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“Anti-perks”: what our startup doesn't want in our office

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Re: “Anti-perks”: what our startup doesn't want in our office

#81

Post by Pica_soO »

hackbinary wrote: post #40
Avshalom wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Offices (and at least one person with a hammock in their office) would negate that as a perk. Offices also diminish the impact of bringing a dog/cat/chinchilla to work and the need for TV rooms (if you don't have everyone looking over your shoulder, watching netflix on during break from your computer isn't an issue) Though offices also run contrary to "Start up" being some hyper growth focused company, if you plan on…

Don't want dogs or cats in the office. Especially cats with all this stuff coming out about toxoplasmosis.

Toxoplasmosis has been linked to anger Issues with humans- so to keep Sales aggressive- release the tiger.

Re: “Anti-perks”: what our startup doesn't want in our office

#82

Post by Daishiman »

kafkaesq wrote: post #69

Pet-friendly offices: I’m sure having a pet visit the office once would be a treat, but every day quickly can become a burden on the team. Disagree, given the observation that pets (provided they're well-behaved, are well-groomed etc) reduce stress and promote empathy. It's just a question of measure - somewhere between "once" and "every day" there are these notions of "once in a while" or "from time to time". Which…

I have been in environments where dogs are not well-disciplined and will pee on the floor and bark annoyingly while we're trying to focus. No thanks.

Re: “Anti-perks”: what our startup doesn't want in our office

#83

Post by vaishaksuresh »

Aloha wrote: post #60
vaishaksuresh wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine how normal work places feel like to people who don't drink, are introverts and don't like to be greeted by dogs all the time.

How do you mean normal? Outside of startup land, a pet policy and free booze at work is kind of unusual.

I mean normal as in normal silicon valley startup.

Re: “Anti-perks”: what our startup doesn't want in our office

#84

Post by awodol »

Dowwie wrote: post #33

"I’m sure having a pet visit the office once would be a treat, but every day quickly can become a burden on the team." Would people who are burdened by an office dog please share your experiences?

I personally just hate/fear dogs after too many bad experiences growing up. Everybody looks at you as the burden or party pooper when you say you would prefer a dog free environment to work at.

Re: “Anti-perks”: what our startup doesn't want in our office

#85

Post by stefco_ »

djhworld wrote: post #80
stefco_ wrote: post #21

> But as we grow in size, we also plan to grow in the diversity of our perspectives and backgrounds — which is even more reason not to add a bunch of extraneous or overly specific perks. Especially as our team diversifies, we can’t (and shouldn’t) strive to have a one-size-fits-all office or benefits package. This is a great point about bringing in diverse hires. If you optimize your perks to appeal to you, then you'…

> One of my friends is in an office environment where they play Quake III for an hour a day. This perk is actually a mandatory bonding session I've been a gamer for most of my life, but this would horrify me as a perk as it's completely exclusionary (which backs up your point) Imagine being the employee that doesn't play games, it's like mandatory doing office sports

Yeah, exactly. And gaming in particular definitely has a lot of the same demographic skewing that SV is trying to move past, so things like this don't help with those efforts.

Re: “Anti-perks”: what our startup doesn't want in our office

#87

Post by kafkaesq »

Daishiman wrote: post #82
kafkaesq wrote: post #69

Pet-friendly offices: I’m sure having a pet visit the office once would be a treat, but every day quickly can become a burden on the team. Disagree, given the observation that pets (provided they're well-behaved, are well-groomed etc) reduce stress and promote empathy. It's just a question of measure - somewhere between "once" and "every day" there are these notions of "once in a while" or "from time to time". Which…

I have been in environments where dogs are not well-disciplined and will pee on the floor and bark annoyingly while we're trying to focus. No thanks.

Hence the "well-behaved, well-groomed" constraint.

If you're in an office where dogs are peeing and barking (and no one knows what to do about it) - then clearly you have a people problem, not a dog problem.

Re: “Anti-perks”: what our startup doesn't want in our office

#88

Post by TylerE »

MarkCole wrote: post #71
TylerE wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US the employer is under NO obligation to provide vacation time, period. Paid, or otherwise.

I was under the impression there was a statutory amount, but it was ridiculously low. To have none at all is pretty damn terrifying.

From https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/leave-laws/vacation-le...

"Federal law does not require employers provide employees with either paid or unpaid vacation leave. Both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Department of Labor have left the matter of vacation leave to the States to develop applicable laws.

Vacation Leave and State Law

There are no States that require employers to provide employees with either paid or unpaid vacation leave. However, states vary considerably on the requirements placed on employers if they choose to provide vacation benefits. Vacation Leave Law Summaries"

Re: “Anti-perks”: what our startup doesn't want in our office

#89

Post by bassman9000 »

itamarst wrote: post #44

Unfortunately, sounds like they fail at the minimum criteria for a sane workweek. In particular: "our team tends to work long days". Who cares about anti-perks or perks if you're expected to work crazy hours?

Sadly, there's no way around this for a new company. It's how the market works today, and competition is fierce.

I think the idea is to add another opportunity to stretch, go out, socialize, and talk about something other than work, which is probably beneficial when working hard problems.

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