As it turns out, the most fun office in all of Melbourne isn’t really that fun after all. I’d heard rumours of this one office that sold paper clips, but was a total party the whole time, but people were really coy about the whole thing. People who’d visited as clients could confirm, however, that everyone seemed to be having a good time.I guess they must have found a really decent commercial office designer, Melbourne has some of the best people when it comes to style. I managed to find someone who was willing to bend the rules a little, because I finally got an interview at the place and it was…interesting. There was a fireman’s pole, for one thing, and it was the only way in. You take the elevator up to a higher floor, which is totally empty, and then slide down, and then down again to get out. Anyway, I started working there, and was introduced to all the ‘fun’ mechanics. Everyone gets to pick their favourite type of chair, and talking about movies is encouraged during the day. At random intervals a disco ball will descend from the ceiling for a ‘fifteen-minute dance party’, where everyone is encouraged to get up and get the blood flowing in a rave. The walls are covered in drawings, chalkboards, poems…whatever people want to put up. And there are, like so many animals. There are cages built right into the walls for snakes and birds, and everyone brings in their puppies and kittens and ferrets.
Yeah, so anyway, I hated it. I’m not a dancing person, all the strobe lights made my head hurt, and sometimes you just want to do work, instead of someone throwing their beanbag over the table and sitting right down to talk about Colonel Marble.
I feel like whichever office fitout experts they used were probably under a bit of duress, because that’s how I felt for the whole time as well. You’re either happy, or you’re gone. It’s like…enforced mood regulations.
-Pierce