And I've proven his broker wrong twice.'' From his vantage point, the valley, and especially companies related to the Internet, is enjoying good times, and firms are cautiously partying again after a long dry spell. How a company shares its success with employees depends as much on a firm's corporate culture and even the personality of its chief executive as it does on profits. One company's Halloween bash might seem as reckless as Nero's feast to another. One company executive says he hopes to set up a gas station and car wash on company grounds for the convenience of his employees. Even in these heady times, technology companies are nervous about seeming extravagant to shareholders, so they are being circumspect.
Most companies first emphasize employee stock programs.
And employees, who often are shareholders in the companies they work in, often frown on bacchanalias. Chaulk it up to a combination of market realities and superstition. It's a little less hot now, a lot less go-go or cowboy capitalism. Now, technology companies have had to steel themselves internally to take the daily blows the market has to offer them, he said. Still, some companies still know how to have fun.