One winner trumpets after hours roof top yoga. Another corrals staffers each month for an evening of board games. Still another whisks employees away on a cruise.
The just released list of 150 top workplaces by the Washington Post is an eclectic group of companies, associations and non-profits that have taken steps to make employee satisfaction a priority. I was thrilled to see a number of long-standing Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) clients included in the ranks.
Yet, as I read through the myriad of health, wellness, convenience and culture creation perks offered by those recognized an uncomfortable realization set in. The criteria used by the media like the Washington Post, Fortune and others to bestow this sort of recognition is both dated and misguided.
Nearly every benefit touted is designed to keep an employee in the office under the pretense of productivity, culture and collaboration.
While on-site dry cleaning, foosball fun and charity-inspired 10K runs can be attractive to some, for me – a parent of three sons under the age of 12 – it merely adds up to missed family time. I decided long ago at Strategic that was unacceptable.
I’m not the only one. Last year the CEO of a technology start-up called MongoDB that has raised more than $200M in venture capital resigned to spend more time with his family. The blog post he penned about his decision caused waves in a community defined by a hard charging mentality.
“The United States is arguably struggling to adjust to the realities of modern family life more than any other affluent country,” New York Times columnist Claire Cain Miller wrote at the time. “Many workers today – blue-collar and white-collar alike – believe they must choose between career and family.”
All of us at Strategic are passionate about Web2Sales, committed to innovation and absolutely focused on the success of our clients. Yet, the very DNA of our business celebrates family, and encourages personal growth and fulfillment.
I love what I do…just not as much as I love this crazy crew.