If you look at the pictures I can't say I'm surprised. It doesn't look like a nice place to work. Two long desk, concrete floor, it looks very temporary.
If my employer weren't providing me with a proper monitor, as appears to be the case in these pictures, then I wouldn't be coming into the office either.
(Actually, if my employer weren't providing me with a proper monitor, I'd be refusing to work on the grounds of the occupational health and safety risks of working primarily from a laptop for an extended period of time.)
Automattic does provide monitors for all employees. In fact, they will arrange a session with an ergonomics consultant upon hiring you to set up a proper home office, as well as give you an allowance to buy a proper desk, chair, keyboard, etc.
At the San Francisco office, there's a table with cinema display monitors you can plug your laptop to, they're just out of frame on this picture.
I'm 100% sure the people on this photo are not using the external monitors because they don't want to. Some people prefer a consistent workflow everywhere (be it at home, the office, Starbucks or at the beach) and you can't quite get that with an external monitor.
I was also laptop-only for quite some time, being an early adopter of the Retina display MacBook. Found switching between @2x and @1x to be really uncomfortable, and 4K monitors weren't really a viable option initially. (Due to cost, limitations in graphics cards and video interfaces)
I tend to work on multiple large monitors most of the time.
But thinking back on it, some of the most productive programming time I've ever had happened on a netbook with a 10 inch screen. For some reason, having limited workspace made it much easier to stay focused and avoid distractions. Maybe because it was impossible to have my attention drawn away by the HN tab open on my second monitor. :)
Attention and focus are a bit different for everyone, though. I could imagine many people feeling unbearably cramped if they were working on a small screen all the time.
I'm surprised as well, though I see that trend where I work as well. People who have a monitor sitting on their desk, but they never use it. They only use their laptop. For myself, I love desktop space.
I've changed over time for some reason. I have a nice dual monitor, mechanical keyboard setup in my office at home. But I really got into the habit of working on my laptop--probably because of a lot of travel. These days, I'm more likely to just work on my laptop at home and not even in the office. At work, I have an external monitor and keyboard I could use but I never do.
My employer is legally required to supply me with an external monitor, keyboard and mouse and height adjustable desk and chair. If I worked from home, they would also be responsible for ensuring that I have these things, and use them. This is precisely as you say because it's a health and safety risk to work on a laptop for extended periods of time.
It's not the lack of monitor, it's the fact that the monitor and keyboard are inseparable. If one is well-placed, the other isn't. You can fix this with either an external monitor or with a laptop stand and external keyboard.
maybe i'm addicted to something I shouldn't be, but I much much much prefer laptop/keyboard/screen setup to external monitor/keyboard setup.
I use an external monitor from time to time, but I'm too mobile to have that be a "default". With the laptop setup, I have consistent experience wherever I'm at.
That said, I'm typically reclining (feet up on desk, leaning back, sitting in easy chair, etc) for most of my laptop time, and perhaps the experience is different from just have it on a desk most of the time?
Posture (neck angle) and arm/wrist placement are really hard to get right in the situations you describe.
I saw a physiotherapist at one point and the best advice I got was to get someone to take a photo of you in your "usual" position. You can analyze that yourself or bring it to your family doctor at your next appointment if you are curious.
Laptop use and poor posture go hand in hand. An external keyboard can also work as it allows you to move the laptop display to a better position, but if you're going to do that you might as well go all the way and get a decent monitor too.
I'm a freelancer who works at home, but I bought my own monitor a long time ago. As well as the chair, keyboard, and other peripherals I wanted.
Actually I got the monitor during a time I was an employee. But I knew that such gigs don't last forever and I sure didn't want to cope with packing it up and sending it back.
I think I agree with you, even after reading all the other responses to your comment.
The long desks are what kill it for me. That's one seating arrangement that I just don't think I can get on board with unless forced. I worked like that for some projects in college and I always felt so distracted, and I really disliked what seemed like a complete lack of privacy and isolation.
