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Inside Amazon's Mini Rainforest Work Space Spheres (cnbc.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the climate-control dept.

Amazon's indoor rainforest-like office space opened today after being in development for seven years. CNBC reports of what can be found inside the Spheres: The Spheres' three glass domes house some 40,000 plants of 400 species. Amazon, famous for its demanding work culture, hopes the Spheres' lush environs will let employees reflect and have chance encounters, spawning new products or plans. The space is more like a greenhouse than a typical office. Instead of enclosed conference rooms or desks, there are walkways and unconventional meeting spaces with chairs. Amazon has invested $3.7 billion on buildings and infrastructure in Seattle from 2010 to summer 2017, a figure that has public officials competing for its "HQ2" salivating. Amazon has said it expects to invest more than $5 billion in construction of HQ2 and to create as many as 50,000 jobs. The Spheres, designed by architecture firm NBBJ, will become part of Amazon's guided campus tours. Members of the public can also visit an exhibit at the Spheres by appointment starting Tuesday.

85 comments

  1. working in the Amazon jungle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    it's literal now.

  2. Reminds me of lock stock and 2 smoking barrels by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Too busy at work to adapt it myself, but please somebody do it justice :)

    Bacon: What's that?
    Samoan Joe's Barman: It's a ****tail. You asked for a ****tail.
    Bacon: No. I asked you to give me a refreshing drink! I didn't expect a ****ing rainforest! You could fall in love with an orangutan in there! Bring me a pint.
    Samoan Joe's Barman: You want a pint, you go to the pub.
    Bacon: I thought this was a pub!
    Samoan Joes Barman: It's a Samoan pub.

    1. Re:Reminds me of lock stock and 2 smoking barrels by Cederic · · Score: 0

      Who the fuck censors cocktail?

  3. Re:The Man Gets Us Down! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You KNOW this isn't for you "worker bees" --
     
    This is for the Ivory Tower office workers who are also abused. And yes, oh yes, it is for PR.
     
    High school imbecile BeauHD with his rose-tinted glasses (look that one up on Urban Dictionary, BEAU!) will eat and regurgitate any PR propaganda fed to him, like a little three year old that believes in rainbows, leprechauns, and the tooth fairy (just another leprechaun).

  4. Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Just imagine how much more productive and happy their workers would be if they'd invested $3.7 billion in the salaries of workers in Seattle.

    1. Re:Huh by bobbied · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Just imagine how much more productive and happy their workers would be if they'd invested $3.7 billion in the salaries of workers in Seattle.

      Or, just dumped Seattle and went to the Midwest with that $3.7 Billion where labor is cheaper and the standard of living easier to maintain.

      So I've got to ask, when you say "invest" in salaries of workers you mean give them raises right? The problem with handing out $3.7 Billion all in one year is that you have just increased your baseline costs unless you just hand out a one time bonus. One time bonuses are only have a short term benefit on employee's good feelings towards the company. Give them a few months and the benefit is all gone.

      So Amazon spent $3.7 Billion on a hopefully better facility to improve the working environment. It might be that this has a longer term effect on how the employees feel about work and it might be just as effective as handing out cash.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    2. Re:Huh by Dorianny · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You can get cheap unskilled labor in the Midwest. The educated, experienced labor force you need to run a multi-national is hard to find there. The lower taxes and cheaper living in those states come with the trade-off of lower spending on education, infrastructure and cultural institutions all of which are very important to the highly sought out employees companies like Amazon need. Most companies that look into moving into cheaper states end up scraping their plans once they figure out that most of their core employees are unwilling to move to the proposed locations even with generous incentives

    3. Re:Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most end up moving there anyway. Look at how many companies have huge presence in Georgia, Florida and Texas...not exactly states known for their spending on education.

      Back in the 90s, when companies needed a much bigger semi-skilled white collar labor force, they'd move their back-office functions to places like Atlanta or Dallas. Taxes are cheap, and land/houses are cheap if you're willing to drive a lot. And the executives are happy wherever they end up. They can build whatever housing they want, and certainly don't use the public school system to educate their kids. I was asked to move to Florida for a relocation once, and even the real estate agent trying to sell me a house said I'd have to put my kids in private school if I wanted a New York-equivalent education. Later on, people I kept in touch with who did make the move confirmed this was true. It's the trade off for cheap houses and low taxes -- long car commutes and expensive private school tuition.

