To be honest, I’ve never understood the fuss that’s made over some startups’ swanky offices. So when I saw the photos of Yelp’s fancy new offices, I was cynical. All the same, the cube farm image Dawn used in a recent post (by Mark Sebastian) makes me want to scream.
How important are nice offices to you? Do office conditions factor into your choice of employer?
For those of us who work remotely, things are pretty clear-cut. We can have whatever we like in our offices, within the constraints provided by our home and budget. If I want bespoke wallpaper, reproduction Danish design-artifact furniture, and custom-designed LED lighting, I can have it … but I’m more likely to spend the money on a holiday.
But if you’re working on site, the office matters. If I’m going to commit to sitting in a room at someone else’s direction for at least 40 hours out of every week, I find that the office conditions can be a big factor in the longevity of my tenure. But it’s not the bespoke wallpaper that makes the difference.
Office Antics
Once, I worked in an office that had about 50 people in it, and three plastic teaspoons and one plastic knife was the full complement of “cutlery”. For all the stainless-steel toasters and sandwich makers, it was kind of tricky to produce anything to eat or drink in that staff kitchen. There were a few mugs, all of them promotional surplus, but since there were only a few of them, it was easiest for staff to just bring their own cup.
This office was touted as cutting-edge, since it had a sustainable design and was energy-efficient. I appreciated the natural light, sure, but when a team mate burned her finger trying to stir the sugar into her tea (all three plastic spoons being out of the kitchen at that moment) I started wondering what the corporate priorities really were.
In another workplace, a bulletin board was put up in the common area, and we were encouraged to stick relevant, fun, entertaining contributions to it. Management presented this as a culture-building exercise, and some very amusing additions were made in the ensuing weeks.
But soon we noticed that every so often, when the board was cleared, ready for new contributions, the items that people in management and more senior roles had added remained on the board, while all the operations staff’s contributions were thrown in the trash.
These are small things, but they certainly send clear messages. Like the mandatory “morning tea” I was required to enjoy at another workplace where the marketing assistant sat on a ratty old stool, these ideas were great in concept, but fell down at the execution. On the face of it, these offices were nice environments, and a long way from the dreaded cube farm. But what they offered in looks, they lacked in soul.
Culture and Credibility
Bespoke wallpaper doesn’t say “we value our staff'”; it says ‘we’re impressive, and you should be blown away.” While a showy office doesn’t always indicate that the business values style over substance, in my experience, it can. A showy office is only one reflection of a company’s culture, and I’m usually more curious about the other manifestations of that culture.
The best work environments I’ve experienced haven’t been memorable because of their wall-hung bike storage facilities or their “funky creative pods.” The best workplaces have functioned as places in which a bunch of people need to spend 40+ hours of their week doing work. Apart from mandatory things like technology and tools, I expect things like cutlery, stationery and security matter more to most web workers on a day-to-day basis than colorful beanbags and “casual Fridays.”
Am I right? How important is office decor to you? Does cool interior design make you want to work for a particular company?
Image by stock.xchng user barunpatro.

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