The best way to describe the Helpdesk is through the Gemeinschaft concept. The "strong interpersonal ties" develop from working together several hours a week and relying on each other in times of trouble. Experience levels vary greatly at CIT so that new hires might end up sitting next to others who have been working there for 3 years. At first it can be hard to start a strong tie there, but when a very angry customer calls you and the more experienced consultant helps you out that creates an instant relationship that can last for a very long time. Such situations are very frequent.
When you are hired, you are subscribed to a myriad of email lists and we also have an internal blog page where people can post things. This gives everyone more avenues of communication, thus bringing people even closer together due to the many intersections of online and real life identities. You might discuss something via an email list only to talk about the same subject FTF at work tomorrow with somebody who did not take part in the email exchange. This is a great example of online/offline synergies.
The common purposes (or shared focus) that bind us together are love of technology and a want to help others. When you apply for a job at the Helpdesk those are really the two things we look for. Loving new technology is of course a very broad term - following the releases of new car engines is different from checking up on the latest ipod model. However in both examples there is quite a bit of common ground which is a deep interest in something that constantly changes. When you bring both of those people together, the conversations might not start off well at first, but eventually the two will connect about things like which new cars have built in ipod docks. This is largely what happens at the Helpdesk. People that love different forms of technology come together to help others with their problems, and in the process develop relationships through such communication. We also place above all the desire to help people on this campus. Thus we will talk about the person that called us who was very nice and friendly and we will appreciate it. But we will also bad mouth the person that was rude for no reason even though we try our best to keep our composure and be very nice about it. This is the focus of the Helpdesk and the reason why the word Help is in the name. It is as I discovered a very strong common interest. Because it's so broad, you can find many people that share it and variety is the spice of life.
And of course we have our own language and identity. Everyone likes to wear the red cit shirts, and everyone likes to "show off" their knowledge of Cornell services and use acronyms that only we would know. For example, many Helpdesk workers joke with their friends by threatening to cancel their ResNet subscription. This is something we can do but of course it's a violation of multiple policies. In any case, it is a joke that we "own" because nobody else can do that which makes it part of our own language.
Finally, there are currently over 60 student employees at the Helpdesk and there is some turn around rate every semester. This means that there is now a very large number of ex-Helpdesk employees (some of whom are still subscribed to several elists) with which other Helpdeskers have instant weak ties to. This is great for finding jobs, getting deals on stuff and so forth. This is the social network aspect of the Helpdesk. And of course for reciprocity, we help each other with many technological problems. Even aside from that, a great example is how we can post our shifts if we are sick and ask others to pick them up. Many people will offer cookies, cakes, money, etc to have somebody pick up a shift that they cannot make. Others will offer to pick up another shift in the future for that person. This goes on every day and builds trust.
1 comment:
As a former CIT Helpdesk slave, I can attest to some of the things you wrote about in your post. Bonding occurs definitely occurs through reciprocity as helping others is the only source of training for the unique issues that arise. If there was a restricted flow of information and help between the employees, there probably would be a sharp decrease in productivity as well as the sense of community hence the placement of all the students in one large office. One of the most important strengths of this community is the common ground shared between the students. Those working at CIT know that they are in a special group of slightly nerdy people who happen to know more than normal about technology. That sense of shared values leads to the wearing of t-shirts and telling inside jokes. It seems as if CIT is more than a job to most students, it is almost an attribute that they can associate themselves with. What would be an interesting study would be to compare the social capital of a student helpdesk with a faculty helpdesk. I would expect more weaker ties as faculty would associate it with more of just a job and less of a community.
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