    4. Re:Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nobody who's worth any money wants to live in a flyover state, except maybe Warren Buffet

    5. Re:Huh by bobbied · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The Midwest is just fly over country to you I guess... Have you even been here? Of course not.

      What breathtaking ignorance you have...This is why we make jokes about the idiot liberals on the coasts who think they are better than everybody else, only we do so in private and with obvious sarcasm and just don't blurt out such nonsense as facts. I was raised in the mid west and have spent time on both coasts. There are smart and stupid people every place I've ever lived, in roughly the same mix. I do find arrogance in abundance on the coasts though.

      Shall I give you a list of the companies who are moving to my Midwest state or the ones who abandoned the likes of California for humble Texas? Naw... You wouldn't believe stupid little me because you don't think intelligent people live in the Midwest.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    6. Re: Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "lower taxes and cheaper living in those states"

      You're pretty much excluding Illinois and for sure the entire area surrounding Chicago.

    7. Re:Huh by Locke2005 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The college towns in Texas like Austin might be an exception -- and Austin is where I predict Amazon's HQ2 is going. Austin is Portland's sister city; they have the same motto, "Keep Portland Weird" and "Keep Austin Weird". I think the assumption is that if you locate where the cost of business is the lowest, the talent will relocate there to work for you -- and be unable to find any competing jobs (See Grass Valley Group for their employee retention strategy; they initially located literally in the middle of a cow pasture in the mountains east of Sacramento. Nope, you couldn't commute to any other tech jobs from there, they were the only player in town!)

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    8. Re:Huh by Dorianny · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Way to call me out on my "ignorance" while offering nothing more to support your position then insults and self-professed expertise. The Midwest has been professing the ruin of the high tax coasts states for decades now, yet still here we are waiting for the great Corporate exodus to the Midwest, while San Francisco's and New York's real-estate markets keeps skyrocketing

    9. Re:Huh by sexconker · · Score: 2, Funny

      Surely, THIS will be the bubble that lasts!

      -Dorianny, Expert Slashdotter

    10. Re:Huh by sconeu · · Score: 1

      WTF does the Portland connection have to do with anything? Amazon is based in Seattle.

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    11. Re:Huh by bobbied · · Score: 2, Insightful

      LOL... https://www.thehtgroup.com/ht-...

      Read it and weep my coastal friend.. BTW this article is not discussing everything. Amazon is looking at the Dallas area for it's second regional headquarters and there are a pile of companies who may not be moving their head quarters to north texas, but are sure expanding their operations here. I got to ask, why do you think all this is going on here? Yea, we are all just poor stupid folks with southern drawls and cowboy boots...

      Feel free to stay where you are though.. With an attitude like yours, you won't fit in all that well here and we have a tendency to shoot folk we don't like.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    12. Re:Huh by demonlapin · · Score: 2

      Eh, it's not like more money always produces better education results - if it did, DC would be the top district in the country. Private school in Atlanta or Dallas has the advantage of only being required while the kid is a student - your high property taxes in the better NYC suburbs are there forever. If you have a large family, you're definitely better off in metro NYC, but if you have two kids? Probably a wash. And both Atlanta and Dallas have big airports with cheap fares. It's more fun to grow up on the Upper East Side, of course, if you have the money for that, but when you're comparing Morristown and Plano... the advantages start to look a lot more sparse.

    13. Re:Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      we have a tendency to shoot folk we don't like.

      How civilized of y'all...

    14. Re:Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Have you even been here? Of course not.

      I have lived there for many years, in southern Wisconsin. I had several friends and colleagues transition from public research to private spinoff companies. Out of five I can think of that grew to more than half a dozen people, four moved to the west coast, and the fifth opened a second office on the east coast. That last example's choice to have two offices was not for business reasons, but because the founder's family was slightly more attached to their location, enough to accept growth limitations and extra costs.

