Office Ping-Pong Table No Replacement for Decent Paycheck, Real Culture
Are office perks overrated?
Yes, according Bloomberg’s work culture reporter, Rebecca Greenfield. “The office ping-pong table is insulting to the intelligence of employees,” she writes. “We know ping-pong tables and kegarators don’t make work fun or fulfilling.”
Perks are signifiers, a way for organizations to express a commitment to a laid-back corporate culture and, at some companies, a consolation prize for lower salaries and uninteresting work. The benefits that matter most aren’t foosball tables. People want health insurance, paid vacation, and sick days, the potential for performance bonuses, and a company-matched 401(k) plan, a 2015 survey by Glassdoor found. Deep down, people just want to get paid.
And in some cases, perks “are a patchwork repair covering foundational problems.”
The key point though is that employees, says Greenfield, know “free happy hours have little to do with overall job satisfaction.”
Although, the sport of ping pong itself could sharpen a worker’s mind.
