The Army Mess Tray: an Apt Metaphor for the Disappearing Workplace

Time to embrace a NEW MESS.

I just saw a World War II era mess tray like this for sale. And it reminded me of the command/control struggles of the old school [industrial age] workplace.

On weekends, my wife and I pop up our Bobbie Daryn Vintage store at outdoor venues in the DC area. And this Saturday, a fellow vendor at the show where we popped up offered a tray like this for sale.

The funny (some might say anal-retentive-behavior-supporting) feature of the mess tray is how it prevents one's chow components from ever touching.

I should add that that design featured prominently in the popular Swanson's TV Dinners of the 1950s and 1960s, because that's how consumers wanted it.

Just like with that mess tray, the old paradigm of work and workplace required exacting separation.

➡️ One's daily activities were typically and neatly allocated to one of three nearly identical 8-hour parts (for work done at a collocated workplace, for sleep at home, and for everything else including commuting and vegetating in front of the TV).

➡️ The work careerists did was held tight to the job spec for which they were hired. And, back in the day, career professionals reported to, or alongside, others. But they rarely shared assignment responsibilities with one another. Team involvements were the exclusive purview of the company's softball league.

➡️ And, like the utility of that Army mess tray, careerists back in the day CRAVED paramilitary-like control--control over the management of the 8-hour components, but also for the outcomes of their ladder-rising career ascent.

Now, in the work we do and the place(s) where we do it, we careerists celebrate a good mess.

✅ We seek work fit where the work we do is part of a day doing other wonderful things.

✅ More of us operate as key members of a team that is responsible for work outputs and ROI and...

✅ We seek to own the day and the clock (and not have either own us).

In modern work and workplace, and in pursuit of work and careers where we can make the world a better place, our best days lie ahead.

Note: Image rendered on ChatGPT 4o based on our prompts.

I’m Dan Smolen. As host and executive producer of WHAT'S YOUR WORK FIT? I help you make your work and workplace decisions result in better and more satisfying professional experiences and outcomes. I am also a Founding Member of The Future of Work Alliance.