AMA Tours Facebook Austin

This week we toured the Austin corporate office of Facebook (FB), a company that has acquired Instagram, Whatsapp, Oculus, and a number of other, smaller organizations in recent years. Despite the numerous brands FB has purchased, the company maintains a strong, distinct corporate culture that was obvious to all the AMA members who took part in Friday's tour. After being issued guest badges and escorted through the door, we were led to one of the company's open concept pantries to grab mostly healthy, organic snacks and drinks to enjoy while walking around. Facebook's office actually has pantries stocked to the brim with free food on every floor, as well as several dining halls that serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner at no cost to employees. Not only do they offer vegan and vegetarian options, but they have a full coffee bar, spa water selections, nitro cold brew, and beer on tap. Before we ate the lunch Facebook generously provided our AMA chapter, we continued touring the other floors of the office.

While employees have traditional work stations with hardwired computers, they also have reservable rooms that allow employees to teleconference from any office location, nursing rooms for new mothers, faith rooms to practice any faith, and cozy corners decorated to look like the ultimate millennial living rooms. Each little hallway nook features a painting or 3-D art display created by the office’s in-house artists and staff members are encouraged to conduct business in whichever space they feel most comfortable around the office. The environment is aimed at being comfortable and welcoming by also placing numbered balloons around the office to celebrate employees' anniversaries of working at the office. There are also no-charge vending machines in the halls full of bike tools for cycling commuters and adapters/chargers for techies. Between strategy sessions, those on payroll can bond over games of ping pong or FIFA in the office game room, while they also have access to the building 24/7 should inspiration strike outside of traditional office hours.

Our tour ended with a lovely Texas Independence Day themed lunch in FB’s dining hall complete with BBQ, brick-oven pizza, and Texas-shaped cookies. Overall, the tour was a wonderful experience that gave AMA members a better understanding of the company culture, explore FB’s Austin office, and an opportunity to enjoy many photo ops. It seems like a great place for young adults who wants to work for a company that encourages healthy, environmental-conscious lifestyles, exercises an extremely relaxed dress code, and provides you with life’s daily essentials like food in the pantries and even toothbrushes in the bathrooms.