Facebook CEO to employees: Freeze and produce!
I've heard of "stand and deliver." But "freeze and produce"? That seems to be the dictate from Facebook CEO Mark Iceberg, er, Zuckerberg. He sets the office building temperature at a frosty 15 degrees C (60 degrees F).
One theory is that it keeps workers alert and focused, and prevents them from "cyberloafing," Financial Times journalist Lucy Kellaway said in a BBC radio interview.
That would be chart-topping irony given that Facebook is the purveyor of one of the biggest cyber distractions of our time, Facebook. Americans waste as much as 80 percent of their work day through online activities ranging from checking Facebook to handling finances, a recent study claimed.
Zuckerberg's thermostat edict almost certainly aims to increase worker productivity, although it is possibly intended to save energy costs or reflects a personal difficulty at keeping cool, the Guardian allows. (Save energy? In Facebook's California home, 60 degrees F would often require air conditioners).
The chilly revelation emerged in a Times interview (subscription required) with Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg. Her new book, Lean In, reveals what appears to be a few other cold cuts at the company: Facebook provides free food all day everyday. That includes hot dishes too.
The Facebook proletariat need the grub as they slog through "preposterous working hours," Sandberg's book says, according to the Guardian. But don't feel too bad. They're also treated to "inspirational slogans."
I thought technology was supposed to liberate us. Hello George Orwell!!.
Drawing by unknown artist based on sketches by C.F. Hall, via Wikimedia.
More reflections on Facebook, hot and cold:
- Facebook 'likes' reveal religious, political even sexual orientation
- The 8-million-year-old origins of Facebook
- Skewedonomics? Facebook’s worth $100B, trouncing companies that actually make things
- Facebook plans sub-Arctic data center
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com