dxp@pyuxhh.UUCP (08/19/83)
When I was working at I.B.M.,Cosham,England showers were
provided in each restroom(I presume for both sexes) and
consisted of a small (12*6) lockable room with hangers
for clothes.As far as I know this was not compulsory but
an additional benefit of working for I.B.M.(I refuse to
mention the goodies provided by Shell H.Q.'s on premises
health club)
One of great unwashed(DavePeak,hp1b270,BTL,Piscataway,N.J.)rh@mit-eddie.UUCP (Randy Haskins) (08/22/83)
Yeah, in Japan the companies put in showers without having to be told to. They do lots of things nice for their workers without having to be told to. THAT'S why we're falling behind. -- Randwulf (Randy Haskins); Path= genrad!mit-eddie!rh or... rh@mit-ee (via mit-mc)
andrew@orca.UUCP (Andrew Klossner) (08/24/83)
Heard over my car radio: in Palo Alto, California, there is an
ordinance in effect stating that all businesses occupying buildings
totaling 50,000 square feet or more of floor space must provide showers
for the benefits of their employees. The city government is so happy
with the results that they're going to lower the exemption to 10,000
square feet, thus including most reasonably sized businesses in the
program.
The justification is that commuters will be more likely to use muscle
power (jogging and bicycling) to go to work if there are showers
available when they get there.
Of course, the business derives no income at all from the massive
outlay of capital necessary to build showers. With this sort of
expensive government-mandated foolishness, is it any wonder that
Silicon Valley is falling behind Japan Inc.?
-- Andrew Klossner (decvax!tektronix!tekecs!andrew) [UUCP]
(andrew.tektronix@rand-relay) [ARPA]sanders@menlo70.UUCP (Rex Sanders) (08/25/83)
Small correction: the Palo Alto ordinance applies to *newly constructed* commercial buildings, not existing ones. The rational for the requirement goes something like this: Getting people out of their cars is a Good Thing. Palo Alto is (mostly) flat enough that many people could ride bicycles to work, and many do. By putting showers in at your destination, you can be fresh as a daisy for your prospective sales contacts and/or co-workers [note: this excludes most hackers]. Also, many of the high-tech companies in this area already supply a lot more than showers. I like the idea, but working for the US Government, I have no hope of seeing such amenities. It took us several years to get el-cheapo, wheel-mangling bike racks put in, and now they won't let us take our bikes into our offices. Oh yes, I live and work in Palo Alto. -- Rex