I’ve been chatting with one friend of mine from college who’s now working in one of those big consumer product firms (one of those companies you find on the label of a lot of your household items). While the pay is really good, she complains a lot about the people and the ways of working. And she’s not just one person who has shared the same sentiment. In fact, a lot of my friends who are now working for large multi-tiered organizations complain about the impersonal atmosphere.

Ten years ago, such workplaces are a norm. It was very cut-throat, impersonal, and competitive. However, today, the new breed of workers do not want to immerse themselves in such a setting especially since Google has revolutionized the paradigm of workplaces. But has this really influenced today’s workforce? How plausible is it for an organization to offer such a workplace? Could it be rookie jitters or is it because people are innately social?

Now these are probably open-ended questions for now. Still, there lies the idea that an organization’s strength also lies in the culture and the setting where they do their work.

Now enter those who work in smaller, very dynamic firms, usually start-ups and those in the creative fields. While the workload can really be a bitch, most of them endure with their reason/s being – “I like the people in my workplace. I enjoy it there.” I, myself, have experienced working for a smaller firm where the atmosphere is very light and you even get to chat to C-level officers and they know you by your first name.

What’s even more interesting is that even work-at-home arrangements can also create that impersonal atmosphere. I’ve had some fellow bloggers also complain that the lack of human contact can pretty much affect their outlooks. Sure, one can readily fire up an IM and start conversing but there’s just something in human contact that even video conferencing and VoIP can’t address.

Now back to the question as to whether large organizations can create something more sociable or not. The real challenge there is size. It is practically impossible to meet everyone and know everyone. Compound that with the fact that a very dynamic workplace doesn’t really create the opportunity for social interaction.

Some organizations have attempted to flatten their organizations to eliminate alienation by rank, focusing on project teams rather than hierarchical divisions. This somehow addresses the issue of size by creating the illusion that teams are more personal and interactive. Still, why do people from such organizations complain?

Any thoughts?