Best/Worst with Ally Long

What’s the best thing about your job?

The fact that every day is casual Friday. Years ago I worked at a shitty admin job where I had to wear stupid corporate-y clothes. It drove me nuts, having to wear stuff that was just so blergh (and expensive!) I wasn’t an executive or a manager, and I didn’t see the point of them stuffing me into business casual just to process paperwork. Do you remember that scene in Six Feet Under where Claire Fisher sang the pantyhose song? I felt her pain, man. Pantyhose DO ride up your thighs! And sometimes down your thighs too!

I like that the focus in this industry (generally) is on whether or not you do your job well, not on your deportment. I don’t have those moments anymore where I’m squeezed into a train at peak hour wearing my Importance Threads and lament about what a cog in the machine I am (sandals make me happy, ok). I don’t often feel one pointless “planning day” away from throwing it all in to go live off the grid and raise baby goats.

This kind of informality goes beyond being able to wear ratty jeans and a singlet to work. I love that the people I work with are so insightful when it comes to knowing where the value of a person’s work lies. Being able to wear whatever I want, set my own hours, work from home when I need to, work remotely - all that is perfectly acceptable if I can get the job done. I like that flexibility.

And the worst?

When a client wants to launch a site late on a Friday afternoon. That is beer-drinking time, yo.

Also, everything that everyone else said about the long hours and constant emails. The email notification sound on my laptop invades my dreams sometimes. Ok, so perhaps sometimes I do still think about a quiet life with those goats.

Ally is a designer at Icelab and front-end developer at Edenspiekermann in Berlin.