The tech world and influx of millennials brought more emphasis on providing space that supports culture and work space function. Image courtesy Doug Duran/Bay Area newsgroup.
Admit it. Yes, of course, you have complained about work. We all have! As one of my best friends reminds me whenever I grumble about work—there is a reason it is called work and not a vacation. Your employer is paying you to do a job, and presumably, most of us are trying to be able to pay for and have an excellent life. That said, ideally, you are performing work that you find personally stimulating and gratifying, in an environment that supports your optimal performance—which is the definition of employee satisfaction. We all spend a lot of the hours of our lives at work, why shouldn’t they be happy ones? Moreover, OK, what do we even mean by happy?
In 1999, I entered the new tech start-up world. Transitioning from a big established corporate environment (Mattel) to an early-stage Internet business was quite jarring—but exciting. Not only did I have to make the shift, but I also needed to be part of the revolution, as I learned very quickly. Our space was an uber-cool former warehouse with exposed pipes and polished concrete floors. In no time, the complaints started. It was echo-y. People were too close to their neighbors. The printer’s fan was annoying. The floors were so hard and cold. If someone needed to have a private conversation with me, we had to take a walk outside. If we were going to survive, much less thrive, we needed to make sure people were happy—and getting work done. The different-thinking Millennials (yet unlabeled at the time) were very helpful, and I memorized the playbook. We bought neon green padded fuzzy slippers for the whole engineering team.