Community: The Most Frequently-Used Word In This Post
All my life, I’ve lived in a family within a neighborhood within a larger neighborhood within a city that people refer to as a neighborhood to make it sound more tight-knit. Fortunately, though, too much “community” is never a bad thing.
I didn’t realize this until I began working at DailyMe. The company has put a continual emphasis on the term throughout product development, and social networking is now a major selling point of our service. Less obvious, though, is that the team is similarly passionate about stressing community harmony within the office environment. To see this, one must bring “community” back to its sandbox connotation—when “sharing” and “playing nice” were all that was necessary for group harmony. I’ll examine the little things that go on each day, because they are what set an office’s tone.
I first look to our lunch situation. On a given day, at least three of us will eat lunch together. It usually takes less than thirty seconds to pick a place, despite each person’s often-myriad dietary quirks. Sure, we may only agree because everyone shoots for the place with the best deal (Pizzarella on Tuesdays!), but there is no denying its effect on both harmony and efficiency.
There’s also a wealth of data in our citchen (kitchen + closet). Everyone in the office is entitled to a portion of any item in the mini-fridge, liquid or solid. It may sound more like communism than community, but this egalitarian policy has many advantages. As an intern especially, I had the opportunity to remove much more than I ever packed into the device. Plus, systematically trying all of your co-workers’ favorite drinks is a great office bonding experience.
Even our espresso machine reflects preparation of a warm office atmosphere. The boss realized early that everyone in the office drinks caffeinated coffee, and was therefore able to spend twice as much on only one machine. The result: everyone enjoys the same fancy, foreign brew as their cubicle neighbor, which serves as a comfort AND a conversation-piece. Oh, and we put up a “Decaf Need Not Apply” sign.
In sum, I guess the team does highlight community on the micro scale. The sometimes-conscious group effort may not benefit our office life in the same manner that it does our customers, but the two are related. I’ll get back to you when I figure out how.
Peace, Love, and Personalized Media.
-John the Intern
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