Rodolphe DutelVerified account

This is especially true once you get older and have children. After work socials and toys just aren’t a priority.

Frankly why should they be?

I have to be honest I have worked for some companies that have had central London locations, crazy Xmas parties etc etc which have all been sold as perks. Many devs would prefer to see that money spent in their pay cheques.

I'd rather work for a company that encourages a healthy home life rather than spending more time at my desk (or in the office with Foosball)

It's not necessarily either/or though. If social space/activity is touted as a compensation for staying late, red flag. But if it's presented as a way to get a break when you need it during work, in my opinion that's a positive (as long as it's not disruptive to others' work).

We had a beer fridge, foosball and flexible working. All three were strictly regulated. Beer only when staying late. Foosball only after work. A broken culture starts with a lack of trust.

These are not problems with having foosball, table tennis and beer. These are problems with culture and the perks are being weaponized. Stop blaming the perks and look for root cause as to why the culture sucks and fix the culture.

I'm not blaming perks! Good gosh no. I am blaming a toxic company culture. It doesn't always start at the top, either. It only takes one wonky wheel to tip the cart.

Employees want control over the choices that affect their personal and professional lives. If they want a ping pong table or a fridge, they'll get one. Remote employees even have private bathrooms and thermostat control. A luxury companies won't provide.

Seriously, the best perk for me of working remotely is being able to use my own bathroom whenever I want. No ping pong table can beat that.

Sounds silly but I loved not having to wear shoes in the summer.

Not silly. Personal preference allowing better productivity and comfort without affecting a traditional social requirement. Some people like to work outside on their back porch. Doesn’t fit the cube or open office life norm.

And quiet workspace and less meetings open office sucks too much noise

I hate the concept of open office, I think it's just a trick by management to save money.

I've had both good and bad experiences with open offices. I think the trick is to have the right group in the room (not too many) so information flows, conversations can be joined, etc. While having reasonable sound damping and pushing noisy activities out (phones, parties).

And buying less than 5-6 ft desks is a huge anti-pattern. If I don't have my own space at least give me a reasonable "personal space" buffer from my coworkers.

This is a big one for me. We have a shared office with five people in it. I hate it that I really can’t get away from any extraneous conversations or someone is in a meeting and they put the phone call on speakerphone. I never thought I’d say this, but I actually miss cube walls.