The Evernote Offices Are The Oddest In America
Companies constantly talk about “thinking outside the box” and many attempt to portray their office cultures as “different”. At the offices of Evernote Corporation, things are definitely different in ways most people can only imagine.
An actual robot cruises around
Evernote CEO Phil Libin has an office robot a-la “Big Bang Theory”. It’s made by Anybot and looks like a Segway scooter, but instead of having handlebars, it has a robot head with “eyes” that are a screen. The screen lets Libin chat with people in real time just like Skype. Libin isn’t trying to avoid people; he uses it when he can’t be there.
There aren’t any telephones at peoples’ desks.
He’s not trying to avoid close contact with his employees-quite the contrary, he wants to keep in touch with them in real time and on a personal level. So why doesn’t he just call them on their office phones?
Office phones were removed when the company stared. Evernote is the third company Libin has started, and keeping with his self-created tradition, he’s eliminated one “unnecessary” onset. As if you don’t have enough devices to chat on as it is! Did you really need that extra phone?
“We’re not a sales company so we don’t make a lot of calls” ~ Phil Libin
He said a phone at the desk just encourages a person to talk on it. Yet cell phones are allowed and the company often pays for calling plans. The robot will determine if you’re not at your desk just as well as an un-answered call to your office phone.
There are no offices at Evernote, not even for the CEO.
Libin, says there are no visible perks to demonstrate seniority. Such status symbols stymie productivity, he says, as people start to seek to get perks more than they seek to accomplish things.
There’s no limit on vacation time
Sure, that “no offices” thing has been done, but does it matter? After all, the boss gest to take time off when you can’t right? Not necessarily. There’s NO LIMIT ON VACATION TIME at Evernote, and to encourage people to actually take time off. Employees can even get issued $1,000 SPENDING MONEY when they leave for vacation. But that’s not even the most favorite employee perk.
Employees get to have their house cleaned twice a month at no charge.
It’s true. Evernote employees enjoy the perk of professional housecleaning, twice a month at no cost to them. And it’s this perk that Libin says his employees love best.
But free housecleaning and unlimited vacation time aren’t the craziest things about Evernote’s offices. As if the said quirks aren’t crazy enough by today’s typical corporate office standards, what could be crazier?
They actually looks for ways to keep people employed.
Rather than look for ways to fire more people, Evernote seeks to keep productive, talented people doing what they do so the company will keep making money. The quirkiest thing about Evernote’s offices is that there are many happy employees-who do more and better work because they feel happy being there. Crazy.
Check out some pics of Evernote’s office in California.