Dive Brief:
- Things are looking up for Facebook employees who want to grab a break. That is, all they need to do is take a short hike upstairs to the 9-acre green roof atop the tech firm's new Frank Gehry-designed building across from its main headquarters.
- The park-like green is large enough for sitting, thinking, and walking when the 2,800 employees expected to eventually fill up the newly opened building arrive, according to a report at Newsfactor.com.
- Not only is it healthy for employees, but a 2014 study by Stanford University researchers found that walking also boosts creative thinking.
Dive Insight:
Creative benefits like this have come a long way from foosball tables and bring your dog to work day. On the other hand, not many companies can afford this type of perk. That's not to say employers trying to attract top talent and keep their workforces healthy and happy should not consider this kind of thinking within realistic budgets.
"Work has become more mobile and fluid so you can actually step away from your desk and have a small conversation with people," Chris Guillard, a founding partner of CMG Landscape Architecture, which helped design Facebook's green roof, told Newsfactor.
"It was more about creating an environment that our employees would thrive in than anything else," said Lauren Swezey, Facebook's sustainability and community outreach manager.
