我們當中有許多人工作在鬧市里確享受著幽靜的辦公環境，舒適的乘車環境和新鮮的空氣，而有一些不在城市工作的人卻時常感覺我們正在迷失在城市的喧囂和快節奏的生活方式的歡樂里。答案沒有對錯，只有什么樣的工作適合你。是生活在城市里？還是選擇幽靜的郊區？以下的內容有助于你找到合適的地方。

　　首先，確定什么對你是最重要的，這將有助于你發現自己的大本營到底在哪？把影響你工作的與居住地點有關的要素都羅列下來。因此，如果你是住在市中心的話，也就意味著要忍受擁擠的交通，忍受長時間的高壓力和缺少私人空間。但是你可以擁有更大的社交圈，更多的工作報酬和更多消磨剩余時間的方式。同樣的，假如你在郊區工作，你上班的時候可能不會那么擁擠，但也意味著你的生活沒有城市里的豐富多采，拿者更低的薪水和擁有更少的晉升機會。

　　切忌以偏概全，當然，又得抓住要點。技巧在于對目前的工作情況有所評定，然后考慮考慮這些因素里面哪一項對你是最重要的。假如擴大社交圈是排在第一位的話，那么你就得為自己找一個更有利的環境。

　　有可能一旦你作出評定以后，你對該把家安在哪兒和最適合你工作的環境就清晰了。但是我們經常想完全齊美就比較難了。隨著科技發展，越來越多的求職者渴望擁有更靈活的工作方式，這就意味著在工作和生活方面兼顧起來越來越簡單了。下面的一些提示有助于你改變自己的工作方式來更好的適應你的生活方式。

　　考慮一下除了工作地點以外的活動范圍以及改變一下你的工作時間安排以免你每天都要忍受擁擠的交通。例如，你是幾天出去活動一次還是通通只在周末出去活動？怎樣花五天的時間來做完你本來要滿滿的四天就可以做完的工作？

　　是否考慮過安兩個小窩呢？許多人在星期中間工作生活在城市里，只是周末回到郊外的房子里。假如你經濟上承受得住，可以考慮安排個臨時住所雇個人幫你料理雜事。

　　如果你工作自由或者你是個自由職業人，不妨考慮一下每個月出去活動活動一次。不必要去那些特別奢侈昂貴的地方，只是給自己點時間出去散散心，看看風景而已。如果你住在郊外，而又想多一些自由的話，上面那條建議也同樣適合你。而其他的一些選擇同樣具有價值，比如：考慮一下建立兩個屬于自己的大本營，在你自己的公司或是在別的地方，這樣做可以讓你換換環境。你的工作是否為你提供出差的機會，比如說去開會或是去培訓。如果沒有這些機會，你是否會換一份能夠自由多一點外出活動的機會的工作？

　　不管是什么改變了你現在的想法，重要的是你已經在思考了就要盡可能在做重大決定之前盡可能多的找出不同的工作環境。與跟你的工作環境不同的人，你的朋友和家人聊聊吧，讓他們很誠懇的指出自己目前的優勢和缺點。記住，不要老是覺得別人的總是比自己的好！

City Lights or Village Life?

by Jenny Ungless

Monster’s Career Life Coach

Traditionally, there’s been a physical and a cultural divide between people who work in the bright lights and the fast pace of a city environment, and those whose jobs are based somewhere quieter or more remote. Many of us who work in the city fantasise about a working world with a slower pace, less commuting and more fresh air, while those of us who are not city-based sometimes feel that we are missing out on the buzz and excitement of a fast-paced lifestyle. There’s no right or wrong answer, or course: it’s a case of what works best for you. Here’s how to make sure you’re in the right place.

First of all, what is most important to you: this will help you to see where your main base should be. Make a list of all the features of your working life which are affected by where you are based. So, if you work in the city centre, that might mean a long commute, long hours, high stress levels and lack of privacy. But it might also mean a great social life, better pay, and more choice about how you spend your free time. Similarly, if you work out of town, you might have a shorter or less stressful journey to work, a healthier environment and feel more part of a community. On the downside, you might have less variety, less money and less opportunity for promotion or career change.

These are sweeping generalisations, of course, but you get the point. The trick is to assess your current work situation, and then think about which of those factors is most important to you. If a great social life is number one on your priority list, then you need to make sure that you work somewhere where that is accessible to you.

It may be that, once you’ve done this assessment, it’s clear where you should be based and the kind of environment that works best for you. But often we want to have a bit of everything ? and that’s increasingly achievable. Advances in technology and the increasing willingness of employers to embrace more flexible ways of working mean that it’s getting easier to have the best of both worlds. Here are some ideas to help you think about how you can adjust your working patterns to fit better with the lifestyle you want.

If you’re city-based and crave a bit more peace and quiet:

think about the scope for moving further away from your workplace and changing your working hours so that you don’t have a long commute every day. For example, could you work from home a couple of days a week, or work a “compressed” week, where you work all of your contracted hours in 4 days instead of 5?

would it be possible for you to have 2 bases? Lots of people work and stay in the city during the week, and go to their main home at weekends. If you’re resourceful, it might be possible to set up a reciprocal arrangement with someone who does the opposite of what you do.

if you work flexitime (or even if you don’t), think about trying to fit in one long weekend away every month. It doesn’t have to be anything especially glamorous or expensive, it’s just about getting some time to yourself and a change of scenery.

If you’re based away from the city, but would like a bit more action, some of the suggestions above also apply. It’s also worth thinking about some other options, e.g.:

explore the options for a secondment, either within your own company or to another one, which would given you the opportunity for a change of environment.

does your role offer any scope for occasional travel, for example conferences or courses? If not, could you move to a role where you were able to get out and about a bit more?

Whatever changes you’re considering, it’s important to “dip your toe in the water” and find out as much as possible about a different work environment before you make any big changes. Talk to friends and family whose work situation is different from you, and get them to be really honest about the downsides and well as the upsides. Remember, the grass is not always greener on the other side!