About This Project
"Working on Mount Desert Island, Maine" is a photo-essay project based off of interviews. The study explores how people feel about their jobs and their relationship with their workspace. The project is a self-designed singular college course in which Lauren Broomall interviewed 12 people over the course of ten weeks. She asked people what their thoughts are and how they feel about their workspace in relationship to satisfaction. The study is meant to be a collection of attitudes that tell each individual's story through visual art and accurate literary representation of the information gathered during interviews.
On average we spend 40 hours a week at work. One would think that how we feel and interact in our workspace during that time would influence our job satisfaction and our lives overall. Through this study Lauren Broomall has further explored this complex relationship to try and reveal key factors that the interviewees emphasized. The study is executed using a very broad approach through the interview techniques. Questions were broad and vague containing no specific questions about autonomy or natural light though these are themes you may see. Questions were structured in this way in order to not impose thoughts and predictions and to allow the interviewees thoughts and feelings to emerge according to their chosen level of importance and emphasis.
Methodology:
The interviews were recorded and all quotes exposed on this site are taken directly from those files. All interviewees signed an informed consent document. Interviews took approximately half an hour.
All photography was taken using natural lighting in order to portray a more accurate representation of the workspace settings.
The document I used to help guide me through the interview with questions and reminders:
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Interview Questions
To remember: How does a work environment affect a person’s satisfaction. How much is their satisfaction tied to their environment? How does the workspace or environment affect their attitude towards work?
Collecting attitudes
1. What is your job title? And what do you do, describe to me a typical work day. 2. Tell me about your workspace.
a. Some follow ups/reminders/adjustments according to profession—How much time do you spend time in the office? A home office? Other work environment? If you have more than one workspace, the difference between the two? Which do you prefer and why? Workspace could be about the people and environment.
3. Do you like your workspace; How do you feel when you’re working in your workspace?
a. Reminder: if they just say ‘I like what’ what do you like about it? Why is it important to you? What do you think first thing in the morning when you get to your job or start working?
4. How would you describe the work environment that you work best in? that allows you to be the most productive and efficient with your work? (Consider how their current workspace compares with this description.)
a. An alone setting, working on a team, in the office or out in the field doing the work.
5. What’s your relationship like with your boss/employees/clients/the community?
6. If you could put your experience with your work into a few words what might some of those words be?
More Reminders: Tell me what you Think and Feel.
Less yes no answers, "tell me about, describe your." Conversation and themes.
Not questionnaire, more like a reporter- getting the people engaged. Set the right tone, NOT like a telephone survey. Reach the person, plug in and connect with them, listen and respond.
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