Does anyone remember a time when "being able to work by the pool", complete with laptop, poolside cocktail and deck chair was considered to have reached the epitome of work-life balance?
I'm sure some of us can recollect the pictures of beautiful, glamorous people clad in poolside wear lounging on deck chairs wearing sunglasses with their hands poised gracefully over their laptops, and a drink- usually a margherita or mai tai- on the table by the side.
And then the copy would always be along the lines of "sick and tired of a 9-5?" or "tired of the boring humdrum in the office?" or "want freedom?" which would inevitably lead to "typing an email by the pool with a relaxing drink by my side".
But guess what?
It was all a lie.
A big f**king fat lie.
Office or no office, tie or no tie, the s*** that you got to face isn't going anywhere.
The work isn't getting easier simply because you get to work by the pool on a nice wooden slat table instead of a gray work desk with partitions in front of you.
And neither will your callers become more chilled even though you're surrounded by plants, deck chairs, sunshine and chlorinated pool water instead of files, cabinets and office blinds.
The s*** is all the same.
Okay, I didn't buy into the bulls*** then, and it really wouldn't have made a difference to me because I can only read, sleep and eat by the pool and nothing more, but, thanks to a meeting which I went for not too long ago, I'm 200% convinced now.
You see, it doesn't matter where the meeting is held. Whether it be held in a office or it be held at a café or a poolside, if the meeting is a s***ty one, it is a s***ty one. The place doesn't matter.
That's true.
But what matters is that location does play a part in creating the atmosphere, and as much as one wishes to make the meeting appear casual, uncommitted, or laid back in a pathetic attempt to 'tone it down', the whole thing is a pretence and makes no difference to your desired outcome anyway.
This meeting didn't become more casual as a result of the pool.
Neither did people become more easy going and friendly because of the free flow ice cream.
Nope, didn't happen.
Fear, greed, deceit, thievery and desperation stayed dominant in the essence of everything that was discussed. It didn't make them any less aggressive. Neither did it make us any more or less than how we were already were.
I guess I'm someone who prefers to be in a proper working space to get proper work done, and if I have to be in a meeting whereby the interaction is rife with so much politics and I don't know what else, I'd rather be in a conference room in an enclosed space than on a cushioned armchair by a pool with sunshine rays and happy, screaming kids.
At least I don't insult the pool, her fengshui, and neither do I jam up the breezy tropical winds blustering through the cool, open air space with negativity, tension and sour tastes in the mouth.
I'm sure some of us can recollect the pictures of beautiful, glamorous people clad in poolside wear lounging on deck chairs wearing sunglasses with their hands poised gracefully over their laptops, and a drink- usually a margherita or mai tai- on the table by the side.
And then the copy would always be along the lines of "sick and tired of a 9-5?" or "tired of the boring humdrum in the office?" or "want freedom?" which would inevitably lead to "typing an email by the pool with a relaxing drink by my side".
But guess what?
It was all a lie.
A big f**king fat lie.
Office or no office, tie or no tie, the s*** that you got to face isn't going anywhere.
The work isn't getting easier simply because you get to work by the pool on a nice wooden slat table instead of a gray work desk with partitions in front of you.
And neither will your callers become more chilled even though you're surrounded by plants, deck chairs, sunshine and chlorinated pool water instead of files, cabinets and office blinds.
The s*** is all the same.
Okay, I didn't buy into the bulls*** then, and it really wouldn't have made a difference to me because I can only read, sleep and eat by the pool and nothing more, but, thanks to a meeting which I went for not too long ago, I'm 200% convinced now.
You see, it doesn't matter where the meeting is held. Whether it be held in a office or it be held at a café or a poolside, if the meeting is a s***ty one, it is a s***ty one. The place doesn't matter.
That's true.
But what matters is that location does play a part in creating the atmosphere, and as much as one wishes to make the meeting appear casual, uncommitted, or laid back in a pathetic attempt to 'tone it down', the whole thing is a pretence and makes no difference to your desired outcome anyway.
This meeting didn't become more casual as a result of the pool.
Neither did people become more easy going and friendly because of the free flow ice cream.
Nope, didn't happen.
Fear, greed, deceit, thievery and desperation stayed dominant in the essence of everything that was discussed. It didn't make them any less aggressive. Neither did it make us any more or less than how we were already were.
I guess I'm someone who prefers to be in a proper working space to get proper work done, and if I have to be in a meeting whereby the interaction is rife with so much politics and I don't know what else, I'd rather be in a conference room in an enclosed space than on a cushioned armchair by a pool with sunshine rays and happy, screaming kids.
At least I don't insult the pool, her fengshui, and neither do I jam up the breezy tropical winds blustering through the cool, open air space with negativity, tension and sour tastes in the mouth.