Name: Maria Novikova
Job Title: Accountant
Location: Balashikha
Country: Russia
Who is Maria Novikova?
I joined AkzoNobel as an accountant in February 2010 where I work on expense reports and waybills. I was born in Balashikha, and went to school there before entering the Chemical Engineering Institute. I graduated from the faculty of technical processes and production automation as an engineer. However, I never worked as an engineer as I got married during my last year at the Institute. Just after completing my thesis I gave birth to my daughter who is now 8. After a year spent taking care of my child, my world-view changed and I realized I didn’t want to work as an engineer. This is when I took the vital decision to take evening classes at an economics college where I gained a diploma in accounting a year later.
As a child I took part in all sorts of activities – macramé, sewing, knitting, tennis, skiing, athletics, wushu, painting, a literature club… I try to spend as much of my free time as possible outdoors with my family. We adore family walks, shashlyki (Russian for barbeque) and take part in active sports and leisure activities. We never care about the weather and sometimes even have barbeques in winter!
My greatest desire is to improve my English and gain a higher economics degree, something I’m working on now.
What does color mean to you at work?
Color plays a huge role in everybody’s life. The main thing in life is harmony, both in and around you. We spend most of our time at work and we all want to feel comfortable in the workplace, and have the opportunity to execute our duties to the best of our ability.
As my job demands concentration I prefer calm and warm colors around me. But sometimes I want to see something brighter, especially when I have a break or go for lunch. I feel that our office satisfies all these needs. After due consideration, we accountants selected the colors and design for the walls and windows of our office. And I think we did an excellent job. We now have a balanced work place within which not only we feel comfortable, but our colleagues do as well.
It’s sad, of course, that I so rarely work with color in my job. The most I seem to do is highlight texts with a marker pen! But I always choose my favorite colors to it - most often light green or joyful orange, positive, out-going colors that make you feel good.
On 2 July this year, we organized a project in line with our mission ‘Adding color to people’s lives’ when 50 of us painted a wall around our plant. Our department painted a picture that as well as being decorative had a deeper meaning. It showed a boy and a girl who embody not only the spiritual side of a relationship between a man and a woman (family harmony and unity) but also remind us of ancient times when even then primitive human beings showed their creativity though rock art.
…and outside of work?
At home I prefer pastel shades – green, mountain green, orange, yellow, natural wood tones and other colors found in nature. My daughter loves pink of course, like most girls her age.
What is your all-time favorite color and why?
I think it’s hard to prefer only one color your whole life. My color preferences are changing as I get older, shaped by my experience of life and changing priorities. I have gone from preferring bright colors to more subdued pastels.
The only colors I will always love are the colors of the fall near Moscow. Clear sunny days full of tenderness, the changing colors of the leaves and autumn flowers.
If you could choose one color that most closely matches your personality, what would it be and why?
One color that most closely matches my personality… now it’s a delicate pastel green color, something between the turquoise of the sea and the green of leaves.