Some companies have more of a soul than others, and it often comes down to their humanness. I understand that companies need to make money, but sometimes the things that get cut to boost the bottom line are exactly what make a company special to work for.
I once worked for a company that started small and stayed that way for many years until it was purchased by a larger organization a couple of years before I was hired. Even then, it still retained much of what made it feel like a small company. But while I was there, things began to change as it aligned with its parent company.
A simple example was the Christmas party. It was usually held at a nice hotel in the area, with high-quality food and free drinks. When I learned what it cost, I was floored—it wasn’t cheap. Still, the company was making plenty of money to support it. We could bring our spouses, and everybody was able to connect and have a good time. Some even drank too much…one time when the valet brought my car around and a drunk employee tried to get into it. Events like this were fun and helped bring us closer together.
Within a year, the parent company eliminated the Christmas party and replaced it with a catered lunch from a local grocery store chain. All the fun and connection were gone. It became just a couple of hours away from our desks before heading back to work—no lasting memories, no real sense of community.
This was just one example of a company losing a big piece of its soul so shareholders could benefit a little more.