An employee's wife says:

My husband works there! I personally worked in the tech industry in Silicon Valley, in anti-fraud and spam filtering in the long-long-ago days BR. Before Recession. The difference between the employee morale there versus this company could hardly be more different. When paid time off is counted to the minute, employees are more stressed about taking time off for anything. What if you take your full two weeks after your child’s surgery, and they get sick and need you to take a few more days off? Should you take just one week instead? (The FMLA helps, but doesn’t kick in until after your first full unpaid week for each time you want to use it.) You stress over using your PTO for real vacation because what if you get sick later and actually need it? When working as part of a large collective instead of small groups, you realize how easily replaceable you are, which feeds into the mentality of taking as little time off as you can. Don’t let them realize that maybe they don’t need you. There are many things I miss about the tech field, but there are many things I don’t.

My husband, on the other hand, doesn’t stress about taking days off when needed. They’re more relaxing. Since they work in small teams, there’s no concern they’ll be so easy to replace since the fact is, no one will be easy to replace. You’ve got to find just the right cog to fit in the wheel that is each team, in addition to finding someone with the ability to do the job. The teams get to be real friends, which means supporting each other. I’ve never felt more supported as a family than by my husband’s team, and I know their families have the same support. When families are supported this way, by knowing their loved one can be there, it’s more pleasant, and a pleasure, to throw all our support back behind the team.

My husband has mentioned how Mr. Kanies (if I ever meet him and he’s introduced by his first name, I’ll use that then) will just shill with the workers, shoot the breeze, and is really approachable and listens and actually cares about those who work there. I love that.

Thank you, Mr. Kanies, for treating your workers as adults who deserve to be treated with dignity, respect, and as individuals, instead of as drones who can be flicked out of the line-up for having human needs. The business world in general needs more bosses like you.

~A.C.