Like many of you, I appreciate coffee (especially Peet's Coffee, sorry Starbucks I was loyal for a long time), thus I visit my local Peet's coffee shop on a regular basis. Since the beginning of the year, I've noticed the number of people in the local coffee shop has increased exponentially. Recently, I concluded that as layoff's have increased, so has the traffic in the local coffee shops.
I hadn't really given my random coffee shop observation much thought until I read Catherine Bergart's article in the New York Times on Sunday, May 17th titled "Losing the Income, And the Camaraderie." Ms. Bergart's article discusses her realization that not only did she lose her income with her most recent layoff, but she lost the day-to-day camaraderie of her Friends at work and she lost her third place.
Ms. Bergart references social psychologist Ray Oldenburg's book, The Great Good Place, which discusses the social and psychological importance of having a first, second, and third place. Mr. Oldenburg designates home as the first place, work as the second place, and a neutral, comfortable environment (like coffee shops, cafes, bookstores) as the third place. Mr. Oldenburg makes the argument that in America we have lost our sense of place and community. He further argues that for America to become a less fragmented nation, we need a greater sense of place and community to satisfy our cultural loneliness. In Ms. Bergart's case she discusses the loss of not only her second place (work), but her third place as well. For her, work fulfilled both of these important places in her life and therefore she has suffered doubly.
Now my over-crowded coffee shop makes sense. People are gathering in these neutral, comfortable environments to satisfy their third place needs. Where is your third place?
Until Next Time, Shanna
Shanna R. Teel is the founder and CEO of Dr. Shanna Teel & Company, Inc., a leadership and human capital management consulting firm. She has worked more than 15 years as a talent and performance management consultant, executive coach, and facilitator of adult learning.Shanna
Image Credits:
Coffee with heart: http://greenoptions.com/files/683/Coffee_Lover.jpg
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