We’ve all heard the stories about the company with the basketball court in the lobby. No one’s quite sure which company that is, or where it is, but we’ve all heard the rumors.
“It’s an ad agency,” one of my co-workers remembers.
Anyway, the point is, the idea of playing basketball at work is not as far-fetched today as it was when that story first started circulating. Today, ask CEOs of growing companies how they “play” at work, and most will be able to come up with their own version of a game.
That’s one of the influences that Internet companies have had on business. While the jury’s still out on the effect of casual dress days, there’s a reason that successful companies today have to inject fun into their workplaces.
Walk into Fairlawn’s DigitalDay, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find an employee sitting at a desk, in a cubicle, “working” in a traditional manner. I’ve been to its offices a couple of times over the last few months, and I’ve observed employees having creative discussions while lying on couches, eating and walking outside.
As I was talking to founder Howard Cleveland a couple of weeks ago, he looked outside his window and spotted two employees strolling through the grass on a beautiful August day. He smiled. It seems he actually likes to see that.
“They’re working right now,” he offers. (I didn’t ask. I figured they were.)
Cleveland also gives his CGO (chief grocery officer) $500 every week to shop for the staff of about 90 employees.
“That’s a lot of cheese doodles,” he points out.
While almost every restaurant you can think of is within a quarter-mile walk from the company’s new Fairlawn headquarters, employees rarely leave for lunch, Cleveland says.
“People like to stay here and they collaborate when they eat.”
Suddenly that $500 doesn’t sound like all that much money. I begin to think: 90 employees times five lunch hours. He’s getting 450 hours of collaboration for $500.
In Canton, at Realty Executives’ headquarters, visitors are greeted by a talking plant. The Realtors (don’t call them employees, Fran Drennan warns) have monthly birthday parties, picnics and holiday celebrations.
Why is it necessary to have fun at work today? There are two reasons. One, with the unemployment rate at an all-time low, employees know they can walk at just about any time, and two, as Cleveland says, if people love their work, they’re going to want to work; if they hate it, they’re not going to produce. It’s that simple. Connie Swenson ([email protected]) is editor of SBN.
