Google

The atmosphere in Google's offices can best be described as "college-like." It's as far from the Dilbert-esque corporate boredom as you could possibly get.

The food was great, and while I stayed in the office for long hours every day, my work schedule didn't feel oppressive to me, simply because it was such a nice work environment. The meals, microkitchens, and enjoyment of taking a break and walking around the building, finding random pool tables, porch swings, and napping pods made staying in the office an enjoyable experience—not to mention the challenging and interesting project that I was working on.

My biggest complaint with Google is linked to the college-like atmosphere. There is not enough space in the Mountain View office in which I worked. Our room had 16 people in it, when there should have been no more than nine. To someone like me who is easily distracted by extraneous noise and conversation, I found it challenging to filter out the distractions of overhearing so many other conversations. I found it necessary to wear earbuds with good noise insulation, and to pipe white noise through my earphones, in order to concentrate well enough to be productive.