Getting personal

Techies on personalising the workspace

November 20, 2014 08:09 pm | Updated 08:09 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Priyanka Xavier (left) at her cubicle filled with soft toys.

Priyanka Xavier (left) at her cubicle filled with soft toys.

Inside the modern facades and plexiglass of Technopark’s skyscrapers are utilitarian, air-conditioned rooms, choc-a-block with rows and rows of cubicles. It’s in these smallish work stations that most techies spend the majority of their time at work, day in and day out, staring at their computer screens.

“Our personal work stations are almost like our second homes and therefore it’s important to decorate them so that we feel comfortable,” says Meera, a data analyst, who is very “house proud” of her work station that has been tastefully decorated with several contemporary pieces of office supplies.

Admittedly, a fair majority of the work spaces are unapologetically no-frills, with just a computer and, perhaps, a notepad for company even though most companies, we understand, don’t place too many restrictions on personalising the workspace. Several techies have, however, made the most of the opportunity and put their own stamp on their cubicles.

Take Priyanka Xavier, a senior software engineer with an MNC, for example. Her cubicle is packed wall to wall with stuffed toys, birthday cards, porcelain figurines, photos and what not. In fact, she says that her colleagues call her cubicle a toy store! “I want my cubicle to be unique. As such, it is colourful, lively and interesting, which in turn keeps me in a happy mood throughout the day. I feel that it should be a joy to come to work rather than a routine and my bay helps a lot in thinking like that. Also, I have a jolly bunch of friends who are fully responsible for stuffing my cubicle with wonderful gifts.”

Project coordinator Chithralekha T.K too has a large collection of soft toys, quotes and collectibles on her desk. “I collect souvenirs from London and also Walt Disney figurines, most of which make their way on to my desk at work. They just brighten up the atmosphere of the room and makes me cheery too,” she says.

Validation analyst Chandni Pahuja who works for a clinical research company on campus also has a “colourful” work station, full of religious iconography and inspirational quotes [the two most popular décor items, apparently], flowerpots, smileys, photographs of her family back in Delhi, funky notepads and so on.

“I think it’s important to make your work stations a happy space, for a happy space equals good productivity. My colleague and friend Apoorva Gupta and I keep decorating each other’s work stations, with quotes and stickers to celebrate days such World Environment Day or, more recently, World Toilet Day!” says Chandni, with a laugh. “Both our bays are star attractions in the office,” she says.

Her colleague and clinical data coordinator Sharath Mammen agrees. He has a photo of Rio’s Christ the Redeemer, a pen holder gifted to him by a friend and emblazoned with the quote ‘It’s all in the game’, a Transformers toy, a quote that says ‘All good things are wild and free’, and a small Tricolour on his work space.

“Women tend to personalise their workspace more than the men in my office, but I believe that it is a good stress buster to be surrounded by your personal effects, not to mention a way to stand out from the drab crowd!” says Sharath. Happy decorating.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.