Zappos: Innovative Work Culture

by Lisa on August 3rd, 2018 at 6:47 PM
When you go to work, are you happy? Do you wake up thinking, “I can’t wait to go to work today!”? Most likely not; a lot of people go to work just to get paid. However, Zappos is trying to change the way their employees think about their jobs. This summer I visited the Zappos headquarters, located in Las Vegas Nevada, and it was clear that the work environment is a place of creativity and innovation.
 
As soon as I walked in the building I overheard two coworkers debating which rap album was the best of the year. I never saw anyone not smiling, and I also never saw any fake smiles. Zappos lets their employees decorate their desks with whatever they want. Zappos also lets their employees bring their dogs to work (which is pretty awesome) and has a staff dedicated to creating fun and motivating experiences for employees. 
 
There are “ten core values” that Zappos follows. These ten core values keep Zappos growing as a company while also reminding workers where the company has come from. These ten values include:
  1. Deliver WOW Through Service
  2. Embrace and Drive Change
  3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
  4. Be Adventurous, Creative and Open-Minded
  5. Pursue Growth and Learning
  6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
  7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
  8. Do More With Less
  9. Be Passionate and Determined
  10. Be Humble

There are many reasons why Zappos have been ranked on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” on numerous occasions. A main reason is all the perks you get as being part of “The Zappos Family”. These benefits include medical, dental, vision, and pet insurance, as well as a 40% employee discount. The perks of working at the Zappos headquarters include a gym, a basketball court, a “nap station” that is inside of a fish tank (it’s as cool as it sounds), and free food for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

Zappos operates as a “Holacracy” which means people have multiple roles and can work on the areas they want to in order to move the core values forward and add value to the organization. There isn’t a traditional organizational chart with bosses and managers. When an area gets an increase in salary budget, the employees decide as a group what raise each person will get.
I thought that it was insane that Zappos employees got to have input on their own salaries. Some might say that this would be a bad idea for a company, but by seeing the vibrant work culture of the Zappos headquarters, I am convinced that everyone there genuinely enjoys their job. To be honest, I would love to work there, and maybe one day I will.

Thanks to Ethan Whelpley for this guest blog post. Ethan is a junior at Glenwood High School and is interested in a career in advertising or marketing. You can hear his music on Soundcloud and his videos on his YouTube channel.

 

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