SPRING, Texas — The Houston area's largest tech company officially welcomed back its 2,200 employees on Monday after a two-year COVID hiatus.
Hewlett Packard Enterprises’ new office space combines a post-pandemic lesson with Silicon Valley's famous corporate lifestyle.
The mantra
It's all about work-life balance. Work hard, play hard.
As HPE debuted its new facility, there was some special party fun: putt putt, soccer and barbecue.
But, what’s available every ordinary day is remarkable.
The hybrid work model, coined "Office to Edge," has a nice gym and a Walgreen's pharmacy. There are also completely enclosed cubicles for one to four people and socially distanced workspaces. All of this was done to help employees stay healthy -- physically and socially.
"Coming back to the office for the first time after two years brings back a sense of connectiveness," HPE Communications Manager Samantha Jarrell said.
HP first arrived in the Houston area following the Compaq merger around 2000. About 18 months ago, Houston was named HPE's global headquarters.
On Monday, the tech giant cut the ribbon on its new signature complex in Spring.
Why the Houston area
Everything from great universities to the Texas Medical Center to oil and gas.
“When you think of diversity of thought, diversity of talent, diversity of skillset, this is a great place to be, a great place to build your pipeline," HPE General Counsel Rishi Varma said.
After a formal ribbon cutting, HPE held an official open house with balloons and bands showing off all its toys.
Those included meeting rooms with displays that put PowerPoint to shame. There is also a maker space, with a woodshop, a welding station, and 3-D printers for work and employee home projects. There’s also a store for ready-to-heat take-home meals to make life easier at home.
“We've got basketball courts. We've got an onsite doctor. All designed for people to live and work. If you think about our company’s mission, to advance the way people live and work, then what better way to do that than build this kind of infrastructure for your team,” Varma said.