Changing culture of the workplace.



Medulla said:
I'm deeply suspicious of 'unlimited leave'.
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I was speaking to quite a few Americans about it recently as it's been a big trend there for quite a few years.

They reckon that when they know they have the freedom to take time off when they need to they generally just feel more relaxed at work and don't need as much time off.

Unsure what there is to be suspicious of? Unless it ends up being used as a way to unfairly weed people out when the time comes for that.
 
Charmless Man said:
I was speaking to quite a few Americans about it recently as it's been a big trend there for quite a few years.

They reckon that when they know they have the freedom to take time off when they need to they generally just feel more relaxed at work and don't need as much time off.

Unsure what there is to be suspicious of? Unless it ends up being used as a way to unfairly weed people out when the time comes for that.
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I just think 'unlimited' cuts both ways. It's 'amount not stated', put another way. And I just wonder in practice if that lack of concrete leave time disempowers people rather than liberates them.

I'd be keen to hear from employees that work under those terms though, maybe I'm just a cynic.
 
I have plenty of scope around flexible hours and working from home which are the two things on that list I'd value most. I also get a fair amount of leave.

Not bothered about the other things and not sure what we're talking about re. mental health issues.
 
Charmless Man said:
I was speaking to quite a few Americans about it recently as it's been a big trend there for quite a few years.

They reckon that when they know they have the freedom to take time off when they need to they generally just feel more relaxed at work and don't need as much time off.

Unsure what there is to be suspicious of? Unless it ends up being used as a way to unfairly weed people out when the time comes for that.
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Arent Americans a bit funny about holiday leave anyway? In that theres a culture of not taking it all due a belief of being thought of as workshy.

It all depends on the job. The vast majority of jobs it just wouldnt work & it would be abused I reckon.
 
42 said:
Arent Americans a bit funny about holiday leave anyway? In that theres a culture of not taking it all due a belief of being thought of as workshy.

It all depends on the job. The vast majority of jobs it just wouldnt work & it would be abused I reckon.
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I think the leave thing in America is employer driven. Historically they've had fuck all, basically.

The ones I spoke to have worked all over the world like so used to a few different cultures.
 
zwartekat said:
I have plenty of scope around flexible hours and working from home which are the two things on that list I'd value most. I also get a fair amount of leave.
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I imagine this is key to most people. Again, I think if an employer told people they couldn't work flexibly or remotely, but it's ok because we have pool tables, fantastic workspace and a discounted canteen, the positive impact wouldn't last very long (if it occurred at all).

At the extreme end of this, some of the super offices that big tech companies have (with pizza nights, on site laundry, etc) seem to me to just be ways to keep people tethered to the workplace for long as possible.
 
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C-S-L Mackem said:
I imagine this is key to most people. Again, I imagine if an employer told people told they couldn't work flexibly or remotely, but it's ok because we have pool tables, fantastic workspace and a discounted canteen, the positive impact wouldn't last very long (if it occurred at all).

At the extreme end of this, some of the super offices that big tech companies have (with pizza nights, on site laundry, etc) seem to me to just be ways to keep people tethered to the workplace for long as possible.
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If I have to work late I'm allowed to order food in on expense like.

Very rare that the need arises but it's a canny perk if it does.

Not intended to keep me tethered to the place as if it was a frequent occurrence there's be questions asked.
 
Working from home a day a week leads to a great improvement in your quality of life in my experience. You can fit jobs around work and in practice I find you tend to start earlier and work a bit later because you can do lots of things in parallel.
 
Charmless Man said:
If I have to work late I'm allowed to order food in on expense like.

Very rare that the need arises but it's a canny perk if it does.

Not intended to keep me tethered to the place as if it was a frequent occurrence there's be questions asked.
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That sounds reasonable. My point is more around offices that are clearly designed so that people don't 'need' to leave. Granted, there aren't many of them, but I do think it's interesting that some of the big tech companies have gone down this route.

This article sums my concerns up quite nicely (and more succinctly than I can!).

Cushy office perks are a trap
 
daveydavey said:
In my experience many companies are making ,or considering making, changes to the way they employ staff. None of the ideas below are new but I am seeing a big trend in companies looking at stuff like this. (I work in engineering recruitment, so speak with employers trying to attract talent almost everyday)

Some of the positive initiatives I have seen an upward trend in recently are:

  • Unlimited holidays
  • Reduced working hours
  • Work from home
  • Greater recognition & support of mental health issues*
  • Office dogs
  • Better breakout areas (pool tables, table tennis etc.) - Summed up by the WeWork offices I guess
  • Improved benefits packages around private healthcare, gym memberships, social clubs etc.

*I think all of these things relate back to this point.

These are all initiatives I like, and I'd like to adopt them across the board in my current company if possible. We've recently reduced our working hours and made them more flexible. I think the unlimited holidays idea is really good & that an office dog would be class too, but we work in serviced offices that don't allow it.

I wondered what experiences people have had good or bad with their employers introducing initiatives like this - what has worked well? what would you like to see?
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Sounds like the NHS and other such public sector jobs .
 
C-S-L Mackem said:
I think the stuff like breakout areas, office dogs, and to some extent, extrinsic 'perks' like discounted gym, cinema tickets, etc are shiny baubles that aren't likely to have that much of a positive impact on people.

There's plenty of research to suggest that having autonomy and a sense of control over how we work, and feeling trusted and supported by management are primary drivers of satisfaction and general wellbeing at work. If a workplace doesn't have at least some of these elements, the best breakout area in the world isn't going to help matters.
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The type of company that has breakout areas and the other shiny baubles tend to be the ones which also offer a raft of other incentives as part of an overall package to attract and retain staff.

I work with a lot of the banks who recognise that it is a very competitive market trying to attract the cream of the next generation and are putting a lot of effort, research and money into the whole employee experience. It’s very high up on the requirements they are looking for in our solutions, mobile technologies, to the point where they are relaxing many of their historical security requirements for all but those staff who are working in the regulated sectors.
 
Unlimited leave eh? Sounds great in principle but I reckon the reality would be a nightmare for any employer.

I'm a contractor so have fuck all leave. Its great. Well, it's not as I think I burned out yesterday :lol::neutral::cry:
 
Flared Hicks said:
The type of company that has breakout areas and the other shiny baubles tend to be the ones which also offer a raft of other incentives as part of an overall package to attract and retain staff.

I work with a lot of the banks who recognise that it is a very competitive market trying to attract the cream of the next generation and are putting a lot of effort, research and money into the whole employee experience. It’s very high up on the requirements they are looking for in our solutions, mobile technologies, to the point where they are relaxing many of their historical security requirements for all but those staff who are working in the regulated sectors.
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If they just locate the offices in city centres instead of business parks then they wouldnt need breakout areas. As staff can then just pop out to shops etc & not get bored at break times.

And it would it would be a boost to our declining high streets. Governmrnt/councils should incentivise it somehow

I work centrally & think its a big bonus, would hate to be based out of town.
 
Unlimited leave is bollocks, another race to the bottom. Just give your staff 30 days annual leave as standard with the opportunity to buy more if possible.

The place I work for has most of the stuff in the OP, office dog, table football, breakout space, game console, free bait and fruit etc.

It's all good stuff but at the end of the day the only thing that keeps me interested is the variety of work, the responsibilities I'm given and how I'm being managed.

Creating a great working environment where people talk to each other and enjoy being in the office is really important though. Offices that are dead silent must be so shit to work in, I've had a year of that and I hated it, sucked the life out of me. I guess things like a table football table or a dog help people bond over something.
 

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