A Red Chair

So, we  had a new guy start out today (Chris C.) and he wheeled in a big, bright, red chair into his cubicle this morning and the first word that came to mind was "gregarious".  You really have to see it to understand just how red it is!

Come to find out that it wasn't from the normal "pool" of office furniture at Wharton, nor something funky that his previous department provided for him.  Nope, it turns out he bought it for himself...with his own money (well, I'm assuming it's his own money.  He could have won the lottery in which case it was supposed to be my money.  ;)

Then tonight, I read an article in Knowledge @ Wharton about employee satisfaction and how it seems to correlate to better financials.  Both the article and the Chris' extroverted chair got me thinking about what makes me a "satisfied employee" and maybe even more broadly what makes Wharton a "satisfying workplace".

On the employee side, for me, the idea that the organization goes out of its way to invest itself, in my professional and personal development is key.  Just look at all the programs that are available to help (Penn's HR News)!  You may have heard that there are plans to dramatically and drastically change the "core" office space for Wharton Computing.  This is another example of the organization investing itself to hopefully make our environment more collaborative, more energizing, more helpful in getting that highest level of employee satisfaction.

So what makes a "satisfying workplace" then, you ask?  I think it's the flip side. Where the "satisfied employee" can be nurtured by the organization investing in the employee, I think a truly satisfying workplace is dependent on the employees, themselves, investing in the organization, and maybe more importantly, investing in themselves.

I like the idea that Chris C. bought his own chair, and made our space just that much more colorful.  And you know what?  I'm a little bummed that I've "settled" for the office furniture pool for this long!

If you invested some of your own <insert_valuable_asset_here> into Wharton, what would it be?

I'd buy an Xbox or PlayStation, a copy of Dance Dance Revolution (don't worry; it's safe), and just have pure, physical fun!

Now if only I could swing that by Boyfriend, aka The Family CFO.