When building a cohesive company team, how important is it that everyone is friendly with each other? How important is it that your employees still have free time to pursue their own interests? Do you encourage your employees to use up their vacation time? How about personal days?
Well, now it seems that encouraging your employees to take time for themselves could be what makes your business successful after all. Such an atmosphere encourages young, bright, talented workers to join your company — and to stay. Entrepreneur.com profiles three companies who use this principle — Patagonia, Google, and Zappos.
From the descriptions, all three companies seem like great places to work. At Patagonia, employees are required — not just encouraged — to take time away from the office. A mid-day run or bike ride is encouraged. Although it may seem counterproductive to encourage your employees to leave the office, it actually boosts morale.
What makes Google so great? The story talks about the company’s flat management structure, which encourages people of all levels to share their ideas — and managers of even the highest rank to pitch in with tasks as menial as answering the phone.
I think of shoes when I think of Zappos, but apparently I should be thinking of on-site classes — which the company offers — and its Culture Book, to which employees contribute every year. It boasts 10 core values, among them to be humble, and focuses on keeping its employees happy.
What do you think? How important is office culture? Is having a happy, motivated office enough to drive success?
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Kamal