The CEOs without offices – a new wave in office design and workplace culture
From Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, many modern CEOs are now opting for space among their colleagues on the ‘shop floor’.
Free from walls, these leaders of industry often have a meeting room close by available for their private conversations. But more often than not, they are out there like everyone else in the open office, setting the tone for a respectful, collegiate and hierarchy-free workplace.
When it comes to designing offices to boost employee culture and encourage an environment of innovation, this new shift toward the office-free CEO connects with employees both young and old. It could very soon become the rule, not the exception in workspaces around the world. Judging by the successes of the organisations who follow this model, this could be just what the modern workplace needed.
Here are the workspaces of a few famous CEOs:
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook
A graffiti covered desk is where the world’s most famous CEO spends his days at Facebook’s California HQ. His meeting room behind his main workspace, Mark sits among Facebook staff everyday.
Pic source: Mark’s Facebook page.
Jan Koum and Brian Acton: WhatsApp
These CEO’s who recently sold their messaging app to Facebook for a rumoured $19 billion sit together in a ‘docking station’ set-up of screens and white boards.
Pic source: Daily Mail
Alan Joyce: Qantas
At the company’s Sydney headquarters, the well-known head of Australia’s flagship airline shares an open office space with fellow Qantas executives.
Find out more about how he runs Qantas: 60 minutes interview with Alan Joyce