Office space—care or not?

[Kricket123]

Hi all,

I thought I’d solicit a few thoughts. I have been part of a large group practice for a year. The basics of the job are good—I work 40 hrs/week and make a little over 100K, have benefits (and I don’t do a thing administratively, other than my notes) and nice enough colleagues (some better than others).

What I don’t have is a dedicated office space. Some people, depending on their schedule have their own dedicated office which they decorate, etc. I share space with a few others and work in two offices during the week. I started off part time and went to full time, so this arrangement started off being fine.

Part of me is irked by this and when I asked a few months ago if there was a dedicated space I could have, I was told there wasn’t at this point. The moving around is annoying.

On the other hand, I’m not quite sure how much I actually care. What does bug me is seeing others with their own space. But on the other hand, really all I need are two comfy chairs and a computer. It’s not an art studio—it’s a place to sit.

I can’t figure out if it’s the social comparison that’s bothering me or the actual concept. Would this be an issue given the advantages of the job I noted earlier?

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[PsyDr]

I wouldn’t touch it. At that rate, you’re grossing around 140k. If you decided to leave and go your own way, you’d have to earn that to break even. Which puts a price on what that private office means to you.

I’ve had offices that were extremely nice, and per diem offices like your own. No one cares. I’ve consulted very high priced analysts and median priced ones. The decor isn’t predicted by their price. One big name’s office was pretty bs. A median priced one had a roche boibiis sofa.

 

[WisNeuro]

I wouldn't care. I have my own space, but it's just a place I dump some reference books and house my assessment materials. Could as well be a closet for all I care. Most of my work is done on inpatient units and down in our outpatient clinic. Patients never see my office. If the space provided somehow was affecting the work, it's a problem, but it doesn't sound like it is, so why make a big deal out of it?

 

[Doctor Eliza]

Sounds like a good gig. For comparison, I am in a group practice and have my own beautiful office. However, it is a 60-40 split, no benefits. I'd jump ship pretty fast for benefits! I'm not sure what the market is like in your city, but this is pretty much the best that can be found in my major Midwestern city.

Best,
Dr. E

 

[foreverbull]

I wouldn't get caught up in the office issue; my colleague sits on a folding stool with clients in their rooms at facilities and isn't paid as well as you are. By comparison, having a decent office to sit in (even if it isn't yours) with good pay and benefits would be enough for me!

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Agreed with the others--sounds like a good setup. Sometimes, not having dedicated office space can be a proxy for not being valued as a professional. Doesn't sound like that's the case here.

 

[Ollie123]

Only way I'd care is if it was inconvenient in other ways (i.e. have troubles scheduling because its dependent on room availability, actual office is in another bldg so you lose lots of time walking back and forth, etc.). In this case, it doesn't seem worth worrying about.

Of course, I say this as someone who hasn't done a thing to decorate his office in the 2.5 years he's been there.

 

[Pragma]

I share an office with other people (who are there on other days) in one position. I don’t really care. I bought an awesome fridge to share. Clinically, I don’t like self disclosures much either, so not having pictures/etc up is fine with me. Just don’t mess with my yogurt.

 

[temppsych123]

I think if it's impairing your work in some way (unable to schedule clients when you want, rooms are left a mess by other people, other people's sessions run over time or they book things without notifying you, etc) you could broach it again from that framework, but if it's not causing problems other than the subjective experience of not having your own office, it might not be worth making a huge deal about.

If you want to get a solo office in the future, and there's no space now, you could also broach it with your office manager in a more inquisitive way rather than demanding (e.g., I noticed some full-time staff have their own offices, and I know there's not space for me to have one right now, but I was wondering what the process is for deciding who gets a solo office if one should become available, for example, is it based on who asks for it, or seniority, etc).