It is about the company I am working at right now. A company with 14 brands is my current place to work after 6 years’ tenure in an agency. Correct; I am leaving agency / consulting world to join a corporate one. I have just been working for a month but I already knew and learned the differences between those two worlds. Beyond that, it is interesting to explore my day-to-day life after joining this company.
Pressure & Consistency
Firstly, I admit that the corporate world gives me less pressure compared to when I was in agency. Speaking of the pressure, it covers the (not) simultaneous jobs, target and expectation from my supervisor, also any deadline related to my jobs. You can finish your job one by one and no one will disturb you with other jobs when you are doing something. You or your colleague must or can wait until after the job done.
Secondly, working in corporate world gives me a very consistent working time, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day. It is totally different when I was in agency, that I have no consistent working time. My working time in agency was determined by my assignment or client. I could work very early in the morning, starting in the afternoon, or even not working at all for the whole day if there was no assignment or meeting.
Treated Like a Family
Thirdly, I somehow feel that my current company treats me like a real family. There is no competitive feelings among employees within the company. Back then in the agency, everyday was competition day for each other, including your appearance, your clients, your billings, even your way of life.
In the corporate world, especially here in my current company, you will not find it. It is family; you help each other honestly. Anything you are doing, it is about how to make the family stronger, feeling the gap other family member cannot do or achieve. The agency is actually also a company, but like I mentioned, you feel a day-to-day competition.
Great Surroundings Boost Your Mood
Let us move to something beyond the company. The office of my current company is situated in Mega Kuningan. To be exact, it is on the opposite of Kuningan City Mall. As you may know, the traffic jam there is so bad. To make it worse, it is totally a traffic jam from my home to the office. I spent half hour to go from my home to previous job in Senayan. It is now minimum 45 minutes from home to the office. The maximum time? It can reach 2 hours.
To note, I am using ojek online or Transjakarta bus everyday. It is faster using the ojek online but cheaper with the bus. Imagine if I am deciding to drive! For your information, it takes 11 kilometers from my home to Senayan and actually only 8 kilometers to Kuningan. Well, I am now always feeling exhausted in the office in the morning and at home in the evening.
Raison d’Etre
Lastly, I called my existence. It is about something beyond work: can be volunteering activities, teaching in the university, building small business, or else. In my current job in the corporate world, perhaps because of its “consistency and stability”, especially in the job description and time (in)flexibility, I cannot do something else beyond the work. Even though I can do that after office, it does not fulfil me -with exhausting condition mentioned above too. But if I am doing that during my off time within the working hours, I feel guilty and being chased by the job and colleague. Some outside office activity must actually be done also during the day, not the evening. The nature is indeed different. In the agency world, what the most matter is the result. Company in corporate world are looking at the result and also the process.
After all, I have decided to try something new in corporate world. I think I must live it professionally for now and build my existence with the current foundation. I always believe that any choice you make, you will learn something beneficial from it.
is that way effective for us?
Beyond that, it is interesting to explore my day-to-day life after joining this company.
what is the differences Agency vs. Corporate?
The main reason people differ agency (or consultancy) and corporate is because of its structure. Agency usually has firm-liked structure: (mostly) lean, centralised, and more equal participation; while corporate is more structured, organised, and layered. It affects a lot in the speed of decision making and execution, also the equality of voice and communication among levels.