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mcdadeFeb 11, 2011
Two startup I know had large fishtanks, first one was something the owner wanted. Second one, when I came in, first thing to go was that damn fishtank. I said I don't care if we ebay it for $1, lets get it out of here.
vid1900Feb 12, 2011
Fish tanks lower your blood pressure by an average of 15 points.
Cheaper than your health care insurance....
jhw539Feb 11, 2011
Seems mostly on target well behaved office dogs can be great (provided they belong to an employee, who can be more effective and far happier with fido pooled under his desk). And recognize a difference between premium office furniture and inadequate furniture. You won't get much production out of a CAD guy sitting in a lawn chair, and an Aeron chair is a cheaper and potentially more effective recruiting perk than an extra $10 a week in the paycheck (after taxes and assuming reasonable retention).
ascusFeb 11, 2011
An Aeron Chair will set you back far more than $10 a week. But then I love my Aeron, and yes I would consider that a cheap recruiting perk.
miraseqFeb 11, 2011
i like it
zephyrprimeFeb 11, 2011
I hardly think the trivial things mentioned in this article are the biggest enterprise money traps. I would say that the enterprise embarking on costly projects with lots of contractors in an effort to be more trendy rather than actually making money is the biggest money trap. Having an overprices CEO is also big money trap. Much more so that some of the stupid things listed in this article like "high end furniture" and "pets".
publiclurkerFeb 12, 2011
But if you didn't have the overpriced CEO then who would order all of the contractors and consultants who go around and regurgitate everything that the workers have been suggesting for years?
clemsontigersFeb 11, 2011
Criticism makes sense for governments because it's taxpayer money...private business (unless it's a bailed out company) can choose to be wasteful if they want; it's their bottom line.
mlw4428Feb 11, 2011
I want to throw this out there, because I've been burned before: as an employer you can't be just wasteful. It's certainly not right to your employees who expect to have a job/paycheck.
I worked for Aetna, Inc. and they hired about 40-60 of us to handle their new large account, The Home Depot. About 6 months into the start of the new account and THD lays off quite a few of their employees. Less then a year later all 40-60 of us hired on were fired. The company upped their measures of employee effectiveness to unmeetable levels (the entire call center was bombing handling times, etc). It was the newest employees that were let go before Aetna rose the minimum requirements back to achievable levels. How many lives did they f**k up by over-hiring and not taking into the account the effects the economy was having on major retailers? It took me another year to find a job.
It's called social responsibilities and companies no longer seem to have it. Yet they still expect you to be responsible to the corporation (oh no bad mouthing on us on your private Facebook).
Closed AccountFeb 12, 2011
It's your business, the employees have no right to complain.
They can leave easily, you can't. It's your dream and your passion, not theirs.
mlw4428Feb 12, 2011
Again, it's called social irresponsibility. Of course a business owner doesn't have to give a damn about their employees. But that doesn't make it right.
And if you can't run your "dream and passion" without their help then you better step us and be ready to ensure they're taking care of.
lynchmoFeb 11, 2011
Great tips on how not to waste money!
centraltransFeb 11, 2011
I have yet to see any corporations that have animals around their office. I've seen wasteful money on software and furniture, but no animals. over all I would agree with you.
meccaydnaFeb 12, 2011
I've seen it a few times but it was usually not a single pet but rather a PACK of dogs. Some crazy relative to the company's owner(s) decides to make their brood of pets the company mascots and in doing so parades them around to pretend all employees like being distracted throughout the day.
At least that was my impression on those cases...
roy5000x2Feb 12, 2011
My boss always takes us on group bonding trips a few times a year to kart racing, golfing, or box suites at sports games. It's pretty damn awesome.
DasBeukeFeb 12, 2011
Maybe the art and animals are not about productivity. Not every damn thing is about money in the workplace. Maybe, just maybe, the employees like to come to work when there are little touches to be proud of and enjoy.
successcodesFeb 12, 2011
i am 100% agree with @zephyrprime
phalanxcronosFeb 12, 2011
There is a gift shop aboard the ship?
metazareFeb 13, 2011
kewl
mcfrogginMay 31, 2011
GREAT article
mcfrogginMay 31, 2011
GREAT article