What Nigerian tech companies can learn from this American firm

There is little or no time allocated for team building and fun exercises with such companies, and this has a way of dampening the mood and 'killing' the productive capacity of employees.

But that trend is gradually changing as new companies are beginning to see the importance and possibilities of having a balance between work and nonwork aspects of life if we could put it that way.

It cannot be over-emphasized what having a healthy work-life balance in your company can do for the productivity of its team.

Asana - a San Francisco based US company that helps teams collaborate and stay organized using project management software is big on culture and by this, we mean they have got a good work-life balance going for employees.

The company which has an overall five over five star rating is built on the idea that mindfulness, clear communication, and compassion are all critical to long-term success.

Asana co-founders Moskovitz and Rosenstein, former Facebook engineers quickly understood that if they were going to realize their vision for a better workplace, they would have to take a more active approach.

“We decided to treat culture as a product,” Rosenstein says.

He explained that instead of looking at culture as something that “just happens,” he and his cofounder realized that culture was actually something that needed to be carefully designed, tested, debugged, and iterated on, like any other product they released.

“We actively survey people anonymously, and during one-on-ones, we ask what’s working well and what isn’t working well. Based on that information, we go back to the company and say, here’s what we heard, and here’s what we’re doing to do about it,” says Rosenstein.

Here are some highlights of what the workplace-productivity management company founded by former Facebook and Google employees offers:

All employees are given free $10,000 to set up their own customized workspace,
Great focus on work-life balance (untracked Paid Time Off)
For those working toward their daily step goal, a row of treadmill desks is set up overlooking the San Francisco-headquartered company’s eighth-floor view.
There is also a game area, squishy chairs to relax in, and in-house yoga sessions twice a week.
If you’re looking to grow personally or professionally, the company even offers access to a life coach
12 weeks of paid parental leave for all new parents
Culinary team providing three healthy meals daily

According to a source on company review site Glassdoor, this is what an employee remarked about Asana.

“This company is impossibly awesome. Every single person is truly, honestly, and genuinely a caring, nice person. Office politics are pretty much nonexistent, and it really feels like the team is pulling together, not against each other. You get real ownership of what you're working on, and the associated acclaim for success.”

Which of those perks do you think a Nigerian tech company or non-tech company for that matter may find unrealistic to do.