One of the things driving us at byflock is creating a working environment where you want to work and be involved. It’s as much about the workplace itself as the culture that surrounds it.
I’m a firm believer in that how your office is designed and what you do for your employees in terms of the little things have a massive impact both on productivity and creativity but also happiness and loyalty. As much as I look forward to seeing our products go live I’m even more looking forward to creating the environment where we want to work and where others want to work with us.
A while back I read an article about what it’s like working at Evernote. One of the perks you get is a professional housecleaner twice a month. The article mentions that the thinking behind it is that rather than having the other halves of their employees putting pressure on them saying that perhaps you should leave Evernote, they want to reverse it and provide a perk that’s also a perk for them. A really nice touch recognising that if people work hard it impacts your life outside of work so what ever you can do as a company to help the situation, it will have a positive effect both on the employee and as a return on the company itself.
The other perk you get at Evernote is unlimited holidays but also a bonus if you actually do take at least a week’s holiday at the time. It has to be remembered that this is over in the US where the holiday allowance and culture is slightly different from Europe but still. Evernote is doing this both for their employees and for the company:
I don’t want people not to take any vacation because that’s just bad for them, and it’s bad for me. You’re not going to get a lot of work out of someone if they haven’t taken a vacation in a while.
Phil Libin, CEO Evernote
Of course these benefits wouldn’t work “off the shelf” in any company but in a company like Evernote where the employees, according to the article, aren’t the kind of people who normally try to get away with doing as little as possible but rather the opposite, providing freedom under responsibility can provide real benefits, and foster a strong culture of ownership. Which is what any company should be striving for.
Libin also mentions that the reason for unlimited holiday is that they don’t want to have a restriction to holidays where having to be in the office becomes a punishment. There is no reason why there should be a restriction to e.g. the amount of holiday you are allowed to take, provided that you still do your job and I really like that thinking.
We always try to ask whether a particular policy exists because it’s a default piece of corporate stupidity that everyone expects you to have, or does it actually help you accomplish something?
– Phil Libin, CEO Evernote
Worth thinking about if your company has a policy that people e.g. have to work from the office every day, be in at a certain time, or another “not allowed” restriction.
Tomorrow – Day 169 | Week 24 summary
Image source: www.flickr.com/photos/30080293@N02/3052989539
