Monday, Monday

So I’m thinking of the millions of people going off to work this morning, many to a tiny cubicle, an angry boss breathing down their neck as they sit stiffly all day staring at a monitor and wishing they were anywhere but where they are. At least that’s how Mondays used start for me. And Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. With rare exception, I spent 22 years like that. The memory makes me shudder.

So imagine my curiosity as I viewed a segment on The Today Show this morning when they reported on the #1 company in the country to work for. Not surprising Fortune Magazine has named Google the best place to work. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/index.html
I’ve heard tell that those crazy, innovative California companies have some pretty amazing workplaces ~ campuses they call them. Apparently everyone wants to work at Google. So much so that they receive 3,000 applications a day. And who wouldn’t want to work where you are privy to 11 gourmet restaurants; a gym complete with personal trainers; five doctors on staff; incentives as much as $5,000 if you buy a hybrid car. You can wear your ‘jammies to work (my pink flamingos with the Airstream trailers would be a hit!). You can cruise around the office on roller skates and bring your dog with you (as long as your co-workers are ok with it). There’s a laundry facility on site and you can get your car washed while you’re sitting on your exercise ball working away on your laptop. Got a mental block? Play a game of pool or shoot some hoops till it passes. No time to get a hair cut? No worries, there are stylists on site as well. $2,000 will be yours if you refer a friend for a job and they’re hired. And, of course it goes without saying, massage therapists are on duty almost around the clock. On site child care is a given.

And the real kicker ~ all of this is FREE!

Productivity and employee morale sky rockets. There’s the occasional crunch which will require an all-nighter or two, but that’s a small sacrifice for all the perks. More than a fair exchange. Believe me, I know companies who expect such loyalty and provide none of those benefits in return…

If I could drive to work in my new Prius and wander into my office in my flannel Nick & Nora ‘jammies, with Simba at my side, a scrumptious breakfast awaiting me, knowing that I could work out later and then get a massage and a hair cut, I might ~ might ~ be tempted to go back to workin’ for the man.

Maybe. But I doubt it.