Chainless Desks

As I interviewed the author of 175 Best Jobs Not Behind a Desk for a story I was writing, this made me ponder. While some people may love their job, dislike their boss and others loathe their job but like their boss, environment is part of the overall equation, too. I think it's one of the many factors to consider about a potential job and I see it as I recruit candidates and field their questions: do they like the office environment and how often will they interact with others versus their computer.

The author draws parallels between personality types and the actual job and notes sometimes an out-of-the office job is the perfect antidote for people who otherwise feel chained to a desk. Whether it's an onsite construction manager, nurse, or teacher their "offices" are out of the cubicle - herego, box. Although some of the locations may have drawbacks too such as a teacher has office work as well with grading and lesson plans and their classroom may have pluses and minuses as well, the point is environment. For instance, entrepreneurial types who enjoy change thrive in a "cageless" office whereas people who enjoy structure may prefer the stability and predictability of an office environment.

So as I concluded researching various chainless jobs it made me realize every job has various facets and may not be all or nothing. Some jobs are not entirely out of the office since they still require office-type work and like everything there's a nice shade of gray in between. The key is finding out which shade of gray will make you the happiest and consequently, the most productive.