Is anyone in the office using a foosball table?
Every modern company wants to be the best with great perks for their workers. The main problem with this situation is the fact that most companies focus on the design of the office space and less on the atmosphere in the office. Companies use their cool office design to attract future workers because that office says: “We are modern and you will have a great time here!” I mean, most of the time they aren’t wrong by using design to attract future employers. It is hard to determine the right way to explain the directors and employees why something is in the office and why another thing isn’t.
Are foosball tables and open space designs really necessary?
If you ask me, it is. It is not about the foosball table, it is about the atmosphere. Having a modern office design beats the old cubicles in every possible way. With modern open space design workers are one next to the other, they can communicate, help each other and, what is the most important, they will bond. There is no better way to bond a group of people than to put them in one room 8 hours a day, 5 days in a week.
So, what does this have to do with a foosball table? I used a foosball table as an example because it is the most common improvement one company can make if it wants to be cool and modern. It has the lowest price and it requires zero work. If you want to expose the brick in the office you will have to shut down the office for a day or two, hire workers and pay for materials. If you buy a foosball table you have to assemble it. Besides the price, there are other advantages a foosball table can bring to your office.
Unlike the exposed brick wall, a foosball table has a purpose. The foosball table is one of the best instant anti-stress therapies. It allows you to release negative energy during a bad day at work. I know that every person had at least one day like that. You know, a day when you want to punch something. On that day you can play foosball and you will see that what I am talking about is true. You don’t have to play a foosball table every day, no, you can play it when you need it. And the match lasts about 5 minutes which means it won’t affect work in a negative way.
If your employees aren’t using the foosball table you gave them that means they aren’t aware what it can do for them. When people see a foosball table they think about free time and having fun. Most of them will remove the existence of a foosball table in the office because, in their mind, it doesn’t belong there. You have to show them that foosball table is not just a decoration in the office, it is a thing they can use. Like I have already mentioned, they can use it when they are under a lot of stress. Actually, I highly recommend them to use it when they are under a lot of stress.
Office perks employees actually want
It is completely logical that employees have a wish list in their head which will make their work more entertaining and even easier. As you can see from the paragraph above, foosball table probably isn’t on the list because they aren’t aware of the advantages a table like that can bring to the office. Most of the workers are focused on themselves on the wish list. Some of the most common wishes people have are flexible work hours, the opportunity to work from home (if the business allows that), bonuses, etc…
What your workers don’t understand that you can’t make an ideal office immediately. You have to do it step by step. If you invest in something like a foosball table, you can improve their performance by reducing stress. With performance improvement, you can give them bonuses and in the future, you can offer flexible work hours. Everything is connected and even though your workers don’t think that a foosball table is a good thing, they have to realize that they can use it to get what they want in the future.
About the Author
Mark is a blogger who has a blog about foosball. With his blog, he wants to promote foosball because he thinks that foosball is much more than just a game table. He plans to do that by writing about foosball and teaching others what foosball is all about. He has guides, tips, and reviews of different foosball tables on his blog. To get the idea about his work and mission, read Tornado foosball table ratings by an expert from Foosball Zone.