Month: October 2014

This is a work in progress and will be updated.

Jobs in my particular discipline (i.e., not outdoor equipment manufacture or even outdoor-oriented) don’t generally come with the same kinds of perks that some of these companies have.  I’m curious why that is, and I wonder if, by incorporating some of these into my current office environment, my employer could attract more talent…

In no particular order, here are the workplace characters that I would enjoy and would work in my particular situation:

1. Showers.  I’m a bicycle commuter, but heading out on a road ride from the office and being able to clean up afterward would make me a happy puppy.  Seen at: Strava, pretty much everyone else.
2. Alternative transportation perks.  Credit for not clogging up the streets with more cars and the air with more pollution, in the form of time off or other currency.  Seen at: Mindbody, Patagonia, Deckers Brands.
3. Gym on site.  I like being active, and what better way to keep employees healthy than to give them a place to work out?  Seen at: Sportif.
4. Dogs at work.  I didn’t grow up with dogs, but now that I have one, it would be nice to bring him to work once in a while.  Seen at: Backbone Media, Ibex, Hydroflask, Smith Optics.
5. Kids at work.  As in, onsite daycare for when you’re really busy and cool enough coworkers to be okay with kids running around when you aren’t.
6. Flexible hours.  Modification: Unlimited personal time.  Seen at: Pretty much everyone on the list.  FullContact apparently gives you a vacation stipend of some sort.
7. Social consciousness.  The belief that we should be helping people who aren’t normally within our sphere of influence.  Seen at: Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s.
8. Environmental consciousness.  The belief that what we do should be good for the planet.  In the oil and gas sphere, this is a rough one to find, but I am confident that with extraction efficiency improvements to the n+1 degree, coupled with greater investment in alternative energy engineering solutions and conservation, we can do our part to improve the world.  It’s just so incremental sometimes. /soapbox.  Seen at: Patagonia, Namaste Solar.
9. Indoor bicycle storage.  Security, convenience, and reduce wear-and-tear.
10. Stock ownership, profit sharing, or co-op agreement.  Seen at: Deschutes Brewery, StoneAge.
11. Informal office space.  Set things up the way you like, work from where you like, spread out, play games (do pullups), whatever.  Seen at: Hydroflask.
12. Bar, or at least not a “dry” workplace.  I’m not advocating drunkenness on the job, but sometimes a drink at the end of the day can fuel interesting geological discussions.  Seen at: Omelet.
13. Active employees.  Seen at : Infinite Energy (notable because this is a “traditional” company), a lot of others. 
14. Snacks.  Who doesn’t like snacks, or fizzy drinks, or coffee?  Seen at: Pacific Market International.