I have worked at Microsoft in Redmond for the last 7 years. Of the Microsoft photos, only one of them looks like an actual Microsoft workspace in Redmond; the one in which there are several people crowded around what looks like a coffee table. And even that one is not a typical office or conference room. It looks like a makeshift conference room. At least two of the photos are of the Orlando, FL convention center where Microsoft has an annual event. In reality none of the photos are typical of Redmond, where most employees have single-occupancy private offices.

Wikimedia:

[www.britepic.com]

you forgot amazon. they're worse than everyone.

i'm kinda surprised though, ms is the only company rep'n the aeron chair.

also, why does mahalo need that many developers? anyways, it's interesting to see the contrast in workspaces. people at google "i've heard" aren't even assigned a desk their first year.

mahalo sucks.

The 21st-century version of working conditions during the Industrial Revolution. Safer, cleaner, sure. But still a reflection of the companies' opinion of their employees.

what a nightmare

Unlike basically everyone else listed, Microsoft's campus does have the distinct advantage of actually providing developers with offices. You know, with doors that can close. Awesome.

Ha nice, the first pic is me. To be fair I was "resting" my eyes after working super late to fix a problem. And our cubes are way cooler than those pics make them out to be. So I'm confused, is my cube the least worst or most worst? Either way its still pretty funny.
I dont know how many places you've ever worked, but these are what you'd find in 95% of the workspaces in NYC.

Uh, those pictures of the Microsoft campus make it look better than about half of the top 10 in your best workplaces list.

What you call worst, I call home for 6 hours per day.

And you forgot Friendfeed.

[lh4.google.com]

Offered for comparison's sake: [www.wired.com]

You guys (Gizmodo) really need to come up with some actual workspaces for Microsoft--the Washington State Convention Center is *NOT* on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, or Seattle for that mattr. For photos from a real Microsoft building check out: [building37.spaces.live.com]

Most people who work on Mozilla's products don't get paid. Actual employees in Mozilla's Toronto office have it much worse.

Mozilla ? Italian cheese, right? - Nope, Canadian sweatshop! ^_^

Wow. The amount that people seem to bitch about their work spaces makes me glad I didn't go into the software industry. My office is passable, but really do I care? It's a place to park my ass for 7.5 hours a day and as long as I have a newer computer that can run the latest edition of AutoCad, I'm happy. There's more to life than Aeron chairs, free cafeterias and unlimited supplies of beverages. Pretty much anyone in the non tech industry would be happy with the "bad offices", even Mozilla Toronto is better than some crackshacks I've worked out of.

Hahahahaha, how did you miss MY office? Right, I confiscate all cameras during the entry strip-search.

umm.. this is ben saitz and doubleclick doesn't have and never has had offices in wisconsin.. where did you get that mistake from?

that office is in thornton, colorado and has been updated since these pics were taken. that being said, it's got some great views of the rockies!

Jhoo not really sure what your talking about, I've been to the yahoo offices in New York, formally right media. They suck! Lifeless and impersonal. Kinda like the douche bags who still actually work there. Anyways, Its nice to see that somethings never change. AKA - You still "working late" and yet still accomplishing nothing.

@bsaitz: Fixed. (Truly sorry, all the square shaped states look the same from 35,000 feet)

@barely.working: y'know, if you measure your workday in 0.5-hour increments, all of which consist of working on 20-year-old DOS-based CAD software, you've got a lot more than others' office furnishings to bitch about.
Try not to let your bitter tears must overflow out of your McDonald's Supreme coffee-cup, okay?

@mothra1: Were you here on bring your daughter to work day? Sounds like someone got laid off and is a bit bitter about it.

I see at least 2 Macs in Microsoft's office. Yay :)

even these "worsts" have nothing on the hellish quarters that can be found within the nation's big consulting companies. i shoulda stayed out of this world...

Wow Valleywag, such a negative nelly. "Everything sucks, I hate life," said Valleywag.

yeah Amazon is truly cheap and rundown furniture with crap decor

Hey guys, those pictures of MS' "offices" are of TechReady 6 held at the aforementioned Washington State Convention Center. The room with all the computers and the banners hanging over them are the virtual machine demo labs where people can try out various scenarios and such without breaking real hardware. Granted, TechReady is MS internal, but it's not held on campus.

The Adobe building is actually pretty cool. It's a landmark in downtown San Jose, and it was built to stringent LEED standards, so you know it is good for the environment. All in all, it's way cooler than some of those strip-mall offices. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

The company that acquired us does not even give us LCD screens :( . We are now stuck with one big CRT monitor for each of us.

Before the acquisition we had 2 flat panel displays.

Oi. Having worked at Adobe for 10 years, you guys need to go into the private areas, the foyer always reminds me of Gatica. We all have offices, mostly windows, just like the folks at MS, though we don't double up ;).

I'm really surprised you guys left out Amazon. At least 60% of the developers work in concrete or drywall boxes without even line of site to a window. If that wasn't bad enough they took offices that were too small for one person and put two in them. I'm sure Jeff's rockets have more space inside than our offices did. I was lucky though. I only had to share my office with the printer ( and everyone who came to use it )

Facebook looks like Blade Runner- foggy, dank, dim, and utterly depressing.

@mothra1: you must be another one of those tools who work for Yahoo, huh? Compare Right Media with Yahoo and you'd know Yahoo offices suck.

Re: "yeah Amazon is truly cheap and rundown furniture with crap decor"

I work in the PacMed building on Beacon Hill, Seattle. It's an awesome Deco-style building with a great interior, wonderful views and great ambiance. Don't know the Amazon office of which you are writing - but it sure as heck is not the one I enjoy working in every day!

Hah, you clearly didn't get past Adobe's lobby. Aeron chairs, real offices (with doors!), big picture windows to let you see the planes on their landing path headed straight for you...

i concur that Amazon's offices are depressing; oppressively low ceilings.

If online design or ad-agencies are considered "tech companies," their offices would probably win hands down.

also, Technorati's offices are nasty. small yet labyrinthine floor plan, lack of open spaces, and a perennial gnat problem.

You are so spoiled, guys. I'd be more than happy to work in any office even remotely as nice as the ones shown here.

You really need to start a thread:

10 worst offices in Japan:
Cramped, scruffy, chairs are so small you'd fit a midget on there at best, and of course you can't really regulate the height of the chair properly either. You'll probably get 20cm of space between the screen and the edge of the table, so you can just about fit a keyboard on there. Desk sizes are just a as bad.

Ah, and yes it's usually so bright, you'r eyes will hurt, they tend to cover the whole ceiling with fluorescent lights.

I'd take any of the above work environments in turn for that.

baaaahahahhaha!!!! oh, C'mon!
I'd loooove a white picket fence in front of my office!!
ROTFL!!!