On TYKTWD, I went with my dad to visit the building of the agrciultural company he works for. For the first part of the day, he showed me around their lab space, where they tested their protoctype products on different types on plants and/or crops around the world. Then, he took me to the office section, where he introduced me to some of his collegues and I saw the meeting rooms, the office cubicles and the company lounge (full of snacks). After that, I worked on he assignment while he attended a meeting. By now its midday, so he took me to the place where he often gets burritos when he commutes to the office. After, we came back to the company buildings, and we visited the workshop, where they have 3d printers and laser cutters (very cool). Lastly we visited the product invention place. They had numerous rooms with chemicals, machines and a lot of cool technology everywhere.  

Here’s some photos from the workplace:

1. What did you hear, see, smell, and feel in the work environment on Nov. 6th? Use details

I felt humidity when in the soil lab where my dad’s company tests their products. I felt a sense of creativeness/science feeling (I don’t know how to describe it) wherever I went, with all the cool technology and equipment in the building. 

I heard machines working, whether they were AC or the company machines I don’t entirely know, but there were machines buzzing. I heard people talking about products and updating each other on the projects within the company. I heard cars outside the building, it’s in Downtown Vancouver streetside. 

I smelled a lot of chemicals within the test labs (my dad’s company does pesticides/agriculture technology), along with a fresh dirty smell from all the plants around the office, especially inside the labs. 

I saw lots of modern, sleek white designs in the lobby as well as the office space and labs. There were lots of LED lights inside of the labs shining down on the testing plants. I also saw a bunch of technology, where it was work tools or machines.  

2. What about the environment would motivate you to wake up every day to attend work? Why?

The people that my dad introduced me to were very friendly, and everyone seemed on the same page with what is going on within the company. It made me feel like the place was a good work environment. The idea and the purpose behind the company is very interesting, because they make pesticides but also help the plants that are affected prosper, and it can be used in many different markets across plant and agricultural aspects. Even if it’s less important, there was a ping pong table. It makes the workplace feel even better as it’s a nice fun break from work which keeps your brain functioning, and regarding employee relations, it represents more so a comradery/friendship, which sometimes you don’t find in a work setting. 

3. What about the work environment would discourage you from waking up every day to attend work? Why?

The workplace was quite small in some areas, which is understandable considering property costs in Downtown Vancouver, but it still a downside. The entrance and warehouse space was open, which is alright, but once you get to the rooms/sections of the building, it shrinks. The office desks are cramped, the meeting rooms are right next to each other and the bigger example for me, the lunch/employee lounge is very cramped.  

The work environment is amazing, and there is very little wrong with it. However, the small space makes the place uncomfortable at times, which isn’t optimal if you’re there consistently for hours on end. 

4. What is ONE thing you found interesting about your workplace visit? Why?

The workplace is very complex, beyond what I thought it could be. I know that the pesticides and fertilizers aren’t simple, but looking at all the technology and strategies my dad’s company uses around the building, it is very cool and innovative. The doors, which are quite important for keeping soil bacteria in an individual room, are humongous and look like more modern vault doors. The rooms themselves are cool, as there is technology which controls every environmental aspect you could see around the world. They can control temperature and humidity, as well as (I believe) air quality. The rooms I went in were very humid.