The Blend Is In

In the startup world, we can all admit to scheduling a conference call during a vacation, answering emails at a dinner party, or even working through projects on your honeymoon (palm to face). Sometimes life and work collide and no matter how hard we dream about a 9-5 work day, startups don't sleep and little Susie’s ballet recital will still fall on a Wednesday at 1pm.Lucky for us, days of a work-life "balance" are out and a work-life "blend" are in! American companies are finally starting to understand that a midday workout or late morning start may not harm productivity, and might even breed more motivation and success. This new work-life blend also allows us to finish a presentation from our couch, or vacation, and even crank out some emails at 3am. The thought is- life doesn’t stop and neither does work...so let’s make this all jive a little better.At the Village, many of our startups practice R.O.W.E. (a results oriented work environment) which encourages a work-life blend. The big idea? As long as they are getting $h)t done, it doesn’t always matter where, when, or how long someone works. This environment promotes a lot of autonomy with the vision that team members will meet their goals, regardless of time and location. The focus is all about working hard and getting results... not punching a clock and being a body at a desk.  Not everyone can thrive in a R.O.W.E. work environment and you will find out REALLY quickly whether your team (and you!) can handle more autonomy or not. Things may fall apart OR your team may just start producing in a way that will knock you off of your Aeron.At the Village, we provide a number of ways to practice this blend. We are open 24/7 and offer free beer, snacks, showers, and nap rooms in addition to a gym and game stations. Did you just think to yourself, “how millennial of them?" It is, but let me also remind you that our startups have raised about $500 million in the past 5 years.A work-life blend allows startups to use technology to build and create in a way that increases freedom and productivity. Change is good and necessary to grow with this fast paced world.  So swallow that millennial hatred with some of our Sweetwater 420 and I’ll show you to a nap room. =)