Having Fun
Work-life balance is essential to our culture, and that means we work as hard at having fun as we do at progressing our business. Happy employees are much easier to be around: no one wants to sit next to a grumpy co-worker. We generally tell employees that we expect about 50 hours a week, and our main hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. However, we live in busy NYC, so if someone needs to leave early because of an event, they’re encouraged to do so. We just ask them to keep in mind overall hours and pull the same weight as the rest of the team.
From N64 Mario Kart tournaments to creating (and sometimes arguing over) Spotify playlists, we keep ourselves entertained every day in the office. These two fun practices provide a bit of lighthearted competition, which is an important factor of our culture. Not only do these simple acts help us collaborate, but they’re also a way to build relationships in smaller groups. For example, the N64 only incorporates four players. So what better way for us three founders to introduce ourselves to a new hire than by playing a round of Mario Kart?
At the TheSquareFoot, our practices are all rooted in positive progress. Unconventional or not, as long as we’re able to grow value out of our practices, they’re worth it. Although all of this makes work fun, we do remember it’s a business – without driving revenue and profit, after all, none of this could even exist. However, when people feel like you treat them as people and not cogs in a machine, it has seriously positive impacts on productivity.
–written by Aron Susman
Currently the co-founder and CFO of TheSquareFoot, Aron Susman began his career in the International Mergers & Acquisitions group at Deloitte in Houston. Most recently a Vice President with MDTech, a healthcare technology company, Aron oversaw the company’s financial, accounting, and business development efforts. He graduated cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a masters degree in accounting and holds a CPA license.
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