Axero President and Co-founder, Tim Eisenhauer, featured in Fortune magazine – Why Office Banter Is Anything But a Waste of Time.
Why Office Banter Is Anything But a Waste of Time
Letting coworkers get to know each other helps build a strong company culture.
[ … ] a big chunk of it is “born from bonds between people because of shared interests that aren’t connected to work,” observes Tim Eisenhauer, president of intranet software maker Axero Solutions. “It’s unrealistic to expect a strong sense of camaraderie and common values without that.
“Google, Zappos, LinkedIn, Facebook, and many other top companies believe that letting people spend some time ‘goofing off’ together amounts to a strategic advantage in the marketplace,” he adds. “Intuitively, it makes sense. When do your best ideas come to you? When you’re staring at your computer screen — or when you’re taking a shower, out for a run, or relaxing with a cup of coffee?”
Eisenhauer feels so strongly about this that he set up an intranet site at Axero called The Water Cooler, where employees, most of whom work far away from the company’s San Diego headquarters, can share music, videos, and anything else they might have on their minds. “It gives people a chance to know each other better,” he says. “So there’s more of a feeling of connection.”
