What if you could have everything you needed in life... at work?
Comfortable couches, fitness centers, dry cleaning, concierge service, cafes and restaurants, sleep rooms, daycare, ping pong, beer fridge...sounds nice, right? With all of those perks and amenities, why would you ever need to LEAVE the office?
There are many companies, big and small, that are building their corporate culture in just this way.
However, we see issues with building cult compounds for your employees.
1. It's incredibly expensive. Many businesses waste money on perks like these, rather than providing the kinds of creative benefits that employees truly value.
2. It takes away choice and autonomy. People want to choose their own child care, gym, and restaurants. People want to make choices about where and when they get work done, avoid the commute, be available for their families and communities.
Instead of people having control over their lives, organizations are creating compounds (or mini-compounds) where work IS home so that they can monitor their employees while at the same time providing all the things their employees should be grateful for. We need to be building performance-based work cultures, not cult compounds.
This is a frightening reality that does not allow for freedom, but is the antithesis of 100% autonomy and 100% accountability.