      There are several large tech companies in the area, but they are the types that hire armies of programmers to implement business logic and customize software for other large companies or deal with changing record keeping laws. People I've known working there complain about it being mind numbly boring work, and all of the programmers end up stressed when they see how replaceable they are from the high turnover rates. But it is great for the companies, if you just need a large typical work force of moderately skilled workers.

      The startups I referred to at the start though had a lot of trouble getting top level or specialized talent. They did well when smaller, as they pulled from from a talent pool of a couple of the good research universities in the Midwest. But once that pool dried up, they hit walls where they would have to pay people higher salaries than they would on the coast for people that were essentially rejects from other companies in similar fields. When they moved, they found they had a much larger pool of talent to choose from, had lower turn over, and weren't paying that much more for location and staff. They gladly accepted increased costs for moving way faster and actually getting to market.

      When you're a startup trying to get a new product out the door, you need someone with above average skills and the ability to fill needs quickly. You don't have the option of waiting more than a year to fill positions (before at least two of the moves, the examples I am think of complained they were stagnating because of this). Once you've grown to a larger business and need a support infrastructure, sure, then the Midwest is great.

      You wouldn't believe stupid little me because you don't think intelligent people live in the Midwest.

      I would be more tempted to disbelieve you because one of the who reasons I loved the Midwest (outside of Chicago) was the friendly, small town feel of even moderate sized cities, so if you want to be an asshole and make presumptions to shit on other people, you would fit in more with a NY or LA stereotype.

    15. Re:Huh by Patent+Lover · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure a feel good piece by a recruiting agency is not exactly going to be the deciding factor in Amazon's decision.

    16. Re:Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Legionella? The habitat's conducive.

    17. Re: Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey man, it keeps down the tweakers.

    18. Re: Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Spoken like a true Hillaryist.

    19. Re:Huh by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 1

      You know, as one of the "coastal liberals" you hate so much; I can't recall the last time I've heard anyone derisively refer to the midwest as "fly over country". Probably 90% of the time I hear or read the phrase are cases exactly like this one: Midwestern republicans complaining about coastal liberals derisively referring to the midwest as flyover country. Most of that last 10% is liberals. But they're not derisively referring to the midwest as flyover country. They're mocking you midwestern republicans for bitching about how they supposedly derisively refer to the midwest as flyover country. In the real world, mostly people are too busy living their lives and don't really think about the midwest unless they have family there.

      And while we're at It though; what exactly, pray tell, would be wrong with just flying over in the first place? We wouldn't be welcome anyway... and in some cases, not safe... in your red states, and only in smallish islands in the blue ones. (Yes, I've seen your map breaking red/blue down by county. I reject its legitimacy in most of the contexts I've seen it. To me, people are important, not dirt. But I do understand its implications.) You've made it quite clear that you hate our guts and don't consider us "real Americans", whatever that means (MAGA hats?). Hell, one of dear leader's offspring is even on-record and camera as saying he doesn't even consider liberals to even be real human beings.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    20. Re:Huh by wickerprints · · Score: 1

      I've lived on the West coast nearly my whole life. I suppose I'm what you might call a "idiot liberal." The vast, vast majority of people I have met from the Midwest have been really nice to me--at least, to my face, since I have no way of knowing what might possibly be said about me behind my back, not that I go around feeling paranoid about such things that are not under my control.

      And the way you characterize or stereotype me by way of geographic origin or cultural identity is incredibly hurtful--or at least, it would be if I knew you personally. Maybe you might even be someone I have met. So, I really don't get this whole "coastal people think Midwesterners are [insert stereotype here], and that's how it proves they must be [insert equally offensive stereotype here]." That kind of thinking doesn't form the basis for meaningful interpersonal relationships, at least, it never has been for me. Maybe it works for you because that's how you find common ground with others who share the same attitudes, but I'm only speculating.

      In any case, it shouldn't be too surprising to observe that there are a LOT of people from the Midwest who live in the large metropolitan areas on the coasts. Large cities are almost inevitably diverse. And so, I meet lots of different people with different backgrounds and outlooks on life. Midwesterners are a big a part of that. And really, overwhelmingly, everyone's been great.

