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© Copyright 2000 Rogers Media. The following article first appeared in the July 2000 edition of
BENEFITS CANADA magazine.
Let the games begin
Pool tables are becoming a workplace craze. Is it a stretch to think of them as a benefit?
By Kathryn Dorrell
Call it the lure of the pool table. That's certainly one factor that enticed Corbin Andrews to his current
workplace. When the 30-year-old was recently weighing his options at several online ventures, the pool
table at the company that became his employer stood out. "For sure it appealed to me," says Andrews,
editor-in-chief at boarderfree.com in Toronto. Attuned to the reality that it's an employees' market, he
adds "it's a demand we can make. It says: 'show me I'm valuable.'"
Organizations seem to be willing to comply with this plea. "There's a 'let's have basketball hoops or pool
tables at work' bandwagon that employers are jumping on," observes Barbara Moses, author of The Good
News About Careers.
Pool tables are becoming fixtures at a growing number of workplaces--not just trendy dot-coms either.
Trimark Investment Management Inc. has two pool tables at its head office in north Toronto. Filo Costa,
facilities manager at Trimark, says when the company researched the concept it discovered many U.S.
organizations had pool tables.
The trend is definitely a sign of the times. The economy is hot, young workers are valued and employers are
trying to be creative with benefits. Many organizations want to present themselves as hip, fun places to
work. In this sense, the pool table is an extension of the casual dress mentality that burgeoned in the
1980s when companies encouraged management to cast aside their ties and embrace button-down shirts--that
era's emblem of the new flat, team-centred work environment. As Costa notes, "our pool tables say a lot
about Trimark. I'm so glad to work for a company that has this."
Cynics may balk at the notion of a pool table as a benefit, dismissing it as a useless fad. But is pool as
a legitimate perk really such a stretch when we've grown comfortable with extolling the virtues (the term
relationship building comes to mind) of a golf game with clients or co-workers?
There are practical advantages to shooting a game at the office for employers and plan sponsors.
Trimark designed its pool area as part of an overall strategy to ensure that it had a productive,
interactive and playful team environment that would appease employees who, on the whole, were not thrilled
about moving out of the downtown core to their new location. "It encourages our friendly spirit of
competition," adds Costa.
What's more, a game or two helps employees unwind, and it's a cheaper stress reducer than giving the
workforce massage coverage or a fitness facility.
"Playing pool is a great way to work out frustration," concedes Andrews. "We are in a launch phase right
now and sometimes here for 12 hours a day. They [the company] know that we'll eventually snap, so we are
expected to get up and do something." Costa adds Trimark, which leases its tables, wanted to create a "fun
place where people could let off steam."
Pool tables aren't for every organization, though. Like defined contribution pension plans, they tend not
to work in certain cultures. Moses says a lot of traditionally minded firms try to "stick in some new game
or electronic gadget for employees and it just doesn't work." She recommends these organizations evolve
gradually, starting out with a lounge where people get used to the idea of relaxing at work, and then
consider adding a game.
Ultimately, time will determine if pool tables have more staying power than wide ties and polyester suits.
In the meantime, they are getting organizations to rethink a simple principal--how the actual work space
and environment can function as a benefit.
Kathryn Dorrell is associate editor at benefits canada.
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CONFERENCES
Why Retirement Plan Communications is Important to You
August 28 to 30, 2000
Toronto
Practical strategies from experts along with a session on communicating the switch from a DB to DC pension
plan to employees. Call (800) 941-9403.
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