Christian of think:lab visited a Montana printing company called Printing For Less. Some teasers from his post:
The first thing you see when you come walk the parking lot to the front door are little kiddos playing under the Montana sky. All employees pay a pitance to have their young kids on site with them.
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Spaces were vibrant. Team members were free to work in a variety of settings. And the place had a learning buzz about it.
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The dog to the right was one of at least 12 that I saw, roaming happily around the Printing For Less offices/halls. Talk about a perk for employees!
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Man, there just weren’t any spaces in the building that didn’t suggest learning, collaboration, experiment, and team.
Kinda sounds like he liked it, huh?
And so do I. It’s a nice break from the traditional, sterile office environment that many other businesses think is necessary for productivity and professionalism. I think this type of office atmosphere lets people be themselves and is much more likely to make them happy at work.
Also check out my previous post about an ad agency that allowed babies and subsequently dogs, cats and other pets to the workplace. Though they did have to draw the line at goats, they found it to be a real boost for the company and for the employees.
sounds nice, however one may want more separation between worklife and personal life.
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Alexander,
Had a laugh about the goats…but more importantly, I wanted to thank you for the kindness you extended in terms of the link back to “think:lab”. There is obvious power in Scoble posting something, so my blog hat off to him (which I’ve already told him), but I don’t take for granted that the writing/posting/musing I do on my own blog goes beyond a casual glance for anyone. To have someone take the time to do a savvy re-mash of something I’ve written (you nailed the key observations I had when I visited the PFL offices), well…that means a great deal to me. Thank you.
Great site. Clearly the link-world of blogging allows one to find great voices out there with true passions/expertise. Clearly what one discovers at Positive Sharing. Well done…and I look forward to seeing more of your work in time!
Again, thanks for your generosity. Scoble should get most of the credit, as well as Andrew Field for creating such a dyanmic enviornment at PFL…but I appreciate being in the mix as well.
Cheers, Christian
David: Yeah, some people like to keep work and private life more separate and that’s fine too. Some workplaces support both, some tend heavily towards “professional only”. It’s up to each of us to decide where we like to work.
BlueF: Thank you VERY much!
Christian: You’re more than welcome. I just love the world of blogging for it’s gift-economy nature. The more you give, the more you get.
And thanks for your post on PFL which was just crackling with energy, appreciation and wonder.