A few days ago I was browsing Fortune.com, checking out the point indexes on my mutual stocks and chatting with my financial advisor, Ira Roth. Or trying to anyway. I get the feeling he doesn’t respect me as much as his clients 59.5 and older.
It was there that I came across the following article:
http://fortune.com/2015/03/09/happiest-jobs/
I immediately posted it on FaceBook with the caption “At First I Didn’t Believe This List. Then #7 Blew My Mind. The Reason Why Will Warm Your Heart.”
In case you didn’t take the click bait, #7 is website developer. This got me thinking about just why it is we’re all so happy here at Infomedia. Granted, we aren’t an office of only web developers, as it takes many different roles to keep things running smoothly here, but it is still a very happy place to work. Anyone who has called the office and heard Michele’s happy voice on the other end can attest to that (unless I answered, in which case I’m sorry. I wasn’t unhappy. My voice really is that naturally monotone and sullen). I decided to list out just why it is we’re happy, because lists are kind of my thing, much like the entire rest of the Internet.
1) We have a team mentality, but, like, in a cool way.
What does that mean? Well instead of “fun” team building exercises like trust falls and the name game, we get awesome matching shirts for St. Patrick’s Day and have a tailgate party every fall. No birthday goes uncelebrated and since we’re relatively small we can actually personalize the party. I used to work as a claims adjuster for an insurance company before coming here. I won’t say which one, because they have “murder someone in broad daylight and have it ruled a mistrial” kind of money, but I’ll give you a hint: they’re the one whose commercials play every 10 seconds.
Anyway, I only worked there for one birthday and my “party” was getting a third two-minute bathroom break for the day, and I only had to notify my supervisor in writing instead of asking for permission in person. I also had to stay two minutes late the next day.
This year? I got a dinosaur cookie cake and Mardi Gras donuts. I’ve never typed a sentence that contained so many of my favorite words. I even got a birthday card signed personally by every employee here. What more can you ask for? This team makes you feel loved, birthday or not.
2) We get to work with passionate and exciting people.
There’s a very good chance that if you’re coming to us to build a site or improve upon what you already have, it’s because you’re passionate about your business or company or job or whatever the case may be. You have a vision for improving your online presence, and we get to help you with that. It makes for a great professional relationship.
We also have a broad spectrum of people we work for, from multimillion dollar companies to artisan business owners, ensuring we never get burnt out with working with the same things. I used to work with only angry people whose trigger to get angrier was the sound of my voice, so it’s an understatement to say I prefer our clients. It’s easy to see why the passion and the excitement of our clients fuels our happiness day to day. And we appreciate it.
3) Our culture is built on trust and self-management.
Hey I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but I really didn’t like my last job. Part of the reason was all the listening to phone calls and voicemails, monitoring computer activity, swiping an ID badge to enter the building (as if anyone who didn’t have to be there would want to sneak in), and other dehumanizing policies. However, at least I didn’t have an employee ID number to really drive home that I was a drone.
I actually had three separate numbers designating me a “WORKING AGE HU-MAN MALE.”
The good news is things work slightly differently here. The CEO and president are in the office next to mine. Schedules are flexible – as long as you get in your eight it doesn’t matter if you prefer to come in later and stay later or if you like to start your day at 7 am. Family emergency? Work from home and save the time off.
Personally I’m a fan of the relaxed dress code. Tucking in my shirt is kind of a deal breaker, mostly because it makes my six pack so defined and then everyone teases me. Hunks have feelings too people. So the atmosphere is comfortable, and comfort makes for added happiness.
Is there a lesson in all that rambling? Yes. It’s that you should be the most painfully safe driver on the road, because a miserable retired frat boy could be deciding if your accident is covered or not. Also, that we’re happy here at Infomedia. Like, truly happy, and it’s not so much our job descriptions or the type of company Infomedia is. It’s the fact that our culture fosters success, encouragement, passion, and overall happiness…and we don’t even have to try that hard to make that happen. So yes, Fortune, we’re web developers, and we’re happy!
