Once there was a company who's main office had a water leak. Actually, water was leaking into the building from the basement. Turns out, it was built on a natural spring.
The water was perfectly drinkable. The employees on the lower floors started going into the basement and filling their canteens from the water there.
Eventually the company stopped paying the water company, because they were able to source all of their water locally.
But every once in awhile, there was an algae bloom somewhere upstream, the water was contaminated, and all of the employees got sick and had to stay in bed for a week. The company essentially shut down while the employees recovered.
The building manager tried to have the municipal water reconnected, but he was promptly fired, because they had free water in the basement.
Heck, they ran some tests and found that the water in the basement was actually, technically, more pure than the water from the taps. Except, you know, when it was making people sick.
Some local villagers who knew about the spring even showed up and helped maintain the basement spring. Not being paid employees, they were not beholden to the interests of the company, and weren't paid, but they still tried to sway management at the company to continue using the well. Coincidentally, they all had "well tender for 4 years" as their resume headlines.
Some employees, tired of getting sick and losing work, started building rain collectors on the roof. Management shut that initiative down quickly, because they were falling into "Not Invented Here" syndrome, and "reinventing the wheel" instead of pushing features.
The water was perfectly drinkable. The employees on the lower floors started going into the basement and filling their canteens from the water there.
Eventually the company stopped paying the water company, because they were able to source all of their water locally.
But every once in awhile, there was an algae bloom somewhere upstream, the water was contaminated, and all of the employees got sick and had to stay in bed for a week. The company essentially shut down while the employees recovered.
The building manager tried to have the municipal water reconnected, but he was promptly fired, because they had free water in the basement.
Heck, they ran some tests and found that the water in the basement was actually, technically, more pure than the water from the taps. Except, you know, when it was making people sick.
Some local villagers who knew about the spring even showed up and helped maintain the basement spring. Not being paid employees, they were not beholden to the interests of the company, and weren't paid, but they still tried to sway management at the company to continue using the well. Coincidentally, they all had "well tender for 4 years" as their resume headlines.
Some employees, tired of getting sick and losing work, started building rain collectors on the roof. Management shut that initiative down quickly, because they were falling into "Not Invented Here" syndrome, and "reinventing the wheel" instead of pushing features.