      Perhaps the most ironic part of your commentary, then, is your implicit criticism of the very people who were raised with, and still hold, "Midwestern values"--whatever that might mean--who comprise a substantial proportion of those who now live on the coasts, whether by necessity or choice. Conversely, there are quite a few people I know that have moved to the Midwest, some of whom are not native English speakers. Again, I have not heard stories of how they have been mistreated; quite the opposite. They marvel at how much more affordable is the cost of living. Some tell me they enjoy the slower pace, the more personal nature of human interaction.

      Yes, I am "liberal." But that doesn't mean I mindlessly adhere to certain ideas. I define liberalism as a willingness to consider how people from diverse backgrounds can contribute in their own meaningful ways. I don't need or want others to think like myself in order to be happy or secure. If that makes me a bad person--although I don't think it should--then so be it.

    21. Re:Huh by Cederic · · Score: 1

      if you locate where the cost of business is the lowest, the talent will relocate there to work for you -- and be unable to find any competing jobs

      That rules Austin out then, on cost and competition.

    22. Re:Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the money is best invested in office environments where people get distracted by poor lighting, excessive sights and sounds, poor sound isolation, but at least the air is breathable (unless all the plants take all the O2). This is a project deemed success by leadership from the start, and it shows (the executive ego).

      Best money expenditure ever, and nobody will admit failure at any stage.

    23. Re:Huh by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 2

      Most end up moving there anyway. Look at how many companies have huge presence in Georgia, Florida and Texas...not exactly states known for their spending on education.

      Back in the 90s, when companies needed a much bigger semi-skilled white collar labor force, they'd move their back-office functions to places like Atlanta or Dallas. Taxes are cheap, and land/houses are cheap if you're willing to drive a lot. And the executives are happy wherever they end up. They can build whatever housing they want, and certainly don't use the public school system to educate their kids. I was asked to move to Florida for a relocation once, and even the real estate agent trying to sell me a house said I'd have to put my kids in private school if I wanted a New York-equivalent education. Later on, people I kept in touch with who did make the move confirmed this was true. It's the trade off for cheap houses and low taxes -- long car commutes and expensive private school tuition.

      Georgia, Texas and Florida are very diverse states where you can't compare their metropolitan areas with their towns in the middle of nowhere. They are countries in their own right.

      I suggest you read "The New Geography of Jobs" by Enrico Moretti. It will disabuse you and anyone else of the notion that companies that rely on knowledge workers can, should and/or will relocate from where they are. The notions is pretty freaking bollocks.

    24. Re:Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can you blame him for not taking you seriously when you seem to think Texas is a midwest state? In most contexts, it is considered part of the South, though it is understandable if one perceived it as a Western or southwestern state, given its history and culture. But midwest? Only if you're uneducated on U.S. history and the meanings of the geographical terms commonly used to describe it and its regions.

      we are all just poor stupid folks with southern drawls and cowboy boots...

      If the boot fits my ignorant Southern friend...

    25. Re:Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can also get cheap, highly skilled labor in the Midwest. True, probably not to the level of founding the next multinational, but enough to fulfill roles necessary in maintaining and expanding an existing multinational.

      The city I live in (Lincoln, Nebraska) has a population of only 250,000 or so. Yet there are 5 major IT employers and dozens of smaller ones forming a healthy ecosystem for software developers, IT infrastructure specialists, etc. Plus there is a city of 500,000 about an hour away with even more opportunities if the ones here aren't enough. And let me tell you, earning $100,000 a year here as a highly skilled worker goes a hell of a long way compared to what it would do on the coasts.

      For vacations, flights are frequent and not all that expensive. And there are more and more options for culture and entertainment coming to the area every year.

      But you can't just open with blanket statements that amount to "there is only cheap, unskilled labor in the Midwest" and expect me to find any of what you say after that in any way credible when I've seen the opposite with my own eyes.

    26. Re:Huh by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Apologies to you.. I was talking to the previous poster who dissed the Midwest as full of stupid people.

      I don't talk about it much, but most of my family is in California and although I grew up in the mid-west I was born on the left coast myself. In my experience, liberal/Conservative, left/right, Democrat/Republican or from a red or blue state doesn't really matter. We are generally all the same. Though I must admit, I do find the liberal mindset to be a bit more "we are better than you" in general and liberals tend to cluster at the coasts. This isn't a hard and fast rule, though my coastal liberal family members sure fall into that category.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    27. Re:Huh by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Well, look at it from my perspective having been raised in the mid-west, read the previous posts and I think you will see that I'm not dissing you specifically, unless you think the shoe fits. I'm dissing the guy who basically said all us folk in the Midwest are uneducated and stupid.

