Your work environment can make a job wonderful or not. Here are five key characteristics we strive to cultivate at Fishhook.

Environment is key to cultivating a healthy work culture that includes both the physical (how it looks, smells, sounds, etc.) and the non-physical (how you feel around one another, how you feel about being there, etc.). An environment can make a job wonderful OR make it miserable. At Fishhook, we do our best to be aware of this and to make our environment as enjoyable as possible. Here are five key characteristics of our environment:

  • RELAXED: We try to chill. Seriously, we're not brain surgeons here. We find that a more casual approach promotes creativity and openness with our clients. Our approach leads to a high level of trust. We trust each other to get the work done and to do what we say we'll do. We're relaxed in the way we address one another; there's no dictatorship here. We're also relaxed/casual in our dress; we wear whatever we work best in. 
     
  • CREATIVE: The Fishhook building isn't your typical office space. Our farm-house-turned-office-building has some quirky aesthetics, slanted ceilings, lots of windows and mix-matched accessories. But it's creative. There is color on the walls, there are nuances in the imperfections, and there is creativity in the space. The uniqueness inspires us and makes us grateful!
     
  • FUN: Our work environment is fun! We share silly jokes, videos and stories with one another; we buy food for our meetings or "just because;" when we hear laughter in the building, we stop our work to investigate; we make cookies; we bring our kids and pets to work with us. We spend an average of 30-40 hours a week here, so we do our best to make sure we have some fun!
     
  • RELATIONAL: This is 50% natural and 50% intentional. As a team we have friendships and enjoy catching up with one another. We'll pop into each others' offices and talk about things not related to work. The reality is that we get busy and it can be easy to go through a whole week without having these non-work catch-ups. We've realized as a team it helps our comraderie to be intentional about our relationships with one another. We enjoy it when we all take time to pop in on each other, even if it means being interrupted in a busy work day. We are people - not employees - first.  
     
  • CHANGING SCENERY: Because of the Fishhook mantra, "work when you want, where you want," we aren't always working in the Fishhook world headquarters. Most Fridays, I'll change it up and spend half the day at a coffee shop or work from my house with my dogs nearby. Sometimes you can find Ben in the library downtown, Lindsay by the fire in her living room, and Leah, Evan and Shawn are out and about as well. Having the flexibility and choice to work from somewhere else for the day keeps us fresh and creative.

What does your work environment look like? Is there something you could be doing to enjoy it more? What would you change? What would you keep the same?

If you liked this blogpost, view other entries from "The Fishhook Vibe" series: