If you look at many of the big tech companies across the US, they attract employees not just by offering great pay, but with perks including on-site restaurants, laundry services, generous holiday and maternity leave, and of course bonuses. In China, tech companies are embracing a new initiative to motivate their staff: cheerleaders.
Apparently the practice of hiring cheerleaders is currently reserved for the Internet companies located in China. These male-dominated environments are filled with programmers who are “terrible at socializing.” So the HR department decided to hire a number of female programmer cheerleaders to enhance the environment, support staff, and hopefully keep them working hard.
So what does a programming cheerleader do exactly?
They have three main tasks. The first is to buy breakfast for the programmers so they have the energy for a long day of work. Secondly they are there to chat and interact with the programmers. This gives them encouragement, plus helps to overcome any social hurdles with regards to interacting with the opposite sex. Finally, they are there to play ping-pong with the programmers, which I assume is how they relax or pass the time when thinking about a particularly hard programming problem.
The women being hired must show talent in regards to communicating with socially-challenged individuals in order to get the job. I guess they are part therapist in this role, so a background of studying or practicing psychology would likely help secure the position.
Although the focus here seems to be on female cheerleaders for male programmers, I don’t see why this also can’t work for female programmers who need a friendly ear to chat to when things get tough.
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