      I think ignorance abounds on both coasts and the middle and the ignorance is about exactly who we are as individuals and the inherent value each person has. If you wish to lecture me about my views of liberals, I suggest you consider that perhaps I'm not all that different from you. However, if you are the type that thinks I was talking smack about you; if the shoe fits, then I cannot help if you wish to wear it and be offended. Either way, I don't see why you care. If I am just a back woods hick, what do you care if I call you names? If I wasn't talking about you, what's your problem?

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    28. Re:Huh by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Of course not.. But Amazon apparently has considered a number of locations and Dallas is the obvious choice according to the Wall Street Journal:

      https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2017/11/wall-street-journal-says-amazon-is-totally-coming-to-dallas/

      Would you like some mustard on that crow you are eating? :)

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    29. Re:Huh by Thelasko · · Score: 1

      The lower taxes and cheaper living in those states come with the trade-off of lower spending on education, infrastructure and cultural institutions all of which are very important to the highly sought out employees companies like Amazon need.

      There are cities in the Midwest. Most of the land-grant universities are there. It's not all cornfields.

      --
      One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
    30. Re:Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, you are incorrect, California has the lowest IQ population in the US, while Oregon and Washington are equal to the midwest. https://www.amren.com/news/201...

    31. Re:Huh by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      The Portland connection is me; I live in Portland, which is now out of the running for HQ2 despite being a 3 hour drive from the Seattle headquarters.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    32. Re:Huh by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 1

      No harm no foul. And I guess I should have specified that I was using the plural "you" and not trying to attack you singularly. So, my bad there.

      But the "flyover country" thing really does tickle me. First, because I was telling the truth when I said I hardly ever hear people here on the coast use it derisively against the midwest as a whole. But two, the dichotomy between one day being offended at the notion that we only fly over, and the next making it very clear that we would not be welcome there. And it is kind of hard to miss the rhetoric: "People's Republic of California", "Sodom by the Bay", "San Francisco Values", "Damn Yankees", and so on.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
  5. One Upmanship by Thelasko · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This kind of crap is going on everywhere. Here in the Midwest, companies are changing their offices because, "It's the trend on the west coast."

    My company bought new office furniture five years ago because "the trend" was to move to smaller desks. Some of the furniture in the collaborative work spaces now has a thick layer of dust because it's gone unused.

    Now we're getting a new office layout this year. No more assigned desk! Sit where ever you want. How is that supposed to work?

    No desks available? Sit down on the loveseat. (Seriously, this is an office. Not a dorm!) If you don't like the loveseat, there will be an area with different levels, like bleachers, or that episode from Seinfeld.

    I just want a comfortable chair to sit on, a place to put my stuff, HVAC, a fridge, a microwave, and a restroom. Half the time that stuff doesn't work.

    --
    One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
    1. Re:One Upmanship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Welcome to the future, bleacher style seating, or a beanbag. Have fun balancing your laptop and coffee on your lap at the same time.

      Won't be a hard transition for all the college grads with an $80k debt load. They'll be able to reminisce about sitting in lecture halls all over again.

    2. Re:One Upmanship by kaka.mala.vachva · · Score: 1

      A pox on all new seating "improvements". If a programmer is dedicated, he or she usually just needs a quiet place to work, uninterrupted. My company is slowly rolling out open seating, where everyone can see and hear everyone else. I'm dreading the day that reaches me.

    3. Re:One Upmanship by magarity · · Score: 1

      This kind of crap is going on everywhere. Here in the Midwest, companies are changing their offices

      If you put this kind of office in Denver no one would work in it; the heat and humidity would drive everyone out the door in a few minutes.

    4. Re:One Upmanship by alvinrod · · Score: 1

      Now we're getting a new office layout this year. No more assigned desk! Sit where ever you want. How is that supposed to work?

