This photo is of a marketing department in Asia.
Inspiring isn’t it. You can just tell the employee’s imagination will be running wild sitting there everyday, can’t you!
Jesus … talk about depressing – even the ceiling seems low!
Russell wrote about the issue of ‘office space’ a while back … and even I had the odd rant about it [surprise, surprise] … but I still think this issue is in need of debate because in these days of corporate penny-pinching, it amazes me that companies expect high morale and output when they basically treat and locate their staff in surroundings best descibed as ‘battery chicken homes’.
Of course I understand rent is a massive cost for business, so I appreciate their need to maximise their ‘space’ … but to cram hundreds of people in an area of souless blandom seems to be rather shortsighted – especially when those people are tasked with finding ways to capture the imagination of the public.
Please know I am not saying organisations should only look after their marketing departments and screw everyone else … nor am I advocating they give everyone acres of personal space including their own fridge, sofa and swimming pool [though cynic does have a bedroom in their NY office – a place where people can literally pop in and have a ‘snooze’] and I’m certainly not suggesting companies spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on mad stuff like building a slide that runs all the way through the office [like Leo Burnett Sydney did – which was always about generating agency PR than being beneficial to their staff] … however I do believe a company has a moral duty to create a physical environment that is enjoyable, productive and inspiring for all its employees … not just because it creates a happier, more productive atmosphere [which leads to better and higher levels of ‘output’] but because a company already pushes staff to spend way more time working than they should/get paid for – so the least they can do is try and make the place as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. [And I won’t buy the argument that a crappy environment means they are encouraging their staff to go home and ‘have a life’]
And as bad as alot of Asian companies can be … the US has moments of absolute mentalness!
The place is so fucking politically correct and union governed, that you can’t even move your pen without getting written authorisation.
But hey … that’s more about business practice than business physical environments, so I’ll leave that rant for another day.
Anyway, because I am an inquisitive bugger, I would love to know what you think would make life in your current environment better [and no, on-tap drugs/booze/prostitutes do not count] so if you can be bothered – I can appreciate you probably can’t – drop me a line by clicking here.
Oh, and talking of hell … here’s Jill’s version of it – fixing a hole in my jeans like the good lil’ lady she is.
[I am soooo dead for saying that! Sorry hon!]
