Late Night Work Nights

For the first time since I started as a full-time employee at Sears, I worked a few late nights this week. I should qualify that by saying that “late nights” actually translates to “a few hours later than quitting time.” Usually, I’ve knocked off around 7PM or so.

A big reason? The lights shut down in the office at 6:45 PM. I was told about this when I first started, but never actually experienced it for myself until this week. I think it’s a timed thing, and it happens with a very large, mechanical “thwack” that sounds like a large switch being thrown. Around 7PM, the air shuts down as well… giving the entire office a rather quiet and eerie quality.

Which, actually, is quite pleasant. With the noise and motion during the day, it’s a nice change of pace to have things so calm in the evenings. And the lights being off is actually not much of a deterrent, as I’m perfectly comfortable working in darker environments (and sometimes prefer it).

A view of the desks behind where I sit. Though the lights are off, it’s not that everything is in utter darkness – just darker than normal.

I’m sharing this not as a “Ooh, look how hard I’m working” kind of thing. In fact, kind of the opposite. Compared to some of the long (and admittedly, fun) all-nighters I’ve had in the past (victory beer, anyone?)… this is a walk in the park.

And in fact, working late is somewhat discouraged here. I’ve heard several conversations just this week, where a senior manager was warning a co-worker about not making late nights a habit. And overall, it seems a good thing. I feel overly wired to not miss deadlines, no matter what… and work has been really good about trying to manage expectations, and shifting deadlines when necessary.

I think I’ve got a lot of bad habits I need to work on, with specific regard to crunch mode.

Having the lights go off is kind of a nice touch, honestly – kind of like a bartender, yelling out “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here” to everyone. It’s a nice reminder that hey, maybe you should think about grabbing your coat and making your way out now.

As a side note – every time I left this week, walking through the darkened office… I was never the last one out. There was always someone else sitting at a distant desk, their face illuminated by a screen, typing away.

Related:
Killing the Crunch Mode Antipattern
New Job: Officially a Full-Time Employee at Sears