One of the many lessons I’ve learned throughout my internship at Cohen & Company is the importance of finding and understanding the environment you work best in, which, for me, is in the office.

As the start of my internship neared, I was increasingly excited to work in an office for the first time. I thought it would give me a glimpse into a job in the accounting world. The option to work from home a few days a week intrigued me, but since I worked best from the library at school versus my room, I assumed working in the office would be the best fit for me, and I was right.

The commute to the office prepares me for the day, especially since I can work on the NYT Crossword Puzzle on the subway. Working in the office allows me to meet and interact with other interns and people from many departments and groups. Something as simple as going out to get lunch with someone has made my day better. It not helped me get to know my colleagues better, but I have also been able to try some great food, and it serves as a nice break from work.

Since not everyone in the New York office comes in every day, I am often able to sit at a variety of desks. In these past few weeks, I have found that some desks work better for me than others depending on that day’s work. The office even has standing desks that I like to use as an alternative when I’ve been sitting for too long. 

One week, I sat at the same desk every day because I liked the setup and it felt familiar. However, it took someone else reserving it for me to try a different desk, which I enjoyed even more. It made me wish I had tried a variety of desks before I picked one to sit at every day. The hoteling policy at Cohen & Company is something I’m grateful for as it gives me the ability to find the desk that suits my day.

Tools like Webex make it easy to work remotely and communicate with peers and team managers. However, if this experience has taught me anything, it’s that nothing can beat in-person interactions. While the ability to message, call and screen-share makes it manageable to ask questions online, face-to-face communication is more productive for me. Understandably, this isn’t always attainable since we communicate with people in other offices, and not everyone can come to the office every day. Knowing this, I will make the most of my time in the office to maximize the in-person interactions with my peers. 

Georgia Podgainy, Case Western Reserve University