While I was meeting with one of my managers about a project I’m working on in the office, we got to talking about a little bit of history within our department. Several years ago, the group went through a major budget cutback and massive layoffs. The team I now work with (within the larger department) used to have 90 employees and now we have ten. The cutback included removal of the floor’s water cooler. Management claimed this was an “enterprise-wide initiative,” but in reality, our department proposed the removal of watercoolers cost-saving plan to the corporate office, who suggested it be attempted in this department only.
Employees were clearly upset. Employees in other departments did not have watercoolers removed. This created a large amount of bad sentiment among the employees.
According to Business 2.0, the trend of increasing on-site benefits has returned in an effort to attract and keep talent. But it’s a zero-sum game. The magazine gives the example of Microsoft, which has cut back vacation time, reduced the employee stock purchase plan discount, and increased the prescription drug co-payment, while returning their old benefit of “free towel service.”
I don’t know which I’d rather had. While the watercooler lets me fill up my bottle for free and keep me hydrated throughout the day, I could probably survive without it if the alternative was more vacation, lower medical costs, or a higher salary.
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