Today I made peanut butter cookies with my two older children during my lunch break. I let them help with the tell-tale sugared fork indentations that top the homemade goodies. The five-year-old was able to do it on his own. The two-year-old needed some guidance.
Why am I telling you this? Because it was another reminder for me that I'm lucky to have the job that I have. I've never been interviewed or surveyed by the Fortune Best Places to Work research team. But if I were, I'd talk about daycare subsidies, gym membership reimbursements, three separate maternity leaves and - of course - the ability to telecommute from my home in Ohio.
We all have days of frustration at work. Yesterday, I listened to Tor Dahl explain that 2/3 of all stress and dissatisfaction at work comes from engaging in unproductive behavior. We're not immune to those kinds of frustrations at SAS - but when we do feel overburdened by inefficiencies or other petty annoyances, must of us take a minute to step back and realize that we really do work for a great company, and we really are in a position to help make a difference here.
Besides the corporate benefits and friendly work hours, I also work with a great team. You may have seen some of their mugs in sascom or in the SAS e-newsletters. I've been told by many SAS customers that the people they work with at SAS go out of their way to be helpful and kind. I find the same thing as the editor of sascom. Whether I'm interviewing a SAS executive, a SAS product manager or an R&D manager, they're all more than happy to help and eager talk about the latest business and technologies issues we're covering in the magazine.
I might miss out on the infamous snack-filled break rooms here in my basement office, but I still get all the benefits of working for a company with a culture that values kindness and innovation. Plus, fresh-baked peanut butter cookies are a pretty good substitute for candy-covered chocolate, wouldn't you say?
Congrats to my employer for making the Fortune Best Places to Work list for the 12th year running.
