The perks

      The perks are to take in account when looking for a company to work in, and Wind River’s ones are pretty nice.

      First of all, we were told to be there from 10AM to 6PM, but that it was very flexible, as long as your work is done. Flex time is really pleasant because in substance you can work the same amount of time but you are relieved from the stress of being late, if you come later than 10AM you could then just leave work later. And not always checking the clock during the lunch allows you to better enjoy your meal; this kind of detail makes your stay in the company feels great.

      When you are at work, especially in IT, coffee is a must-consume. So the company have it available for free at almost every floor, along with snacks in the basement’s fridge (like chocolate croissant, belvita breakfast, ice-cream, pepsi and so on…) so that you can’t have a small hunger distracting you from your work. Huge automatic coffee machines are great but for even better coffee our floor has its own little grounded coffee machine !

      If you are feeling like letting off steam, there is a ‘conference room’ located in the basement that has a ping pong table in it. It helps to let go of any stress you could have, and you could often find colleagues from other floors to play with, which is great for the company cohesion.

_{Françoi and I working on the team’s cohesion}

      If you are a smoker or just want to enjoy a bit of fresh air, there is a small courtyard with a few flowers, there is a balcony on the 3rd floor and, my favorite place to have a break from the office environment, the rooftop with a nice view over Galati and the Danube.

      This bit has a huge impact on your mood… it is the office’s animals !! There are a few cats, a dog (but we did not see him that much around the office), and an aquarium with some goldfishes. About a week before our arrival in the company one of the cat lady had had 3 kittens, they now are always fooling around and bring a smile to everyone’s face. Also a 4th kitten about the same age had been adopted by the other cats about a week ago.

      And last but not least, afterworks! So they have this tradition which works as follows; every month if an employee has something to celebrate, (usually a birthday, a promotion, a wedding or a newborn), he puts money in a pot common to all the employees that have something to celebrate (from the 2 Wind River buildings and the 2 Intel buildings because Wind Driver used to belong to Intel so they kept doing it this way). And at the end of the month they use all the money to get pizzas, beers and cakes, then everyone gathers in the older Intel building, because it has the best garden, and celebrate the events of the month altogether. It is a great way to meet employees from other departments or buildings in a more suitable environment than the office, and everyone is having a good time.

_{A part of the Intel’s older building’s garden}