Straight to the point: Do employees need frills at workplace?

Frills include a/c cabs, amphitheaters, a number of restrooms equipped with plasma televisions that most often play to empty seats, closed windows and blindfolds, conditioned air, artificial lighting, automated washrooms, etc.

Of late, a number of companies (including native and foreign) that have expanded to major cities in India have begun to provide such add-ons, if not all of them. In fact, employers seem to be vying with each other to provide better amenities to employees.

So, can workplace frills enable produce better output? The answer cannot be a definite yes or no. They can help retain employees for more time and make them come back to workplace the next day. But for how long is the immediate question.

It’s often seen that organizations with huge employee friendly infrastructure too have high attrition rates. This phenomenon is common in BPOs and back offices of multinational companies in India.

Does the nature of work too influence the kind of accessories? A mundane copy paste job many require employers to provide heavier add-ons than a dynamic job – not mentioned deliberately.

For most employees, it is the nature of their work and the accompanying pay check that matters than the aforementioned paraphernalia.

No doubt, good work and a decent pay combined with such frills is a deadly combination. Alas! It’s a very hard and singular combination, says my experience.

Frills may not add much value when other important components like organization culture, nature of work and employee management are poor, but certain frills can create huge void if ignored.

PS: Work, pay and frills are relative terms.