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Microsoft Employees Can Now Work In Treehouses (cnbc.com)
Microsoft's campus now features three outdoor treehouses for its employees. An anonymous reader quotes CNBC:
More than 12 feet off the ground, the treehouses feature charred-wood walls, skylights, at least one gas fireplace, Wi-Fi and hidden electrical outlets. Employees can even grab a bite at an outdoor extension of the indoor cafeteria. The "more Hobbit than HQ" treehouses are designed by Pete Nelson of the TV show "Treehouse Masters" and are part of Microsoft's growing "outdoor districts..." The company touts the professional benefits of working in nature -- greater creativity, focus and happiness -- but honestly, the treehouses are just plain cool.
Microsoft touts a Harvard physician who believes nature "stimulates reward neurons in your brain. It turns off the stress response, which means you have lower cortisol levels, lower heart rate and blood pressure, and improved immune response." There's a short video on the "Working at Microsoft" channel on YouTube, but I'm curious what Slashdot readers think about working outdoors. Or, in a tree...
Microsoft touts a Harvard physician who believes nature "stimulates reward neurons in your brain. It turns off the stress response, which means you have lower cortisol levels, lower heart rate and blood pressure, and improved immune response." There's a short video on the "Working at Microsoft" channel on YouTube, but I'm curious what Slashdot readers think about working outdoors. Or, in a tree...
I agree...Our medium IT services and software provider just got the Google open office religion. So far our satellite office has been spared, but other offices around the world are being transformed into a hideous white, orange, blue and green preschool workspace. The ostensible goal is to attract Millenials, but IMO it alienates people who don't want to be treated like preschoolers.
For those who weren't paying attention back then (or born, ye gods..) the late 90s had a very similar ramp up during the first dotcom bubble. Every workplace was trying to copy perk after perk of the startup down the street. It's where we got the foosball table, free meals, free concierge services, etc. trends we see at the Googles and Microsofts of the world today. I think the idea is that you need to have all these crazy perks to attract brilliant creative people...but I don't get it. Yes, I don't want to work in a soulless gray cubicle, but I don't want to sit at a cafeteria table with 10 of my coworker buddies listening to conversations, or get shot with Nerf guns, etc. It really is a culture shift if they can't attract employees with good salaries and interesting work - and have to resort to toys and brightly colored workspaces.