Twitter and the most millennial workplace
The first thing I encountered walking into Twitter HQ was the cluster of people assembled neatly by the door. There was probably only about 10 or so of them, amassed in a semicircle, clutching pieces of paper. And then they began to sing.
I walked past in a state of bewilderment, wondering what would prompt a group of grown humans to break into song in the middle of the workday. “That’s our choir,” the woman accompanying me to a meeting room said, in response to my aghast expression.
My eyes grew continuously rounder as we encountered the canteen, passing by counters entitled vegetarian (“nice touch”), vegan (“wow, they really cater to everyone”) and paleo (“what is this place?”). It was only then that I noted the number of staff in sneans (sneakers and jeans) in my near vicinity, the fridges stocked high with free refreshments and the plethora of non-desk seating arrangements. I could only assume this was a play room for adults. That, or this was actual millennial workplace utopia.
My visit to Twitter’s HQ in San Francisco’s yet-to-be-gentrified Tenderloin district began as any business meeting in this neck of the woods should: I arrived by Tesla Uber, after being offered a bite of my driver’s Caesar salad. Standing outside the soaring Art Deco building, I wondered if there had been a mistake in the address. It looked grimy and old – the furthest from what I’d expect the flagship outpost of a $27 billion (Dh99.15bn) Silicon Valley company to command. Who knew modern tech companies had such a penchant for pre-Second World War architecture?
Wandering meekly inside, I asked for directions and was told by door staff to seek out the “woman standing in the lobby”. Feeling like I was in the initial stages of an escape room, but without any hints, I approached the only other person nearby – a young-ish woman wearing a puffer jacket and jeans, leaning against a pillar. “Um, I’m looking for the Twitter office?” I almost whispered, as if I was actually asking for a secret code. She had my ID and was buzzing me up in two seconds flat.
Everything here has the Twitter logo, from the coffee mugs, to a stray wall, to the laptop skins, to the drinks machine. But that kind of company pride could be typical of any office, right? Well, that’s where the similarities end. First, there’s the choir. This is Twitter’s very own a cappella group, the Songbirds. These guys perform at regional and national events, and most recently took to the stage at Techapella 2018. What is Techapella, you ask? Well, only the informal, non-competitive concert to showcase a cappella groups from around Silicon Valley. It’s where you’ll find the Pintunes (Pinterest), the Keynotes (Apple), Syncopation (DropBox), The Vocal Network (Facebook), Airbnbeats (guess)
and InTune (LinkedIn). Duh.
As we leave the wafting melodies behind, we wander along plant-ridden halls until we’re faced with the colossal canteen area: guaranteed to make you, your coffee machine and too-small work fridge situation look inferior since 2014. Menus change on a daily basis, and there’s the option of a fourcourse tasting menu, or other a la carte options, which offer the likes of gluten-free or “comfort”. Halal options are also available, and during Ramadan, staff who are fasting can take dinner home with them, which comes with an easy iftar meal.
And yes, as you look solemnly at your brought-from-home sandwich, it is all completely free. Nearby fridges are stocked with juices and sodas, there’s a seemingly endless array of coffee machines, and there’s kombucha tea on tap. That’s right. A kombucha tap. And did I mention the pick ’n’ mix area? Food waste isn’t a problem in this magical universe, because the company partners with a local organisation called Food Runners, which donates leftovers to the community.
Standing desks and sofas abound and people are even seeing to their Vitamin D deficiencies and working in the large outdoor space, resplendent with rattan chairs and barbecues and open invitations to bring a blanket and work on the grass. Utter madness.
I’d seen enough. I now only had one burning question: how does one get any work done with all the kombucha, free dried fruits and happiness flying around? But I really shouldn’t have asked any further questions, because the “initiatives” just keep coming.
Not content with your typical wellness and sports teams (which Twitter does also have, might I add), the company has volunteering clubs. There’s one in Dubai’s Twitter HQ – its latest event involved a visit to Dubai Centre For Special Needs on UAE National Day. It also recently hosted the first WomenHack event in the Arab region, to promote gender equality in the tech industry.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my job. But throughout the course of this 45-minute meeting, it’s become increasingly hard to even think about returning to my standard-issue office chair in front of an actual desk, without bottomless healthy tea to aid my digestion or free oyster appetisers for lunch.
Choir practice has disbanded by the time I leave. But now, there’s an event taking place of an entirely different kind – a presentation of some sort, as an assembled audience clap at regular intervals as a name is read out and a smiling face flashes across a screen.
Oh that? That’s just another presentation of work anniversaries, the woman I’m meeting with says, ever so nonchalantly. No big deal.