A recent article by the Wharton group takes a look at employee perks (specifically at Google) and how effective they are. One of the most interesting points I found was the classification of employees as Integrators or Segmentors. From the article:

Perks like Google’s appeal to integrators, people for whom work life and home life have little distinction. These are the employees who like to plug into the wi-fi system on Google’s commuter bus and do work as they ride to and from the office; who check office e-mail frequently at home on nights and weekends; and who like child-care facilities at or near their office so that they can bring a part of home with them to work.

Segmentors, by contrast, like to maintain distinct walls between work and home. These are people made uncomfortable by a workplace filled with perks related to one’s personal life. Even employees with children can dislike the fact that their employer provides on-site childcare.

I also found this interesting:

In her research, Rothbard documented how segmentors in an integrationist workplace enjoyed less job satisfaction and had a lower commitment to their companies than their integrator co-workers. What was noteworthy, too, was that segmentors may not know the reasons they are dissatisfied at work. “It’s a subtle effect, where they know they just don’t fit in but may not know why,” Rothbard says.

I tend to be a segmentor… I enjoy my private life separate from work. This could explain why I never quite felt at home working at Intel, which is highly “integrationist”…

Read the full article here