I remember many years ago when I was doing a project for an advertising agency in New York City and we were told not to have any dealings with "those creative types." This agency was then known as the world's largest and the most successful. The client was referring to the people who created the adverts that we see on TV, in print ads, and so forth. These people, at that time, had offices that were literal castles to their own design. One person's office was only made up of futons. No desk, nothing else. Another was painted chartreuse. Another was filled with various gaming machines that you would find in a gaming arcade. In those days, this all seemed very very strange to me, and I couldn't wrap my mind around how this kind of environment could help anyone do their job, let along help this company with their productivity.
Fast forward to today where you see in many companies, whole parts of their facilities set aside for such things as places for the workers not to work, but to play!! You may find, among other things, these same arcade games, basketball hoops, couches, open areas for lounging, and in some cases, nosh pits where all kinds of food for snacking on or drinking is available. Other companies offer variations of this, all the way up to the very well known SAS in Cary, N.C., which offers dry-cleaning, concierge services, day-care and so forth to it's employees. Google is another employer in the same firmament.
But do these kinds of efforts or something less, effect productivity??
I've just finished reading a piece in the Wall Street Journal by Jonah Lehrer, called "Bother Me, I'm Thinking." I've supplied the link below.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703584804576144192132144506.html?KEYWORDS=Jonah+Lehrer
Now granted the article is not totally about all of the benefits I mention above, but it is about whether allowing time and perhaps places for creative thinking is a good thing and if there is a casual link to improved productivity. It is about whether "we force ourselves to focus, to stare straight ahead at the computer screen." And whether 'we need caffeine to make all of this occur.' Seemingly research done at the Universities of Michigan and Memphis has now shown that "the inability to focus helps ensure a richer mixture of thoughts in consciousness. Because these people struggled to filter the world, they ended up letting everything in. They couldn't help but be open-minded. This is also being related to the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that young people are being diagnosed with.
Now obviously not every job needs this kind of creativity, but many do, and some far-sighted companies allow for the proper kind of environment. Most do not. Are they hurting their productivity? It would appear that they are!!
Bob
Fast forward to today where you see in many companies, whole parts of their facilities set aside for such things as places for the workers not to work, but to play!! You may find, among other things, these same arcade games, basketball hoops, couches, open areas for lounging, and in some cases, nosh pits where all kinds of food for snacking on or drinking is available. Other companies offer variations of this, all the way up to the very well known SAS in Cary, N.C., which offers dry-cleaning, concierge services, day-care and so forth to it's employees. Google is another employer in the same firmament.
But do these kinds of efforts or something less, effect productivity??
I've just finished reading a piece in the Wall Street Journal by Jonah Lehrer, called "Bother Me, I'm Thinking." I've supplied the link below.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703584804576144192132144506.html?KEYWORDS=Jonah+Lehrer
Now granted the article is not totally about all of the benefits I mention above, but it is about whether allowing time and perhaps places for creative thinking is a good thing and if there is a casual link to improved productivity. It is about whether "we force ourselves to focus, to stare straight ahead at the computer screen." And whether 'we need caffeine to make all of this occur.' Seemingly research done at the Universities of Michigan and Memphis has now shown that "the inability to focus helps ensure a richer mixture of thoughts in consciousness. Because these people struggled to filter the world, they ended up letting everything in. They couldn't help but be open-minded. This is also being related to the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that young people are being diagnosed with.
Now obviously not every job needs this kind of creativity, but many do, and some far-sighted companies allow for the proper kind of environment. Most do not. Are they hurting their productivity? It would appear that they are!!
Bob
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