The Office Design Strategies of Amazon, Samsung, Adobe and Others | WSJ Open Office

As a software engineer, when I watch stories like this, I know they are fluff pieces, and I question and wonder if their other articles are just as poorly researched. As an engineer, I HATE open office floor plans - you can't think because the office environment isn't quiet (and no, thank you, noise canceling head phones aren't a solution), there's no privacy, and meeting rooms are fully booked. It's funny how, there are a number of "workplace designers" who were interviewed, but not the people who actual work in these areas. And the argument that an open floor plan "breaks down walls and fosters communication" is BS!

The fact it's so difficult to get staff back in the office tells you everything you need to know about what people really think of open plan and hot desking. Isn't it funny the highest paid employees still have private offices...

I worked at Amazon as a software engineer. The spheres is beautiful to visit it once or twice but impossible to work in it. It’s very hot inside and there’s way too much noise and movement to really focus. Almost no one I know worked there

Great points from other commenters that the lack of quiet, semi isolated or private space means employees cannot actually execute work without disruption, distraction or peace. Even the most collaborative offices still need spaces where employees ARE NOT fighting for quiet time to do knowledge work. I am WFH but I have colleagues that are hybrid. They are late to meetings because they constantly have to find new spaces to log into virtual meetings-they have no dedicated desk. It’s an unnecessary stress during the work day when all you want to do is concentrate.

Dude, in office you are there to do work, that means you need privacy for yourself or your group that ACTUALLY needs to interact. Not some random people popping in for talk because they suddenly have something to say, closed spaces are good because if someone comes in, they have probably something meaningful to say.
Open office design is utopia and designer thinking.

Do they serve the needs of introverts as much as they do extroverts? Forced collaboration does not mean inherent productivity. Some of us need peace to do our best work.

They all talk about "giving choice", but non off them seem to have asked their employees what they need to be productive.

The CISCO bit was very weird, almost Orwellian ! In any case, I do agree with most of the comments: open space is the worst configuration: it is exhausting, the noise level is always too loud, too many distractions... As a process engineer, I had to make some pretty complicated calculations so I had to put my noise cancelling and I hated that. I also think that the concept of not having an assigned desk is also annoying and leads to a time waste. Overall, this video looks much more like a PR operation for all the companies mentioned.

This is so out of touch by these companies. I am shocked at the amount of money wasted on these spaces. They are beautiful, but they are not for work. As an employee, I would hate the idea of not knowing where I'm going to sit every day (hot seats). And the amount of open floor plan, activity, and frankly options, just wouldn't suit a place for concentration and work to get done. More so, how would I know where my co-worker is sitting each day who I need to talk to regularly? Do I have to slack him/her each time to ask where they are today? And all those open floor plans--carrying my stuff around, making sure there is an outlet, not having multiples screens in the open spaces---just awful. I fear that in the very near future these buildings are going to be ghost towns, unless the companies mandate back to office. And then also make improvements to make the spaces more consistent with traditional assigned seats.

Love how they invest into places that most people rather work from home at. All for real estate gains lol

Wow I didn't know WSJ made such great commercials for big tech companies. This commercial looked to flattering on Samsung that it almost made me forget years worth of news on their factory workers jumping off buildings. I guess this building didn't need a safety net like the buildings for most of their workers. @WSJ do you have a link to the website for more information on how to hire you for a commercial like this one?

Note that Samsung is a S Korean company so the American offices are likely taking notes on office design and employee efficiency from them. But they also have one of the highest suicide rates amongst young adults. This is attributed to a combination of things one of which is the pressure to perform and succeed. Something to keep in mind before praising these “innovative” office designs. Aside from that, I also work at a company with an open office plan and zero privacy, I mean ZERO. The entire building is basically glass. I deal with people coming straight to my desk sitting down on said desk and proceeding to start a conversation without any care of what I might be doing. It’s not always as collaborative as these CEOs would have you think it is. As an employee it’s often intrusive, stifling, and frustrating. Even the “focus” areas are top to bottom glass. Believe me, it gets tiring for many people.

The Cisco one looks like an absolute nightmare

As a Marketer in tech who's extroverted but also has ADHD, all the open space is truly difficult to navigate. Instead of forcing everyone to do deep work in open spaces, we should just create beautiful, community spaces with an abundance of seating where we can opt in to communicate for meetings and bond etc. The only thing I think these companies got right was the leisure aspects and the natural light, the rest is great in theory but mid in practice. Instead of eliminating cubicles, surely there's a way to optimise them?

If I Worked at Cisco right now I’d be leaving. Making the tables white to reflect light onto faces. I got blue eyes. N light doesn’t agree with them. I don’t want light directly shining in my eyes when I’m trying to work. Let alone when I’m in a board meeting.

being an interior decorator seems like such a lush gig

What I've noticed, is the need for someone who understands the consumer. A room full of people who aren't average can't design around boredom from someone who lacks ambition, but the consumer doesn't work a meaninful job. The consumer works to pay for their leisure time. Tech workers tend to be invested in their product, cubicle workers tend to be invested in their benefits package. Making the work place fun is counter productive because, either you work from passion, which is fun, or you work for money, and you'd rather not be at work. Just an observation. I really like the plants, fresh air and sunlight though, that is a very useful idea. The farm to table is awesome!

Wow, these are so well designed! I appreciate the way they offer flexibility so that employees can come in and collaborate or enjoy that social connection and amenities is AWESOME! Or simply go home to do focused work if you don't need to meet or collab that day.

I love doing focused work at home but it can be isolating after a while, so having a communal workplace that is vibrant, trendy, and conducive to connection is exactly the type of opt-in work balance that I'm looking for!

mahn i'd love to work at that amazon sphere. such a cool escapist place. i love escapism, its really great for thinking. just wish these have more private spaces so it can be best of both worlds.

Do the people who work in the cafe, the delivery drivers, and the gardeners get to use these things as well?