I think my most memorable first day was going around a track in a Tesla Roadster, and a pre-production Model S. It's going to be hard to top that one.
Use Your Unfair Advantage To Create an Unforgettable First Day For New Hires
11–20 of 25 posts
Re: Use Your Unfair Advantage To Create an Unforgettable First Day For New Hires
#12And... the (mandatory) fun at work movement reaches a new low of creepiness. Guys, what happened to professionalism? privacy? letting employees decide how much (if any) of their personal life gets meshed up with work?
Re: Use Your Unfair Advantage To Create an Unforgettable First Day For New Hires
#13Jesus, this sounds like my nightmare. Just lead me to my cube and let me get to work.
This isn't about embarrassing you. This is about showing that they care about you. Clearly, in your case they would prepare something to suit you - perhaps a gourmet basket sent to your house or similar, in a way that wouldn't embarrass you.
@elliptic's complaint is not about embarrassment, it's about respecting people's conceptions of appropriateness. For example, if he likes to keep work strictly separate from the rest of his life, having anything delivered to his home that isn't strictly necessary would be a violation of his principles and therefore a gesture of disrespect.
For another example, people with Asperger's can look embarrassed when you violate their rules. But the symptoms that neurotypicals tend to interpret as embarrassment can just as well be a sign of deep indignation.
Actually caring for a person means respecting their opinions and preferences, up to and including a preference for an utterly unmemorable day at work, or a preference that their boss does not exploit unfair advantages.
Re: Use Your Unfair Advantage To Create an Unforgettable First Day For New Hires
#14I think this is good concept - though I'm not sure if I would take it to the levels that they did (the Facebook part was a bit much for me...). Even a small thing - a personalized postcard in the mail that arrives a few days before you start - would make me smile and feel welcomed. There is a fine line though, and the difficulty is that the line is different for every person. Some people would love a personalized cak…
The Facebook thing struck me as kind of creepy too. I'm not sure I would feel all warm and fuzzy knowing that my new employers had been crawling through my Facebook pages.
Re: Use Your Unfair Advantage To Create an Unforgettable First Day For New Hires
#15I think this is good concept - though I'm not sure if I would take it to the levels that they did (the Facebook part was a bit much for me...). Even a small thing - a personalized postcard in the mail that arrives a few days before you start - would make me smile and feel welcomed. There is a fine line though, and the difficulty is that the line is different for every person. Some people would love a personalized cak…
> Some people would love a personalized
> cake celebrating their first day, others
> would not.
Re: Use Your Unfair Advantage To Create an Unforgettable First Day For New Hires
#16Obviously, creating a welcoming environment for a new hire is beneficial to all parties, but this is somewhat absurd. One's workplace and one's personal life are and ought to be, by default, separate and disjunct. It should be the employee exclusively who chooses whether to bring their work home or bring their personal life into their occupational life.
There is something deeply disconcerting about having an employer go out of their way to meld one's personal life and work life from day one.
Re: Use Your Unfair Advantage To Create an Unforgettable First Day For New Hires
#17And... the (mandatory) fun at work movement reaches a new low of creepiness. Guys, what happened to professionalism? privacy? letting employees decide how much (if any) of their personal life gets meshed up with work?
What happened to ... you are being paid a lot of money to do this job, welcome, we look forward to getting to know you, in the mean time here's your desk.
Is our generation incapable of being productive unless we are treated and spoiled like children?
I don't want to have NERF fights at work. I don't want to go to a party or for drinks three times a week after work. I don't want to feel like my employer is a fraternity. I want to get my work done and return to my life at home. I guess this means I'd quickly get purged from this kind of company?
Re: Use Your Unfair Advantage To Create an Unforgettable First Day For New Hires
#18And... the (mandatory) fun at work movement reaches a new low of creepiness. Guys, what happened to professionalism? privacy? letting employees decide how much (if any) of their personal life gets meshed up with work?
What happened to ... you are being paid a lot of money to do this job, welcome, we look forward to getting to know you, in the mean time here's your desk. Is our generation incapable of being productive unless we are treated and spoiled like children? I don't want to have NERF fights at work. I don't want to go to a party or for drinks three times a week after work. I don't want to feel like my employer is a fraterni…
Moreover, doing this sort of thing is presumptuous and may actually work to the detriment of the employee. What brings one pleasure at home may inhibit productivity at work. For instance, I have a large number of art pieces, decorative objects, lamps, etc., at home that create a certain aesthetic that I enjoy when not working. However, I prefer to work in a relatively spartan environment, and superfluous items or clutter just creates more mental overhead and makes concentration harder.
Re: Use Your Unfair Advantage To Create an Unforgettable First Day For New Hires
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
This isn't about embarrassing you. This is about showing that they care about you. Clearly, in your case they would prepare something to suit you - perhaps a gourmet basket sent to your house or similar, in a way that wouldn't embarrass you.
@elliptic's complaint is not about embarrassment, it's about respecting people's conceptions of appropriateness. For example, if he likes to keep work strictly separate from the rest of his life, having anything delivered to his home that isn't strictly necessary would be a violation of his principles and therefore a gesture of disrespect. For another example, people with Asperger's can look embarrassed when you viol…
I think we're actually agreed on the issue. In the original article, it said they looked through someone's (obviously public or shared) facebook for something they would like. Clearly, they would also (well, ideally) sense the right level of respectfulness for people who value unmemorable days.
Re: Use Your Unfair Advantage To Create an Unforgettable First Day For New Hires
#20Let me tell you about my worst first day.
I got to work half an hour before my manager and sat in an empty office by myself. When the manager finally showed up, he gave me a box that had a new computer and said "Here you go, set it up." I didn't have a keyboard, mouse, or ethernet cable and I had to go scrounge them second hand.
I spent the next week pretty much doing nothing but reading through manuals and talking to nobody but the cafeteria workers.