Five reasons to love the world of work in 2023
When I was a kid growing up in the 70s and 80s, I was so curious about how life would be in the future. I would pour over books and newspaper articles about the future and my imagination would run wild!
I was thinking about this while I was working out of Second Home yesterday. It’s a workspace that would have been very much of the future four decades ago. I made a note of the 5 things the young Ian would have been pleased to see about working life today.
Grey offices are out. The only offices I saw in the 1970s - probably mainly from news bulletins - featured strip lighting, beige walls and grey carpet. Now colour proliferates, plus plants, light, large windows: spaces that are conducive to wellbeing and productivity. The young me would be impressed to know that you can work from lots of different places; or even not go into an office building very much at all.
Bring yourself to work. As a kid I remember thinking about being a grown up at work, and how you’d have to swap your jeans for a suit; that you’d have to leave your personality at the door and swap frivolity for seriousness. How freeing is it then that you can wear whatever you like, roll up your sleeves and proudly bare your tattoos and turn up Depeche Mode’s Enjoy the Silence (live in Berlin) to get the endorphins flowing. Professionalism isn’t compromised. Personality - and quirks - are honoured.
Put ‘me’ at the heart of my professional offering. It never occurred to me back then that I could work for myself, guided by strong values and a powerful mission at the heart of my career. These days, many businesses and brands give a damn, they are ethical and purpose-led. There are movements for better ways of working; good leaders who are creating momentum for a better world. And personally I love that I have been able to build a career around my love of stories.
Work all over the globe. I work with teams all over the world, running live classes and workshops from my desk in my studio workspace in Leigh-on-Sea, a small town situated by the Essex estuary coast. I meet people from different cultures, with alternative perspectives, and all without getting on a plane. It’s extraordinary really, to have those kinds of connections and be able to share your knowledge and experience all over the globe. It would have blown my young mind to think of being able to do that.
Bring your dog too. Yesterday morning at Second Home, while on a video call with Alice I noticed a cute little dog playing with a ripped up tennis ball. As a kid I always wanted a dog (I got a rabbit, close). But to be able to have a dog and bring it to work with you?! A dream come true!
We’re so used to all of these ways of working now and it’s easy to take it for granted. I am glad the world of work has changed for the better. It’s about realising that many of us have control over what we do and how we work. Not always of course. Sometimes we end up in roles that we have to do, rather than we want to do. And sometimes it takes a while for us to feel comfortable in our own skin, and to develop the belief we can create the right path for ourselves. That we can turn up as our true selves, that we can rock a tattoo or take the afternoon off if we need some self care.
What preconceptions about work did you have? What have you found better about work now than even a few years ago?
