Then he capped me and took a scissors and comb. Onsite Haircuts charges $18 and Kaufer’s business has quickly become profitable after an investment in three $80,000 used Winnebagos, she said.Barber soon shaved my face smooth and applied the after shave lotion. “It’s part of the culture creation process,” he said. “When you have large groups of younger workers, especially in a place like Silicon Valley where most people are not from this area, they are away from family and friends,” said Charles O’Reilly, a Stanford Graduate School of Business professor of management.Ĭompanies with resources were smart to encourage employees to spend time on campus. Because workers do not punch a clock, they can come and go as they please. Many area companies are in industrial parks with few commercial establishments nearby, and heavy traffic in the region can make driving offsite unappealing. Onsite Haircuts works well partially because of the sprawling suburban geography of Silicon Valley. “My time right now is just work and baby and keeping everything into those two baskets is something that I need to focus on,” he said. Google manager Poskey said simplifying his life is important as his wife recently had a baby. It might take some time for somebody to go down and get a haircut, but it also means that they are not getting in their car and leaving to get a haircut.” “These are not only perks, they are productivity plays as well. We’re breaking the business rules, we’ve got pinball in our lobby,’” said Hargadon, a professor at the University of California at Davis Graduate School of Management. “Those kinds of perks made you feel that “Hey, I’m part of something really special. He said he does not work a fixed schedule, and toiled the whole night through a few weeks ago.Īndrew Hargadon, who worked at computer maker Apple from 1990 to 1993, recalls perks such as free bagels, beer on Friday, games in the lobby and Nerf tag games and said such items make workers feel better about irregular hours and more productive. “I wouldn’t have set up a meeting, but we got around to talking about things,” he said. He said a game of bocce with co-workers the other day led to some business insights. “Here the cultures are much more relaxed,” said Dena Kaufer, 43, a former tech worker who lost her job during Silicon Valley’s last economic downturn and started Onsite Haircuts in 2003.ĭonal Mountain, 30, a Google “user-experience” researcher from Ireland, is one of many who likes the flexible approach. Workers with new babies can bill the company for up to $500 (250 pounds) for take-out food. Google in Mountain View south of San Francisco offers free organic food, laundry machines, a gym, massages, volleyball court, bike repairs and on-site doctors. Silicon Valley has long mixed the informality of California beach culture with the rebellious streak of an industry whose success hinges on disrupting established ways of doing things. “Everything that happens here is so different,” Jeral Poskey, 37, the manager of one of Google’s technical groups, said as a barber snipped his locks on a recent Friday morning. Ultimately, experts say, such an environment boosts productivity. The service by Onsite Haircuts illustrates Silicon Valley’s distinctive work culture and is welcomed as firms seek to motivate workers and give them a sense of community. REUTERS/Kimberly White (UNITED STATES)Įvery day three refitted Winnebago mobile homes roll into famed Silicon Valley high-tech companies such as Yahoo, eBay, Cisco Systems and Genentech. The service by Onsite Haircuts illustrates Silicon Valley's distinctive work culture and is welcomed as firms seek to motivate workers and give them a sense of community. employee inside her refitted Winnebago mobile home in the parking lot of Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, May 10, 2007. Dena Kaufer (L), owner of Onsite Haircuts, cuts the hair of a Google Inc.
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