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Workplace Incentives

Having been a consultant for the better part of ten years a new gig is about as exciting to me as a doing the laundry on Sunday. In the first hour of day one , I make sure to check out the kitchen and ladies' room. From experience it tells a lot about the client's general health and attitude towards the hired help.

Some of the nicest places to work had an assortment of coffee and tea in the kitchen and bathroom stalls big enough to squeeze in a queen size bed and still have room left over.

This is not while the tech bubble was burgeoning and every shop in town was plying their staff with a la carte breakfasts to jump-start their day. These are Phoenixes that have risen from the ashes after the bubble burst - dependable companies with fleshed out business plans and the wherewithal to remain profitable in hard times.

My latest one has woefully inadequate supplies in the kitchen. I have to invest in my own tea and maybe a tea-stick while I am at it to make it a little more fun. The bathroom stalls are strictly "standing room only" and claustrophobic. With that, I am still on the market looking for work - only it will be hard to explain what motivates the desire for change to anyone who asks.

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