
- cableshaft 11y ago
  Yeah, fake and phony, I definitely got that feeling. Like people were putting on a mask the entire time they were there. I don't even mind corporate necessarily, as long as it's relaxed. My current place people will talk about pretty much whatever, help each other out, tease each other about things, the boss will join us for lunch and talk about Star Wars and Deadpool, team leads are willing to admit that they can make mistakes, you feel like you can be more open and honest around your superiors, no one gasps or blinks an eye when you casually curse, etc. And yet it's not quite no-holds-barred like a previous job that erupted into nerf gun battles and openly (but not seriously) insulting each other on an almost daily basis.
  - stuxnet79 11y ago
    Relate to both of your points. Being disrespectful and straight up insulting others shouldn't be acceptable, but having too stuffy a working atmosphere creates this feeling like you are walking on egg shells which in my opinion is not conducive to effective and productive work. But I wonder who it is that sets the culture or tone of a workplace. Is it every employee in concert or more management / the team leads / bosses etc?
- st3v3r 11y ago
  It's not necessarily being phony. It's just being dead inside.
  - stuxnet79 11y ago
    After graduating and being thrust into the working world, I've become very disillusioned and wish to avoid this "deadness" inside.

stuxnet79 11y ago

> The atmosphere was also the most subdued environment I've ever been in. Most people not talking to or acknowledging each other unless their cubes were near, very few jokes, I almost got the feeling I'd get in trouble if I ever showed exuberance. I know exactly what you mean! It is suffocating! Currently struggling with this right now. I can't stand it because it just feels so fake and phony. To me work is easier and more manageable when you are getting along with colleagues, not when it is overly formal, and corporate, etc. Idk, that's just my perspective.

cableshaft 11y ago
Yeah, fake and phony, I definitely got that feeling. Like people were putting on a mask the entire time they were there. I don't even mind corporate necessarily, as long as it's relaxed. My current place people will talk about pretty much whatever, help each other out, tease each other about things, the boss will join us for lunch and talk about Star Wars and Deadpool, team leads are willing to admit that they can make mistakes, you feel like you can be more open and honest around your superiors, no one gasps or blinks an eye when you casually curse, etc. And yet it's not quite no-holds-barred like a previous job that erupted into nerf gun battles and openly (but not seriously) insulting each other on an almost daily basis.
- stuxnet79 11y ago
  Relate to both of your points. Being disrespectful and straight up insulting others shouldn't be acceptable, but having too stuffy a working atmosphere creates this feeling like you are walking on egg shells which in my opinion is not conducive to effective and productive work. But I wonder who it is that sets the culture or tone of a workplace. Is it every employee in concert or more management / the team leads / bosses etc?
st3v3r 11y ago
It's not necessarily being phony. It's just being dead inside.
- stuxnet79 11y ago
  After graduating and being thrust into the working world, I've become very disillusioned and wish to avoid this "deadness" inside.