What would you say is the worst thing about your workplace? No, I don’t mean you, most-annoying-colleague-ever, although you come a close second. It’s probably your 4X4 office cubicle, where you sit surrounded by blank walls and nosy stares. No matter how much you try to make it ‘yours’, with pictures, custom mugs or pop-art posters, there’s always something clinical about these places that dissuades you from ever liking them.
In a 2003 study by Management Today, only 11% of 1000 American workers surveyed said that they were truly satisfied with their work environment and office decor. In fact, over half of the respondents said that bad decor put them off and hampered their productivity and concentration. In short, if the thought of spending another eight hours in your cubicle makes you want to turn over and go right back to sleep, you’re not alone. That’s also exactly why these pictures of VIACOM18’s new office in Vile Parle East, Mumbai, are making us green with envy. Well, that and the fact we like rubbing salt in people’s cramped-space-cubicle-induced wounds.
Just look at these thinking pods! If our conference rooms looked like this, those brainstorming sessions would be hella productive.
All six floors of the office are modeled after VIACOM18’s vision of #OneTogether. Each floor is representative of VIACOM18’s holistic image as well as of the brands under its umbrella. The idea behind it is to recognize VIACOM18 as an amalgamation, a playground for different brands that, however different and eccentric, come together to achieve a bigger purpose. All design elements, thus, are centered around this writ.
For example, here’s the installation on the first floor, which is home to MTV. Tipping off a hat to the channel’s monopoly in the music industry, it shows four human figures sharing a pair of headphones.
Similarly, here’s the installation on the floor that hosts Comedy Central. You will recognize the hat as a signature staple of Charlie Chaplin’s attire.
Not only this, but the office has a completely open plan. There are no cubicles on any of the floors, even for the leadership team. Combine that with the 37 conference rooms in the building and you can tell where all those brilliant ideas come from.
As if that isn’t enough to stoke the fires of our jealousy, here’s a look at the cafeteria, which boasts of a live kitchen. Let that sink in.
And while we have headphones for getting us through those longer than usual days, VIACOM18 has a Jam Room, Game Room, and massage chairs.
Here’s the team belting out some tunes.
Here are people letting off some steam.
And here is heaven.
And if you’ve just screamed your head off at a difficult client or just aren’t feeling that social, you can cool off here in their vertical garden.
In fact, the entire office space is an LEED Gold certified Green office for the excellent measures taken to manage waste and conserve natural resources like water.
Check out the place in all its glory here:
Well, bury me in a Y-shaped coffin, or in one of those massage chairs.
