Do you work in one of the world’s best offices?

With everything from baby pictures to aquariums and gingerbread meeting rooms, quirky or unusual office spaces are becoming increasingly popular for staff recruitment and retention.

This is one of the key themes of our employee benefits article in the next issue. Here’s a sneak peak.

“Innovations such as flexible working arrangements are really radically changing the nature of our workplaces and that is a really positive thing,” says research adviser in human capital and metrics at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Edward Houghton.

“We are clearly in an age now in which technology is allowing us to approach work in a very different way.”

GOOGLE’S ZURICH HEADQUARTERS

While the search engine’s headquarters are often shrouded in mystery, it is alleged that the Switzerland branch boosts a massage room, aquarium and slide into the canteen. In the UK, London employees can host meetings in a replica of a London bus or recreation of a country park – complete with rowing boat.

TREEHOUSES IN HOXTON

Last year, a pop-up tree house known as TREExOffice opened in Hoxton Square in the east end of London. As a tech hub for freelancers, the structure contained power plugs to allow time-pressed freelancers to connect their devices to the Wi-Fi.

And this isn’t the only office space in tune with the great outdoors. Mind Candy, which was behind the Moshi Monsters game phenomenon that swept the children’s entertainment world several years ago, boasts wooden treehouses and gingerbread houses as meeting rooms in its London Old Street offices.

BLAZING INFERNO

According to reports, this media agency based near Covent Garden offers a glass elevator, taking guests to a bar and pool table in the reception area.

A SWEET SPOT

Nestled in north London’s Kensal Rise, the healthy drink chain’s headquarters has earned itself the title of ‘Fruit Towers’. Sitting on synthetic grass or at one of the building’s park benches, staff can enjoy unlimited free smoothies or a free breakfast. To add to that, all new employees are also required to submit a baby picture to be displayed on the canteen wall.

For a look inside the Innocent offices, read our exclusive interview with group FD James Davenport in our next issue.