The Geek Working Method

Be it hard or easy to believe, geeks and non-geeks have different work methods and view doing work very differently than the opposite faction.  Geeks see work as a way to solve problems, and if there is not a problem to solve geeks will get bored or come up with different ways to do the task.  This can be a problem if the person requesting the service wants it to be done a certain way and can cause problems.  Non-geeks like to achieve goals rather than solve problems and are focused on achieving visions.  This can often create problems between geeks and non-geeks because geeks like to have a definitive ending point or time when the project is due and non-geeks prefer things like making the team work or working together.

I experienced this in some of the different jobs I have worked at and I definitely am a geek in my work habits.  I started out making money by mowing lawns of people I knew and I did that for several years, but I got bored doing that because it was the same thing over and over again.  My next job was working in a video game store where we did repairs, and I found this job to be quite fun because there was a new problem to solve when I came into work.  I had a blast at that job and was there for two and a half years and then the business shut down, and my next major job was here at college where I worked at the student union snack bar for about a year.  The problem I had with the union is it got to be the same old thing and it got to the point I was getting bored at work, so after the first semester, I found a job maintaining the website for the on-campus arts journal.  This helped me to not be as bored working at the union but that was not a permanent fix to the problem, and after last semester I knew I was done working at the union, and now I am enjoying tutoring because there is always a new problem to solve or help people solve.  I guess the most important thing for me was that after some time the jobs got mundane and some people thrive where things stay the same, but for geeks that just does not work.  Though I have not experienced working with non-geeks very much I can see how this is a problem in the workplace and can make working conditions less than desirable.  Language also makes a contribution to this topic because geeks and non-geeks use language differently and this can cause problems in the workplace between these two factions.  Geeks use language to communicate facts or necessary information and see using it for more than that as pointless, whereas non-geek use language to communicate feelings and meanings which can definitely cause issues.  Geeks will see the non-geeks as wasting time and not accomplishing anything, and the non-geeks will see the geeks as anti-social people who do not know how to have a conversation.  If there is not an understanding between these groups or someone who knows how to get the factions to work together in the workplace it can turn work into a nightmare and make it miserable for everyone.

It is very important to know how the geek and the non-geek factions work and how to manage these groups in the way that each one needs to be managed so that the workplace can be both productive and fun.  It is also important to know which faction you fall under, so you can help to keeps the factions functioning and working together.