Once in a while we like to use the company blog to post something fun (or unusual). This is one of those cases. We’re excited to present to you an informative (and amusing) blog post that we asked one of our software developers to write. You’ll see why we asked him to write this blog post in a moment — and hopefully you’ll learn a little bit of what it’s like here at Punchbowl HQ. So sit back, and enjoy this rare treat: one of our great software developers contributes to the company blog:
This post written by Darren T., Software Developer
It recently came to the attention of my peers at Punchbowl that I’d never seen the movie Office Space. It was fortunate that they were sitting at the time because Office Space is one of the most often-quoted movies at Punchbowl HQ. Needless to say, they were shocked and saw this as a grave deficiency in my appreciation of pop culture references in the office.They then forced—I mean, asked—me to watch the movie in my spare time and write a blog post comparing the culture of Punchbowl with that of Initech, the fictional software company in the movie. I started my assignment by watching Office Space three times in one week in order for the full hilarity of it to sink in. I’ve had plenty of time since then to compare and contrast the company cultures. Here’s my analysis:
Merit-based social structure
One of the most obvious differences between the cultures of Initech and Punchbowl is the relationship between our job titles and our social structure. At Initech, upper-management does not mingle naturally with other employees, and they are given special privileges that separate them socially from those they manage.At Punchbowl, scarce resources are distributed based upon need and the good of the team as a whole. Our CEO, for example, does not have a designated parking spot. Similarly, desks and locations in office are distributed by need, rather than role-based privilege. For example, offices are given to employees who make lots of phone calls, to minimize their disruption to others.
Openness and transparency
At many companies like Initech, “transparency” is an empty buzzword thrown around to make it seem as though the company values open communication. In Office Space, the employees of Initech are clearly not granted insight into the workings of the company at any level of the organization. In fact, there’s an apparent disconnect between the values of “the management” and the rest of the employees, as exemplified by the shock they experience when they realize that Peter, the movie’s protagonist, has been offered a substantial pay raise and promotion immediately after admitting to the company that he does as little work as possible each day. Not only does it reflect on the values of Initech’s management team, it also shows how little the employees understand the true values (if you can call them that) of Initech’s upper-management.
By contrast, we do several things at Punchbowl to foster open communication. Case in point: we have weekly lunch meetings where Matt (our CEO) gives us status updates and shares pertinent Punchbowl news. This meeting also consists of a presentation that covers a new topic each week. Topics range from site metrics to new features to marketing—the idea is to inform employees about an interesting topic they might not otherwise have known about and give them an opportunity to ask questions or challenge an established mindset. Everyone is encouraged to contribute — even our interns.
Results-based workplace
At Punchbowl, employees are evaluated by the results we produce from our work. If you’re not delivering, you will not be rewarded. Conversely, if you do great work and cooperate with everyone else, little else will keep you from the good graces of everyone in the company, including upper-management. This makes it a great environment for driven, self-motivating employees (”start-up” mentality), and it’s a start contrast from what we see of Initech in Office Space.The events that take place in Office Space make it abundantly clear that Initech’s management is far more interested in conformity with organizational minutiae than real productivity. For example, at Initech, it’s a big deal if an employee doesn’t use the correct cover letter in the “TPS” reports. This is exemplified in the opening scene of the movie where Peter is lectured multiple times about the need to use the company’s newly designated cover letter for his (seemingly meaningless) “TPS” report. This is despite the fact that he had already identified and corrected the error.
Friendship and camaraderie
At Initech, everyone seems to believe their job is more important than others and the only clear traces of camaraderie are the result of bonding over how much they all dislike their management—a tenuous kind of friendship at best. Watching the movie, we get the sense that when push comes to shove, everyone just looks out for themselves. Even if they wanted to support each other more directly, it seems that the lack of communication between managers and other employees would be prohibitive to change.
By contract, we have a pretty tight crew at Punchbowl. We get to know each other because we eat lunch together every day. We tell jokes, share details of our personal lives, and share in each others celebrations. What’s more, we share a solid sense of both collective and personal involvement in Punchbowl’s mission. We’re all “in this together” and seek to support each other graciously. We all know the importance of each others’ roles, and we seek to stay in sync with each others’ roles, tasks, and responsibilities.
The bottom line
Office Space resonates with employees because it provides a chilling reflection of the sense of alienation and frustrating inefficiency that so often plagues large organizations, with their seemingly endless expanses of office space and dearth of human connection. Initech represents the kind of working world that I always dreaded becoming a part of as I grew up. I wouldn’t last six months in Initech without becoming overloaded with boredom and angst. I can’t work well in an environment where I’m not encouraged to connect and cooperate freely with my coworkers. I vastly prefer the kind of close-knit meritocracy that’s more commonly found at early-stage start-up companies like Punchbowl, and I consider myself very lucky to be part of such a great start-up.
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