Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley certainly “walks-the-walks” when it comes to quirky employee culture. In the recent class about employee culture, we studied Zappos whose work environment is a place of creative free expression. Similarly, Google certainly takes employee culture very seriously with their “transparency” policy which means everything from “rant emails” to salary questions are not withheld from their employees (This is just one example of the unique style of management carried out at Google).
Transparency promotes trust, honesty and an overall positive attitude throughout the workplace.
What are the merits of such a policy? Increased trust amongst employees, less “back stabbing” and the stimulated discussion of otherwise “hush hush” topics are just a few of the benefits of such a policy. I believe that it is the creative efforts of companies such as Zappos, Google and Apple, who encourage productivity AND a work-life balance, that are revolutionizing the work place. Because of these creative companies, what were once traditional careers are now turning into lifestyles.
“Outside the box” work culture is what will attract prospective employees to work for your company.
As a greater amount of millennial start to flood the workplace in the coming years, I believe companies who promote a work culture that aligns with the values of the new generation are most effective at attracting the best qualified and most elite among the work force. It is also interesting to observe whether this type of non-traditional workplace will be able to break through to traditional industries such as banking or law.