Event Set-Up and Sick Time (3/4)

This day was my first experience with direct event management in the form of creating a floorplan for tables and chairs and then participating in setting up those items prior to the event. This activity involved determining the number of seats needed for the event and creating a floorplan for the necessary amount of tables and chairs. This part of event management was not entirely interesting to me, though I did understand the necessity of creating a plan prior to starting the setup process. Once the plan was created, the rest of the activity was manual labor to carry the tables and chairs into the event space and set everything up accordingly. I am used to participating in manual setup work, so this was nothing new to me. The biggest takeaway from this portion of the day was in considering the placement of often-used items in relation to the event spaces. The closer these items can be stored, the better, especially if the space is solely or primarily used for similar events of similar sizes. Being able to simplify the process from the outset can make everyday use much more efficient.

(Photo credit: beaconjournal.com)

I had to leave early today due to a migraine, but this did allow me to see the reactions of coworkers to needing to leave. There was not much of a reaction, and most people actually encouraged me to leave if I wasn’t feeling well. This was a good note to make, as some workplaces are less than thrilled when employees need to leave or use sick time. It is my opinion that a healthily-functioning workplace should not have a problem with employees using sick time, so it was interesting to gauge the reactions of my coworkers in this situation.