Apple's new headquarters, the Apple Park, is reportedly causing trouble to employees who keep smacking into glass walls.
The $5 billion Apple Park is a huge ring-shaped office divided into workspaces called pods, separated by glass walls from the floor to the ceiling. It has a futuristic design inside and out and is considered a masterpiece that brings to life a vision of the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. It's the creation of famous architect Norman Foster.
Glass walls and glass doors may create a feeling of openness, but they may also be a pain, literally. It seems that distracted employees often fail to see the glass panes and smack right into them, even getting injured in some cases.
Employees Keep Walking Into Glass Walls At Apple Park
According to a new report from Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter revealed that distracted Apple employees often walk about with their nose buried in their iPhones and they keep walking into the glass walls.
Such incidents are reportedly so frequent that some members of the staff even started sticking Post-It notes to the glass walls so they'd be more visible. The notes did not bode well with the building's aesthetics, however, so they had to go, but there are reportedly other markings in place to make the glass more visible.
Apple reportedly faced at least two cases of staff smacking into glass walls and suffering injuries that warranted emergency service. MarketWatch obtained public records that showed that in both cases the employees only suffered minor cuts and did not need hospitalization.
Is Apple Breaking The Law?
The whole matter may seem funny at first, brushing it off as just some distracted employees not watching where they're going. However, there might be a more serious issue at stake here, and Apple's new headquarters may not meet some specific workplace regulations.
As MarketWatch points out, California law clearly states that companies should protect their employees and ensure they don't risk walking through glass. To avoid such hazards, clearly visible markings should be in place, or the glass should have some barriers.
Data from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, however, shows that Apple has received no citations, which means that employees likely did not report the issue.
If Apple is indeed violating California law, it could eventually face fines, as well as other actions that would force it to take measures to ensure employees' safety.
