> 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.
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.
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?
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.