How To Adapt To A Highly Structured Environment

„Architects hate blindly following…anything…without understanding why. They have a greater dislike for authority figures who go around forcing others to obey laws and rules without understanding the purpose of the standards themselves. Architects are likely not to get along with anyone who prefers how things “have always been.” However, by not going along with the standards – even when doing so might not be a big deal – Architects can make their lives harder than they need to be.“ – 16Personalities

In many cases, there is a reason behind doing things the way they are done. Putting on pants as a shirt does not make sense – that’s why they are pants, not shirts. Everyone can follow this logic. It makes sense, and there is a reason to do it one way and not another.

Unfortunately, it’s not always this clear. Especially when it comes to working environments, some structures and standards just do not make any sense. Why do I have to ask approximately 7.000 people before I am allowed to save a file onto a company drive? Why do I have to wait 10-12 business days before someone comes and adjusts the height of my desk when I could do it perfectly fine on my own? Why do office workers all get hungry at 11.30am? No one knows, and quite frankly, it does not make sense.

However, sometimes you just have to accept it. Especially in big companies, everything is related to processes; processes that have grown over time and have been adjusted to different problems over and over again. They are highly complicated and highly annoying. Is there potential to change them, make them better? Yes! Should you be the one worrying about it? No.

Thinking about making the process easier and saving some time, does, in fact, waste your time. You won’t be able to change the structure single-handedly anyway, so you might as well accept it and adjust to it.

Yes, this will take time, and you will most definitely be annoyed every single time you have to go through the process again. However, eventually, you won’t mind it anymore and just follow the protocol. If you cannot accept the process, though, consider contacting the team responsible for the process and give them feedback. You might even want to get involved in a project and help change the process.

You can either stop complaining about it and accept it or be part of the change. The choice is yours.