Some Apple employees may quit over new ‘open’ office floor plan

Construction at Apple Park, the tech giant’s new “spaceship” headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., is projected to be completed by the end of this year. The $5 billion campus is to be a stateof-the-art facility, boasting the latest in energy efficiencies, green technologies, a 100,000-square-foot fitness center, an orchard, a meadow and a pond.

Some 12,000 Apple employees are moving into the 175-acre campus over the next six months. But some of them aren’t as excited as you’d think they’d be.

Why? Blame the new open office floor plan design.

If you’re an Apple employee, this is a big change. Untilnow, you’ve been used to having your own office space. But the new Apple Park will change all that. All employees working there will be rubbing elbows with each other over long tables they’ll share in the company’s new open space environment. And some are not thrilled. Jon Gruber, a podcaster and blogger that follows the company is reported to have received emails from employees who threatened to leave the company if the workplaces aren’t suitable. “Judging from the private feedback I’ve gotten from some Apple employees, I’m 100 percent certain there’s going to be some degree of attrition based on the open floor plans,” he said in this Macrumors report.

Open office designs have been popular with many companies over the past few years. But they’ve also been controversial.

Executives believe that an environment without cubicles fosters collaboration, innovation and creativity. Research has backed up some of these claims. But many workers aren’t so crazy about the lack of privacy.

Mr. Gruber claims that one vice president had the company build his “very successful” group their own building because he was so dissatisfied with the open floor plan. Business Insider reports the company’s cloud services team claimed its former headquarters for their own workspace.

According to Gallup’s 2017 State of the American Workplace report, about 70 percent of U.S. offices use an “open” environment.

Apple employees are currently awaiting the completion of construction on a new $5 billion campus at Apple Park, the tech giant’s new headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year.