An employee who doesn't have to leave the office to pick up dry cleaning or to get a haircut is an employee who spends more time working. That's the reasoning behind the well-equipped tech company campuses that dot Silicon Valley.
Wary of letting this agenda slip to employees, companies have created campus-enrichment programs that emphasize the "balance" buzzword -- which means still more time at work, no matter how you slice it.
See also: Roadside Dentistry- - - - - -
"We encourage productivity," said Sun Microsystem's corporate PR manager Anne Little, dryly, and that's the Valley's bottom line in a nutshell. To that end, companies provide a range of services that boggle the mind.
"We didn't have sex therapy and an on-site coke dealer, but all told, it was pretty sweet," sniggered one ex-Netscape employee. Here's a sampling of what companies offer employees:
Sun Microsystems
- Dry cleaning
- The Sun Store, a drugstore-like affair with photo processing and floral arrangements
- Cafeteria and bistro with table service
- On-site oil change and corporate auto detailing
- Electric-car recharging docket (at the Menlo Park office)
- Injury clinics with physical therapists
- Company gym
- Lactation rooms for nursing mothers
Oracle
- Dry cleaning
- Company gym offering nail service and massages
- Parking garage and car detailing
- Florist that delivers
- Photo services
- ATMs
- Shoe repair
- Six different restaurants with cuisines ranging from American to Indian
Netscape
- Dry cleaning
- Company gym
- Car detailing
- Office concierges who arrange errands and travel plans
- On-Site dental care
- Photo services
- Chair massage
Intuit
- Dry cleaning
- Chair massage
- Oil change
- On-site notary services
- Laundry services
- weekly visit from an organic fruit and veggie truck
Adaptec
- On-site massage
- Dry cleaning
- Florist
- Car detailing and oil change
- Tickets to movies and events
- Concierge to arrange travel plans and errands
