The fictional Nine-Nine is a wild place, I think we can all agree on that, but if there’s anything brilliant to be said about Jake Peralta’s home base (other than the presence of the Great Gina Linetti, Human Form of the 100 Emoji), it’s that they have the makings of a great office and an even more amazing team. So even if the Nine-Nine doesn’t always get the award for best police precinct in New York, you can damn well be sure that it’s one of the best offices you could ever hope to work for and take inspiration from.
Respect is the name of the game.
Terry makes his point perfectly, thank you very much.
It hardly needs to be said that the best work comes from teams that foster mutual respect among its teammates. With great teams, you don’t need to try too hard to be heard: There are no egos to be pandered to, nobody thinks their thoughts matter more than anyone else’s, and people listen to each other and don’t question someone else’s knowledge of the job they’re meant to be doing.
Get you a boss like Raymond Holt.
Everyone has fun on the job.
You hit the jackpot if your boss is actively pushing you to have fun.
The most evident sign of a good office: Happy employees! If your teammates greet each other everyday, fool around during downtime, hang out so much you have inside jokes within inside jokes, and accomplish tasks without unnecessary drama, then you’re in good hands. Face it, old corporate: Nobody’s buying the I’m-serious-because-I-work-seriously crap anymore. We understand better now, and we know nothing feels better (and more productive!) than working in an office where having a good time is encouraged – or, in Raymond’s case, specifically requested.
People talk – and, well, really talk to each other.
And they love it when you do, too.
The thing about healthy work environments is that all channels of communication are open and ready to accept anything, from work-related inquiries and personal woes to plans of Friday night-outs and the occasional rant and/or de-stress conversations. Take Captain Holt and Rosa’s conversation, for example: If this isn’t an excellent example of amazing team communication (and respect, while we’re at it!), then I don’t know what is.
Truth is, you just can’t say you’ve got a great team if everyone thinks they need to keep things to themselves, or if the team’s relationship is strictly limited to office stuff – because that’s not great, that’s just downrightsad. I imagine that’s what it would be like if everyone in the Nine-Nine suddenly found themselves working under Madeline Wuntch’s command. Quite the horror.
Trust, above all else.
Life is so much easier when you know you’ve got someone covering for you.
In a perfect set-up where people respect each other, talk to each other, and have fun working with each other, you’re definitely sure to have people who gotchu anytime you need backup. Healthy, trust-centric work environments means the company has its employees’ backs and the employees reciprocate those efforts in return. This is evident in small, everyday things like 1) allowing flexible work times, 2) a stunning lack of micromanagement in all aspects, 3) and teams that have decision-making capabilities and are aware of the accountability that comes with their choices.
Basically it’s what you’ve got in your office if you know for a fact that there’s a Jake Peralta in your team (you know the type: kickass employee, with a loose screw or two (or three, or five if we’re going to be really generous) – and your boss lets them be because they deliver proper results and aren’t actually harming anyone else’s work flow.
No doubt about it – at all.
In conclusion…
Creating a great environment for your office is not a one-off thing. It is the product of months, if not years and years, of people working on perfecting the atmosphere of trust, respect, and inclusivity it’s got going. You certainly can’t have a good workplace without good people and good management, either – even the Nine-Nine wouldn’t have gone as far as it did if everyone in the precinct was just half as good as they are (or were, as in Scully and Hitchcock’s case), and not as inclined to make it work for the rest of the team.
If you did the numbers in your head and you feel like your office isn’t quite as great as you’d hoped it would be, try gently introducing new methods to help people soften up to the notion of becoming a great work environment – say, one evening binge-watching Nine-Nine? ;)
Noine-Noine!
Want to really work on getting a better office environment for you and your colleagues? It all begins with good convo on a great platform made especially for your team. Come to Campgrounds and get started!