An often difficult condition to predict when evaluating a job offer is your ability to “fit” into a new physical environment. It is critical to consider the physical environment of your potential work place and the individuals (i.e., peers and supervisors) that you will be working with as part of the job offer evaluation process.
Analyzing the work environment refers to the environmental conditions of a place of employment. It includes such conditions as:
- Co-workers
- Supervisors
- Support staff
- Other colleagues (i.e., physicians, therapists, nurses, nutritionists, etc.)
- Communication lines
- Authority privileges and rights
- General feel of the new work place
Many people have told us that after they accepted their job offer they found out that their department reports to “other professionals” (i.e., physical therapists reporting to nurses); their department is in the basement next to the vending machines; the staff hadn’t received raises in three years so morale is low and the staff turn-over is high.
How you will relate to co-workers and your supervisor is just about as difficult as predicting how well you’ll relate to your in-laws. However, thorough research, an ability to judge people, and a little time will assist you in having a comfortable or uncomfortable feel for the potential work place. Often organizations will try and “paint a rosy picture” of the conditions of the work place because they are so desperate to hire someone. They promise all kinds of situations in order to attract you to the work place, then, once you’ve accepted the offer, the work environment doesn’t seem anything like when you interviewed.