No one likes the boss who keeps insisting staff work on site five days a week. Every department has proof that working on site only three days has saved the company between ten- and fifteen-percent in expenses.
In the past, cost saving initiatives were rewarded, and department heads were encouraged to bring them forward at the company's weekly departmental meeting. But the boss remained firm: five days a week. "Cuts," he said with a slow, menacing scan of the room, "can be made elsewhere."
The man whose family operates the concession stand in the building's lobby is happy the company is back to five days. At three days, his revenues were down thirteen-percent, and he could no longer afford to employ his niece, who relieved him from 1pm-2pm so he could meet his friends at the train station for coffee. The loss of employment at her end meant she could not longer leave the house, because she no longer had reason to.
Departmental heads gathered in advance of the most recent weekly meeting to determine who among them would confront the boss with the latest statistical analysis. As usual, the boss was late for this 3pm meeting, though he always arrived happy and refreshed. "A vigorous game of squash," he would announce to those who met his smile as he strode into the room, "is the second best feeling in the world -- above profits, bonuses and employee satisfaction."
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