Re: FWD: a question about "atmospheric" benefits

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

anonfwd -at- raycomm -dot- com wrote:
> 
> What I need help with is the following.  One of my superiors has always
> insisted that certain company traditions like flexible work hours, casual
> dress, and bi-weekly free lunches go a long way toward making up for our
> low salaries.  A quote:  "You're not wearing a suit right now.  That's a
> company benefit."  However, aren't these perks so ubiquitous right now in
> software that they don't really constitute an exceptional work atmosphere?
> I know he will bring this up during the salary-discussion meeting, and I
> would like to be able to have a more effective response than my usual,
> "Well, I don't think that's true."  (I would prefer, "I asked a lot of
> very reputable professionals and they thought. . .")
> 

Tell your superior that thousands of companies have casual dress
codes and money, too. Casual is the norm in the software industry.
At almost every place I've worked, a man who shows up for work in a
suit or a tie has to face jokes about having an interview or a hot
date. At the most conservative software company I worked for, the
dress code was no stricter than business casual, which means for men
a buttoned shirt without a tie, dockers and no running shoes, except
on Fridays.

You might also do a search for an article that was reported on
Slashdot in the last week. I don't remember exactly where the
article appeared (Salon, maybe?), but it summarized the sort of
perks that high-tech workers want. On the top of the list were items
like free home internet connections and telecommuting. At the bottom
were company social events.


-- 
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
604.421.7189 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"A polite conformity with the notions of fools is a necessary
protection."
- Edgar Pangborn, "Davy"

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