Eight Ways To Break Down Barriers In Traditional Workplace Culture by TJ McCue

Two new studies point to increasing boredom in the workplace and declining loyalty. But 41 dogs, and maybe one pig, won’t let that happen at an innovative company in Boulder, Colorado called SparkFun. UPDATE: Head over to their latest blog post (link at end) for some photos of SparkFun canines!

SparkFun is an online retail store that sells the bits and pieces to make your electronics projects possible. Whether it’s a robot that can cook your breakfast or a GPS cat tracking device, they design their products to be more accessible to the average person. Founder Nathan Seidle is an energetic and enthusiastic entrepreneur and has tapped into the rapidly growing maker and DIY (do-it-yourself) trend. The company is big into the open source philosophy and it influences how he runs the company, to be sure. I think some of his approach is beneficial to those building a new company or trying to infuse a sense of passion, change, and opportunity into an old culture.

​Here is how SparkFun keeps employees (despite the above statistic) loyal and seriously unbored.

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