      It absolutely sucks. I'm only convinced management does it because they know it pisses everyone off and they want to downsize without firing anyone so they pull passive aggressive shit like this.

      If you want shit to get done by your development staff get them all their own offices and let them arrange it to their own tastes. I'd even suggest having only a single meeting room, which makes it difficult for managers to schedule long meetings that just piss everyone's time away.

    5. Re:One Upmanship by PPH · · Score: 1

      Sit where ever you want. How is that supposed to work?

      There's a big mahogany desk in that corner office. Dibs!

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    6. Re:One Upmanship by Thelasko · · Score: 1

      It absolutely sucks. I'm only convinced management does it because they know it pisses everyone off and they want to downsize without firing anyone so they pull passive aggressive shit like this

      The jokes on them when they have to foot the bill for the repetitive strain injury claims.

      --
      One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
    7. Re:One Upmanship by networkBoy · · Score: 2

      money was the primary reason, but the open plan office is the runner up as to why I'm leaving my current job.

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
    8. Re:One Upmanship by Locke2005 · · Score: 2

      In my experience, a lot of companies mistake "motion" for "progress". Apparently they have a perverse incentive to keep changing things despite a lack of evidence indicating that the change is worth the cost. In general, any "improvement" makes operation less efficient in the short term. If you constantly keep after people enough to use the new system, in theory the productivity climbs back above the point it was at before you changed things. But human nature being what it is, humans are inherently resistant to change and there are enumerable ways for people to sabotage new systems and make sure they don't work.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    9. Re: One Upmanship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you working for Crapple and moving into mothership? Tim Cock loves you too... into butthole.

    10. Re:One Upmanship by Cederic · · Score: 1

      I worked for a company that replaced the furniture in one of its largest meeting rooms with bean bags, so that people would be comfortable and relaxed and more creative.

      The women refused to sit on them while wearing a skirt. The men refused to hold meetings there because the women couldn't sit down. The room stopped being used entirely.

      The room's sponsor continued to be confused that people didn't want to be creative..

    11. Re:One Upmanship by swb · · Score: 1

      I think some of this is driven by trends. Business leaders see "other companies" in glossy magazines, in the news or wherever doing something "fun" and they want in on it too for fear of being left out.

      But I think some of the "sit on the loveseat" is driven by management's own disconnection with how actual workers get actual work done. They "work" in jobs that mostly consist of going to meetings and writing reports about meetings and arranging for informal meetings with other managers. To them, "work" is kind of an extended cocktail party, except with frappacinos, kambucha or giant water bottles, so sitting around on couches or in non-office type spaces makes complete sense.

      And it also makes sense to eliminate drab, ordinary office spaces represented by desks and cubicles where people actually get work done.

    12. Re:One Upmanship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just want a comfortable chair to sit on, a place to put my stuff, HVAC, a fridge, a microwave, and a restroom. Half the time that stuff doesn't work.

      This.... So much this. I work at a multi-billion dollar company that half the damn toilets don't flush properly, and can't figure out how to get warm water to the bathroom sinks to wash your hands. It's embarrassing to have customers come to our facility and ask to use the rest rooms. How can such a basic need be so poorly implemented, I mean an outhouse would be better.

    13. Re:One Upmanship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't forget a coffee machine. I lost that with my last career move. I miss it.

    14. Re:One Upmanship by Thelasko · · Score: 1

      Don't forget a coffee machine. I lost that with my last career move. I miss it.

      They tried taking away our coffee machines! That didn't last...

      --
      One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
    15. Re:One Upmanship by Thelasko · · Score: 1

      But I think some of the "sit on the loveseat" is driven by management's own disconnection with how actual workers get actual work done. They "work" in jobs that mostly consist of going to meetings and writing reports about meetings and arranging for informal meetings with other managers. To them, "work" is kind of an extended cocktail party, except with frappacinos, kambucha or giant water bottles, so sitting around on couches or in non-office type spaces makes complete sense.

      Yes. I had this discussion with a technician once.

      He said to me, "As you move up the chain of command, you do less and less real work."

      I told him, "Your work changes as you move up. You do less value added work, like building things, and more communication."

      "So the CEO does nothing but goes to meetings all day?"

