Wherever you work, the environment that you work in will always be different from the previous job placement.
In our college group, though a lot of us do similar, general administration tasks, our working environments are a lot different. Some of us work for big companies, while others, like myself, have been placed with smaller, more independent companies.
In their own words, some of the group have talked about their company and what they do, their role within the company, and the kind of environment they work in.
Apprentice: Ellie
Work placement: Webra, a multimedia company who concentrate mostly on web design, and 2D/3D animation.
Role: Production assistant to the managing director. This also involves general administration and various other creative tasks.
Dress code: Dress code can vary in the office. The general dress code is smart-casual but if I have to attend important meetings with the producer, then smart clothes are appropriate. I think everyone generally comes to the office looking presentable which is appropriate if clients want to pop into the office unexpectedly.
Time off: I would usually email the producer to ask for it off, with plenty of notice. I can work another day to work the time back if we do not want to actually take our holiday pay at that time which I think is a great. Also, our offices close for 2 weeks over christmas which is part of our holiday pay. I believe I get 16 days holiday over the year.
Language: Swearing is something that generally isn't done in the office. No-one seems to swear very much.
Office atmosphere: Everyone is very respectful and polite to each other. It's a very calm and creative atmosphere as 3 out of the 5 people in the workplace are under 21. This creates a great buzz in the office and the only time there is conflict is when we are bouncing off each other for creative ideas!
I've never been asked to dress in a smart-casual way, so I know that we don't have a dress code! I usually wear what I would wear out on any day to the office (jeans, t-shirt, that kind of thing). It isn't required of me to go with a smart-casual look as I don't attend meetings that our producers/director does.
Regarding time off, Ellie has to email the producer, whereas I can ask for time off in all sorts of communication mediums (face-to-face, email, phone, etc.). I don't have to give too much notice, but enough is usually better as many things can crop up for my colleagues (which did happen, causing me to have to wait until I could take my second week off). I have the same amount of annual leave as Ellie does, clocking in at 17 days.
Swearing is something that does play apart in our office, so again, that is a difference from our working environments. Though, I personally don't swear that much in the office, (I have an odd slip here and there, but usually, especially when there is someone in the office I don't know, I'll be respectful enough as I know I can go off on one when it comes to language), there is the option to swear, but obviously not go overboard with it (which I tend to do!).
There is a sort-of young vibe in our office, too. A lot more relaxed then other office-related environments are, but out of the four of us, I am definitely the youngest one here! (Everyone else is 30+)
Apprentice: Jemel
Work placement: I work for Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s leading live entertainment and ecommerce company, comprised of four market leaders: Ticketmaster.com, Live Nation Concerts, Front Line Management Group and Live Nation Network.
Ticketmaster.com is the global event ticketing leader and one of the world’s top five ecommerce sites, with over 26 million monthly unique visitors.
Role: I work under the ecommerce department as a Junior designer, I work on a variety of live projects internal and external from festival & ticketing websites, concert passes, promotional material for web and print and much more.
Dress code: When it comes to dress code there isn’t one just as long as you look presentable that’s all that counts, some colleagues have roles that require them to meet clients often so they tend to dress smart most of the time.
Time off: We have an online system (whosoff.com) we log into to request and book time off which has to be approved by your manager. Can’t speak for every employee but my manager seems to be pretty flexible but during busy times you may have to compromise understandably. If you fall ill unexpectedly or for any other unforeseen reason you can’t make it to work you are expected to contact your manager immediately.
Language: I hardly swear myself and I have only heard one swear word my duration here so far coming from a frustrated colleague.
Office atmosphere: My workplace covers 2 floors over at my office in Leicester square and another 2 floors at our office based in Argyll Street, which I visited to meet the boss, Paul Latham. We have offices all over the world but based on the two I have been to I would describe the atmosphere as friendly, easy going but fast paced and hard working.
Jemel works for a very big company, even I've heard of. Because of this, Livenation seems to be a lot more organised and strict than Steel Mill Pictures.
Whereas I would probably be working on my own, and once in a blue-moon working side-by-side with someone in the office on a particular task that requires more than one person, Jemel is constantly working with his colleagues on a specific brief, as that is required in his job as a designer.
Jemel points out that sometimes his colleagues have on-the-go meetings, so they are always looking smart. Most of the time, when someone is around in the office, they will have a meeting at some point during the day, but as far as I can remember, I don't think I have ever seen anyone I work with wearing a suit for any of those meetings, just normal, casual clothes.
When requesting time off, Jemel and his colleagues have to sign into a website to do that, because there are a lot of employees, but for me, as I mentioned, I would ask my employees through different means of communication.
Out of all the apprentices that have given feedback on the culture of their environment, Jemel's company seems to be waving the flag the highest when it comes to a no-no on swearing, completely different from where I work.
Our office atmosphere, when it comes to being easy going and friendly, is true to my company. Depending on the period of time, though, there may be a slump where nothing much is going on, or when everything is all happening at once and it is full steam ahead on the busy train.
Apprentice: Charlotte (Lottie)
Work placement: I work for a film production company called Pistachio Pictures. We produce features and short films. We're involved in the pre-production, production, and post-production process, even more so when we direct film. The company consists of two producers (one of whom is a director), and myself. Occasionally, we will hire externally when we're involved in a project.
Role: My role in the company is a production/personal assistant.
Dress code: In regards to the dress code, we actually don’t have one, but I think it’s just general knowledge that you don’t show up looking unprofessional and everyone in our office does dress ‘fashionably’ so it’s not an issue. Personally I wear professional office clothing because we do have meetings that can be arranged on the day, so it’s just a given that you turn up wearing something respectable.
Time off: When asking for time off, it’s not really an issue. If any of us are feeling unwell or something comes up where we can only give a short notice, we’re fine with that, and can work always around it. With booking holidays we’re pretty flexible and understand that sometimes people need a break! We’re pretty easy going with time off, unless it’s an extremely busy period, but most of the time we can foresee this and you just don’t book off time then.
Language: I personally do not swear so that has never been an issue for me. When it comes to other people swearing in the work place, they tend not to do it and you really don’t hear it much unless something is really getting to them.
Office atmosphere: We are all respectful towards each other and we do get on and because there is only the three of us there has been no issues that have arisen, but if any do, it's easy to communicate and work through them because for now we are still a small company.
Pistachio Pictures sounds very similar to my place of work, just because they are a small company, and Lottie's role as a production/personal assistant is the kind of job I have been doing for the past 8 months.
While we have that in common, there are a few differences between our two respective companies.
Dress code wise, as Lottie goes to meetings, it makes sense for her to wear office-type clothes, whereas I am not in the same position and mostly in the office all day, with the exception of making runs around London.
The way our booked leave works is quite similar to Lottie's. If something important is happening, it is best not to book your holiday (which is what I did when we were shooting our feature film in July/August). Sometimes time off can't be given to you, and as I have mentioned, things do crop up, but when I asked for a day off a few days before the family event I had to go to, everyone was fine with it.
Language is a completely different scenario from my work place. If something is really getting to someone in the office, they will swear, but then again, if it isn't, and they're just making a joke, swearing will probably take place.
From the three work places profiled, though my office environment shares a fair few similarites with Ellie, Jemel and Lottie's offices, there are a fair few differences that would make our working days different!
You can see that the smaller the company, the more relaxed atmosphere it seems to be. Ellie has a half-way point where it is very friendly, but work needs to be done, and you have to be mindful of your language. Jemel's company is all go-go-go, though there is room for conversing on a relaxed level, and Lottie's office, because of there being so little people there, is very chilled out. .
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