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I work for a non-profit where, to cut costs, they initially took out all the water coolers. When people complained, they gave us one water cooler per building.
by umjames 17y ago
I work for a non-profit where, to cut costs, they initially took out all the water coolers. When people complained, they gave us one water cooler per building.
I'd really like to be able to say that this would make people start leaving, but no one here is really going to do that. I'll bet senior management knew (and was relying on) that.
Lesson learned: In startups, people are more likely to leave on principles. In big companies (even non-profits), almost no one leaves unless they're fired.
- noonespecial 17y agoI work with doctors, in and around hospitals and clinics. This problem has reached epidemic proportions, especially in the US. Bean counters know that no matter how many perks are removed or how intolerable working conditions get, doctors simply won't walk away from patients. I'm sorry to say that this is being taken advantage of in the worst of ways. Be careful working at a job you "believe in", it puts you at a fearful disadvantage.
- umjames 17y agoYou're right. I don't know about doctors, but I work in an IT department. You can tell that pretty much no one here "believes in" the job. It's just a paycheck. I think people don't leave for a variety of reasons, but passion for the work or the good that the work is supposed to provide is definitely not one of them.
- hugh_ 17y agoAnother good example: academia. As of a few weeks ago, the janitor only comes once a month, and we have to take out our own trash.
- hga 17y agoHeh: when MIT first started doing this in the late '80s, they started cleaning most restrooms only every other day. They called this "Frequent Cleaning"....
- jrwoodruff 17y agoSeems like this is becoming commonplace. Another example: newspapers. Photographers are spending thousands to buy their own camera rigs b/c the company won't spring for replace 5-year old equipment, reporters are using their own laptops/cameras (even notepads!) because they have to. All while they're being pushed to be tech savvy. Sad.
- stevenbedrick 17y agoSame deal at my university, only it's been like this for the last few years.
- modoc 17y agoI worked at a very large company, which post-merger started rolling out various changes which negatively impacted our development group. $0.25 sodas, redbull, and snacks went to normal prices, release night dinners were cut, flex time became less flexible, etc... While no one quit due to any one of those changes, it did change the place from somewhere fun to work to somewhere that wasn't fun. As a result about three months later a large number of the architecture group and other key people quit within a 1-2 week span. So while no one may quit the day the water coolers are removed, that type of change will lead to higher turn over later on, especially among the top folks, who can find a new job pretty easily.
- umjames 17y agoThat's true. It's also bad PR for the company. Disgruntled former employees will not recommend anyone they know to work at such companies for these reasons. That might not seem to be such a big deal (as compared to an external, traditional PR problem), but if your best employees are the ones leaving on bad terms, then most likely the people they know are above average too. Now the company will have a harder time recruiting great people.
- ZachPruckowski 17y agoWhile no one quit due to any one of those changes...about three months later a large number of the architecture group and other key people quit within a 1-2 week span Sounds to me like they put out resumes shortly after the cost-cutting, it just took a few months to get a better job.