      "Yup"

      --
      One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
    16. Re:One Upmanship by Thelasko · · Score: 1

      But human nature being what it is, humans are inherently resistant to change and there are enumerable ways for people to sabotage new systems and make sure they don't work.

      That tends to make it very difficult for managers to tell if the changes that were made were good or bad.

      --
      One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
  6. Re:The Man Gets Us Down! by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

    the tooth fairy

    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/...

    --
    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  7. Doesn't have to be in one year... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just as an example, use that 3.7 billion to buy back stock and then issue new shares as options to your employees with an explicit ban on any of it going towards executive staff.

    The proles see you taking care of them, they're more invested in their work because there is more money on the table for them if they invest themselves in the careers at the company, and you don't have the no doubt obscene upkeep costs involved in keeping these 'rainforest-like' conditions sanitary, environmentally balanaced, and secure from outside threats/pests.

    This really seems like an example of what happens when a company has too much money, but only time will tell if that is true.

  8. Amazon abuse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Amazon Under Fire Over Alleged Worker Abuse in Germany

    Worse than Wal-Mart: Amazon's sick brutality and secret history of ruthlessly intimidating workers

    Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace "The company is conducting an experiment in how far it can push white-collar workers..."

    1. Re:Amazon abuse by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      Sleep deprivation appears to be one of the companies unspoken driving principles. Yes, it's a demanding environment to work in, but other than that they are nice people.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  9. Didn't care much for legionella anyway. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With rain forest flora and fauna, the things killing you at least look pretty.

  10. Top of Dotcom Bubble 2.0 by ErichTheRed · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When companies start showing off fancy real estate, or initiating a Hunger Games style race to the bottom for cities to be their next headquarters, it's a good sign the next bubble is coming to an end. Sun moved to a fancy new campus and were shortly bought by Oracle. There was an article a few momths ago about how Microsoft is building tree houses for their employees to work in. This is the second tech bubble I've lived through and the end always seems to be a new trend in office design.

    I guess I'm old school. but I really don't like collaborative brightly colored preschool workspaces. I want a comfortable private workspace with decent temperature control and access to decent coffee/snacks. Even when I was younger I couldn't understand why people would voluntarily work crazy hours if an employer gave them a "fun" office environment.

    The problem with the current office trend is that it's not easily undo-able. You can't easily go back from people crammed around cafeteria tables to even semi-private spaces without showing that it has a direct effect on productivity.

    1. Re:Top of Dotcom Bubble 2.0 by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      No. Amazon, Google, and Facebook have so much cash on hand, they can afford the throw hundreds of projects at the wall and see what sticks. As long as they have an effective mechanism for deciding when to STOP funding these experiments, they will be making money. On paper, Jeff Bezos is now the richest man in the world, worth at least 50 times what Trump is worth -- why do you think Trump hates Bezos so much? (Not sure whether or not to add Microsoft and Apple to the above list. They have lots of cash, but seem to fail at execution lately.) Meanwhile, Meg Whitman has left HP Enterprise to go head up a different company -- apparently even she has finally seen they have no viable business model. And, shocking, Yahoo is still in business?!?

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    2. Re:Top of Dotcom Bubble 2.0 by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      Sun didn't have a viable business model. Amazon has dozens of business models, and only a few of them need to work to keep the company viable. Apple just opened their starship -- your criticism might be appropriate for them, the seem to be falling farther and farther behind Samsung, which ironically provides 35% of the parts for the iPhone anyway. "Our top supplier is copying us!", Apple keeps whining...

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    3. Re:Top of Dotcom Bubble 2.0 by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      Sun had a viable business model, their execution and costing structures didn't support what was coming down the pike - ie, they failed to anticipate their competition, much like IBM failed to anticipate the PC.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    4. Re:Top of Dotcom Bubble 2.0 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When companies start ... initiating a Hunger Games style race to the bottom for cities to be their next headquarters, it's a good sign the next bubble is coming to an end.

      Gosh, are cities really sending sexy teenage girls into the wilderness to fight to the death in gruesome televised combat for the opportunity to become the location of a corporate headquarters? I had no idea that things had gotten that bad!?!!

