SAN FRANCISCO — It’s 7 p.m. in a building near AT&T Park, where the San Francisco Giants baseball team plays. In a big open space, a gaggle of 20-somethings are lounging on comfortable couches, maneuvering their videogame joysticks in front of a monumental screen on the wall. A little further down, four more people are dancing in sync with the music blasting at full volume.
Meanwhile, around the corner, dozens more are noisily cramming around tables as chefs in white uniforms prepare a variety of dishes for them with the freshest ingredients — at no cost of course. Just a few steps away, at the very same moment, others are typing in code at the latest generation of Apple workstations, designed for both standing and sitting at your keyboard.
These are just scenes of an ordinary day at the offices of the digital revolution in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and New York’s Silicon Alley. In this particular case, we’re at the headquarters of Dropbox, the company that has made it easy to collect and share large files in the cloud. With 200 million users worldwide (4 million of them companies), Dropbox is valued at a cool $8 billion, and could be the newest sensation on the stock market if it goes public.
View from Dropbox HQ. Photo by tattoomon via Instagram
Dropbox gave its employees a turkey carving demo — Photo by glofishh via Instagram
Photo by jarjarfrank via Instagram
Just a few blocks away from the Dropbox office, the same college-like atmosphere (where you get the feeling you can inhale the energy) fills Twitter HQ, after the social media giant“s recent debut on Wall Street estimated its worth at $25 billion.
Twitter HQ. Photo by jennysahm via Instagram
#OfficeEnvy — Photo by fidelikado via Instagram
It’s lunchtime at Twitter — Photo by eugeneson via Instagram
Photo by mechanicalboy via Instagram
Looking at the astronomical financials, it’s not surprising that digital companies do everything to pamper and spoil their employees — particularly their precious young engineers. The best places to work in America have become amusement parks, with tons of free food to suit every palate, bars in every corner brimming with booze, and spaces to relax, dream, and have fun so everyone can unload their stress.
Twitter’s rooftop garden — Photo by kevry88 via Instagram
The competition among programmers is unfettered, thanks to a shortage of highly trained talent. The high-tech companies have asked the Obama administration to raise the number of H-1B work permits for these super-qualified personnel; currently it stands at 65,000 people per year, but there have been 280,000 requests so far this year.
At Airbnb HQ — Photo by rebeccajsinclair via Instagram
Because of this, the companies that get their hands on the right engineers do everything to convince them to stay: The net entry salary is around $125,000, not to mention the benefits — the best medical insurance, free access to workout gyms, shuttle buses with Wi-Fi on board for the commutes to work, as well as an unlimited range of the latest high-tech gadgets.
Space to work at Mountain View — Photo by carlitamia via Instagram
Game time at Google — Photo by mikedamkas via Instagram
Leading the way was Google, who provided their employees with mini kitchens, as well as maxi restaurants, full of free food. Walk around their Mountain View campus and you’ll see more than just young faces everywhere. Volleyball courts and ping pong tables, organic gardens, seating areas with pianos and colorful bikes everywhere, available to all. There are even washing machines so you can bring your laundry to work.
Google’s bikes — Photo by mstachebakeacake via Instagram
At the headquarters of the social networking site, Pinterest, there are board games set up in front of all the sofas. “And, if anyone wants to bring in their dogs to the office, they’re welcome to,” says Barry Schnitt, head of communications for the company.
Photo by tommyboyt1 via Instagram
At Airbnb, the site that rents rooms and flats in 192 countries around the world, the meeting rooms are constructed to recreate some of their most popular apartments on offer: In just a minute you’re catapulted into the warm atmosphere of a living room in Bali, a bright kitchen in Reykjavik, or a loft in Milan.
Photo by brunogalo via Instagram
In Menlo Park, Facebook has its own little autonomous city — ethnic restaurants, mini markets and even repair shops for the ubiquitous bikes. Not too far away, they’re building Facebook 2, which will be even more fantastic.
Photo by mzaferyahsi via Instagram
Flipboard, another company on the rise, has its offices in a strategic spot in downtown Palo Alto, where programmers all enjoy discounts in every store.
Photo by flipboard via Instagram
The atmosphere is a little more sober at Apple in Cupertino, where employees nonetheless also enjoy bountiful benefits and bonuses. But not even in the company founded by Steve Jobs does anyone seem ready to reign in spending.
Photo by chicagopunch via Instagram
Apple is about to start work on building a new headquarters in the shape of a circular spaceship where 14,000 people will work. If you need a rough idea of the size and scale of this, just think that the park on the inside of the ring could fit the entire Pentagon building.
Photo by ssleung via Instagram
