A reader contacted me after seeing the Each to their own - teamwork verses going it alone post of last week, with a tale about the brand of “teamwork” prevalent at his workplace.

The reader, who is currently working in a corporate team environment, said he was seriously considering starting his own business because he feels that while his efforts are being appreciated, his concerns - and suggestions - to improve certain workplace issues, are being ignored.

He says there is a lot being said about “pulling together as a team”, but that’s where the talk seems to end.

While the team is (apparently) doing well overall, the individual frustrations and difficulties some team members are experiencing appear to be of no account, or concern, to management.

This is despite the steps the reader is taking to find solutions to some of these problems.

Seemingly the only thing the managers talk about are the upcoming round of bonus payments, and while everyone concerned stands to gain financially to some degree, no one seems interested at some of the discontent that is present. After all, we’re only in it for the money aren’t we? Or so the attitude appears to be.

Surprisingly though, it’s not just about the money. Many people actually work for the satisfaction and fulfilment that a role offers.

While I may be the first person to think about the pay cheque when I take a job, I’m also interested in drawing other things from my work. I’d like to feel it is engaging and challenging. I’d also like to think I am making some sort of a difference, somehow, as well.

I can certainly relate to the reader’s issue however.

A few years I was doing some consulting work, and let’s just say the company in question was not particularly organised.

Trying to get even the simplest things done felt like an uphill battle, because no one knew what to do, or where to find help. Attempting to complete a task was a stop-start process, and one frustration followed another.

After a time people had started to become blasè, and it seemed many of my colleagues where turning up to work to simply make an appearance and “put in the hours”.

At one point the manager I was working for asked if I was enjoying the work. While I tried to be generally positive in response, when I expressed my frustrations, and told him I’d just once like to experience some feeling of achievement at “doing a job well done”, he looked puzzled.

In fact he looked more than puzzled. The expression on his face seemed to suggest I had stepped out of a flying saucer that had just landed from Mars!

“Thought you were more interested in the pay cheque, ” he quipped before taking a phone call, effectively ending the dialogue.

It’s not so much the nature of work that is forcing some people to consider a career change, or even set up their own business, as it is the apathy, or reluctance to listen to the concerns of workers and act on them, that appears to be present in some workplaces.

So it seems it comes down to personal preference. To tolerate such a working environment and simply be happy with the remuneration, or to find some other way to resolve the situation.

As many small business owners will tell you though, the money is not always fantastic. So what does that tell us? To me that says there are people who would rather forgo a fat pay cheque in exchange for having a lot more control over what they do, and simply derive a feeling of enjoyment or satisfaction from their work.

Others however won’t find that where are they are now, because no one seems interested in such a concept!

My post last Monday The career puzzle prompted a reader to ask whether I thought “doing my own thing” was preferable to working as part of a team.

While such a question is perhaps a little off topic for a blog that focusses more on career change matters, it is still an interesting point, considering a lot of people establish small businesses by way of a career change, and therefore find themselves, in many cases, working alone.

I have worked as a contractor and consultant for a number of years, and that work has seen me go inside many organisations. One thing I have always been at odds with though, is the “team effort” ethic many such places appear to promote over all else.

It has seemed to me that “individual effort” is something that belongs on the fringes and not in the mainstream, by the way some managers talk.

Sure while working with a group of people, for the same company, means it will be necessary to co-operate and get along with them, in order to get things done, there remains an unspoken dislike of any sort of individual initiative.

I am not opposed to the idea of people working together to achieve goals, it’s just something that personally doesn’t work for me.

And ultimately that’s what it comes down to; personal preference.

I for one simply prefer my own space, and judging by the number of sole traders about, I am by no means, if you’ll excuse my choice of word, alone.

Having said though, that I don’t exactly work in solitary confinement.

I am in contact with a range of people for a variety of reasons, whether it be for research, assistance, networking, or even the home office worker’s version of office gossip and banter.

Sometimes this “social aspect” is overlooked by people eager to get out of an office based career because they want to be doing their own thing. After a time they begin to realise they miss the constant personal interaction that working closely with others brings.

There are other things would be sole traders need to consider before going out on their own.

There is no one to pick up the workload if you are unable to do it, should you require time off due to illness or some other reason.

While my experience of office land shows that should you be absent for a day or two, and you will find probably 90 per-cent of your day-to-day work awaiting you on your return, at least any urgent tasks should have been dealt with.

So in answer to the answer to the question which way of working is “better”, team effort or individual, there is no right or wrong answer. No one way is especially better or worse than the other. Or I should say both have their pros and cons.

Ultimately it comes down to what works for you, as an individual. It is however something you need to think carefully about when considering work plans for the future.