    5. Re:Top of Dotcom Bubble 2.0 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sarcasm aside, that's kind of what's happening. I guess Thunderdome would be another good example.

      Amazon is basically dangling the carrot of "50,000 jobs," while simultaneously trying to drive the pesky meatbags out of their business flow. They want zero taxes, a company town cleared out for them, oh, and a bronze statue of Bezos on top of the tallest hill. Little do these cities know that companies pull this all the time.

      It would be laughable if Amazon didn't have the spare money to buy its way to essentially a retail monopoly. I could see a day where they leverage-buyout Sears, JCPenney, Walmart, Target and others in a single year...all with money they find in their corporate couch cushions.

    6. Re:Top of Dotcom Bubble 2.0 by John.Banister · · Score: 2

      So, you're saying "... and the end always seems to be ... " when you've got a previous experience of one instance and a claim that this is the second?

    7. Re:Top of Dotcom Bubble 2.0 by jittles · · Score: 1

      On paper, Jeff Bezos is now the richest man in the world, worth at least 50 times what Trump is worth -- why do you think Trump hates Bezos so much?

      Until Trump releases a tax return, I am going to stand by my opinion that Trump isn't worth jack-shit. He's got some expensive properties and is probably so cash poor that he can barely afford to run them. The only thing we have to value Trump are his own statements about his worth and he thinks his name alone is worth billions. My guess is that he has squandered most of the fortune that his grandfather and father have left him.

    8. Re:Top of Dotcom Bubble 2.0 by Thelasko · · Score: 1

      I want a comfortable private workspace with decent temperature control and access to decent coffee/snacks.

      A few years ago my company bought a bunch of trendy new office furniture, and then turned down the heat to 65 deg F, and took away the coffee machines.

      There was a revolt...

      --
      One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
  11. unconventional meeting spaces with chairs by Deadstick · · Score: 2

    WTF?

  12. A pretty place by MrKaos · · Score: 2

    To be a slave.

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  13. Minimum wage by Mister+Liberty · · Score: 1

    Is Amazon finally paying that? Then we can discuss plants and trees.

  14. Perfect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now you can see the code monkeys at work

  15. All this while by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All this while most of their staff are on minimum wage - seems clear to me whos paying for it.

  16. Yes, there is a frog and a unicorn by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Sad thing is, they don't let the unicorn out during the day.

    And since fish are in the spheres, there is, of course, pee

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  17. Meanwhile by raind · · Score: 1

    https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless-in-seattle-as-wealth-in-king-county-has-boomed-so-has-the-population-on-the-streets/
    Somethings wrong with this country.

    --
    Get up!
  18. $3.7 billion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That price seems excessive and reminds me of the Rainforest Cafe http://www.rainforestcafe.com bet Amazon could have saved a bundle by hiring Rainforest Cafe to build the office.

  19. Debugging Improvements by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now I want to work there. Print out your sweet code, lay the pages out in random places, wait in your hiding place to jump out and squash all the bugs in your code with your fly swatter. Scan code back in with your 'fixes'. That's way better than just sitting at your desk typing away.

  20. Re:The Man Gets Us Down! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Amazon doesn't do it themselves. They use temp agencies; the core competency of which is not so much the disposable labor, but keeping the DoJ, DoL, ICE, etc. out of your hair. To this end, they have an additional value added. They are also the cutout man. If your warehouse is raided, YOU weren't employing all those legals. It's the temp agency that hired them and faked their paperwork. You're actually the VICTIM in here. (And you pay the temp agency extra to make sure that's the case.)

  21. With Huey, Dewey and Louie? by mnemotronic · · Score: 1

    This reminded me of the movie Silent Running (IMDB) with Bruce Dern, crusing around on a spaceship with bio-domes and 3 drones named Huey, Dewey and Louie.

    --
    The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
    1. Re:With Huey, Dewey and Louie? by twosat · · Score: 1

      Here's the ending scene with the last surviving "drone" tending to the last forest https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  22. The rainforest sucks by jbmartin6 · · Score: 1

    Why the heck would anyone want to meet in a rain forest? It is hot, humid, and full of foot long poisonous millipedes. Not to mention the bird-eating spiders. And any minute a bunch of bulldozers might attack.

    --
    This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.