The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif., has just started a major newsroom redesign that will feature a new employee lounge, complete with couches and a coffee table.
The Sun isn’t the only site getting kick-back space for workers. “This mandate came from Corporate,’’ says Anonymous@8:44 p.m. “Sites are supposed to create friendly relaxing places with sofas, chairs.”
And not a moment too soon, judging from the following photos!
These are real employee lounges at Facebook, Gannett and Google. Can you match the companies and the photos?
The Sun isn’t the only site getting kick-back space for workers. “This mandate came from Corporate,’’ says Anonymous@8:44 p.m. “Sites are supposed to create friendly relaxing places with sofas, chairs.”
And not a moment too soon, judging from the following photos!
These are real employee lounges at Facebook, Gannett and Google. Can you match the companies and the photos?
[Lounge at company A]
[Lounge at company B]
[Lounge at company C]
For answers, check out the comments section, below.
Earlier: In Nashville, Tenn., a hullabaloo over an Ikea desk lamp.
Earlier: In Nashville, Tenn., a hullabaloo over an Ikea desk lamp.
Lounge A: Google
ReplyDeleteLounge B: the Chicago office of the Gannett-controlled CareerBuilder
Lounge C: Facebook
Ha ha, the coldness and sterility of the middle one was a dead giveaway. Got em all, what do I win?
ReplyDeleteYou win a lukewarm 75-cent cup of coffee from the vending machine!
ReplyDeleteThis post is so darn funny! It is so blatently obvious which picture belongs to a Gannett site. No vision and absolutely no idea what a friendly atmosphere is. Thanks for the laugh, Jim!
ReplyDeleteIs this a flash back to 70's decor?
ReplyDeleteAre those padded walls at Facebook?
ReplyDeleteAre those real flat-screens or wall art?
ReplyDeleteSecurity camera screens so they know that you know they are watching you while you're relaxing. seriously they look like artwork.
ReplyDeleteI finally figured out what was going on here. Top 51 tried to sell IKEA an ad program and all they could pull off was a trade. Trade agreement runs out soon so they had to rush over to IKEA and buy a bunch of crap. (after execs used some of it to furnish their kid's dorm rooms)
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, it's really happening at our site. We've got 2 new areas. I couldn't figure out what was going on, why they'd spend money on a lounge. I still can't understand it. Fewer people with more work don't have time to lounge. Not to mention the slap in the face to people who will loose their paychecks.
ReplyDeleteThe most inept management team Gannett has ever had. Period.
ReplyDeleteHardly enough room on that couch to have sex, but we've got workarounds for everything.
ReplyDeleteWhat? Gotta be SOME benefit to working here, ain't for the raises!
Palm Springs also has a foosball table in one of the outdoor lounge areas by an employee entrance that I haven't seen used in years. And a mini-gym that is almost never used. And a basketball court that's used a little more, but still not alot. Doing the work that far more employees used to do doesn't leave a lot of time for lounging.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm glad that "C" is not the Gannett property. Option-C looks like Ikea was commisioned to decorate a padded-room.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think option-B, would be greatly improved with a contemporary light-box lamp, instead on the current lamp. I would also get an apple green throw rug for under the furniture area to instantly brighten-up the lounge area.
Is there a sign-in sheet to fill out when you use the room? You know, so the micro managers and bean counters can keep track of your time.
ReplyDeleteIt was corporate mandated. Should really improve moral along with the layoffs, the furloughs, the no pay increases and buy-outs!
ReplyDeleteWow. The lounge in Reno is a lot better; it was built by the on-site maintenance people who did a really classy job.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it too came on the heels of layoffs -- in Reno's case at the time, the second round.
The surviving staff were all in WTF mode after 61 of their friends just lost their livelihoods, and now the building gets a very swanky "lounge area."
The HR guy, one of the few generally personable and decent execs, actually responded to the chagrin among a traumatized workforce, and explained the timing.
Same deal, though: with less staff and now furloughs, who had the time to avail one's self to it? The supple leather couches? The wide-screen TV?
Never the less, some -- not a lot as it was usually empty -- some found the time. Probably the beginning of the "why bother" work ethic.
I thought for sure the Gannett lounge was C - padded walls for all the crazies there.
ReplyDeleteThe magazines on the elegant
ReplyDeletecoffee table are PSYCHOLOGY
TODAY and Lay-Offs Weekly.
Plus, the always-gossipy Hello, CEO! magazine.
ReplyDeleteI knew it was B -- small and empty.
ReplyDeleteCan those with lounges send pics to Jim? We can pick the best layoff lounge.
ReplyDelete