Q1. What would it be like to work at Patagonia? What is your assessment of the company’s work environment? Q2. Using what you have learned from studying the various motivation theories, what does Patagonia's situation tell you about employee motivation? Q3. What do you think might be Patagonia's biggest challenge in keeping employees motivated?,
Case study. Passion for the outdoors and for people.
At its headquarters in Ventura, California, Patagonia office space feels more like a National Park lodge than the main office of a $400 million retailer. It has a Douglas fir staircase and a portrait of Yosemite’s El captain. The companies Cafe serves organic food and rings. There is an infant and toddler childcare room for employees’ children. It is an easy one block walk from the Pacific Ocean and employees Surfboards are lined up by the cafeteria, ready at a moment’s notice to catch some waves. Current weather reports are noted on a whiteboard in the lobby after surfing or jogging or biking. Employees can freshen up in the showers in the restrooms, and no one has a private office. If an employee does not want to be disturbed, he or she wears headphones. Visitors are evident by the business attire they were. The company encourages celebrations to boost employee morale. Attracting people who share it strong passion for the outdoors and the environment. Patagonia motivate its loyal employees by giving them responsibility for the outcomes of their work and a high level of task significance that their work is meaningful because it contributes to the purpose of protecting and preserving the environment. Patagonia has long been recognised as a great workplace for mothers. And it’s also earned a reputation for loyal employees, something that many retailers struggle with, its combined voluntary and involuntary turnover in its retail stores was around 25%, while it was only 7% at headquarters. Petagonia’s CEO Casey Sheahan says the company’s culture, camaraderie and way of doing business is very meaningful to employees and they know that what they do each day is contributing towards a higher purpose, protecting and preserving the areas that most of them love spending time in. Managers are coached to define expectations, communicate deadlines, and then let employees figure out the best way to meet those. Founded by a Canadian, Patagonia’s first and strongest passion is for the outdoors and the environment, and that attract employees who are also passionate about those things. But Patagonia’s executives do realise that they are first and foremost a business and even though they are committed to doing the right thing, the company needs to remain profitable to be able to continue to do the things its passionate about but that has not seem to be an issue since the recession in the early 1990s, when the company had to make its only large scale layoffs in its history.
Q1. What would it be like to work at Patagonia? What is your assessment of the company’s work environment?
Q2. Using what you have learned from studying the various motivation theories, what does Patagonia's situation tell you about employee motivation?
Q3. What do you think might be Patagonia's biggest challenge in keeping employees motivated?,
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