Do you really have to wear those hats when you join Google? How long do you have to wear them for?
My first question as well. I guess they pay quite well...
Why did I leave Google or, why did I stay so long?
41–50 of 840 posts
Re: Why did I leave Google or, why did I stay so long?
#42A lot of interesting things here, but also the usual "billionaire complaining about all these entitled employees" vibes.
I'm no billionaire, but I am an Xoogler and his descriptions of employee entitlement and misaligned incentives are spot on.
I find the idea that the best paid people in the industry are entitled to be a bit rich.
Clearly there is unmet demand for quality engineers or you wouldn't be paying that much and allowing perks to dictate the balance of life equation so royally.
Maybe we're not paid enough.
It's like you're welcome to pay less, watch the talent dry up and move on.
I'm sure you'll be fine?
Doesn't Google still make roughly 150x what their employees are paid?
Re: Why did I leave Google or, why did I stay so long?
#43Another "leader" who complains about employees wanting work life balance and they are extremely entitled. These are the type of managers you want to avoid. I'm sure many Googlers are happy you left.
For me it was the opposite, i was thinking, wow, this is the guy i would like to be working with. But i'm not the one who fits this description:
You need to be able to answer the "what have you done for our users lately" question with "not much but I got promoted" and be happy with that answer to be successful in Corp-Tech.Re: Why did I leave Google or, why did I stay so long?
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
The whole thing is one red flag after another, but the biggest standout to me is the author being annoyed coworkers are taking personal days. That’s what they’re there for! When I don’t want to work, I use the benefit that lets me not work.
Try managing a team where people take last minute personal days all the time, without having to give advance notice or a reason.
TBH, who cares? Waze is a traffic mapping thing, right?
It's not like they're managing a nuclear reactor or staffing an ER.
Re: Why did I leave Google or, why did I stay so long?
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
The whole thing is one red flag after another, but the biggest standout to me is the author being annoyed coworkers are taking personal days. That’s what they’re there for! When I don’t want to work, I use the benefit that lets me not work.
Try managing a team where people take last minute personal days all the time, without having to give advance notice or a reason.
If you treat people like resources I imagine its hard when they dont function like you want them to, consider treating them as humans (like you and me!) and you might just understand that they need some unexpected time off now and then.
Re: Why did I leave Google or, why did I stay so long?
#46The author has a hard time telling apart what works, vs what aligns with his personality and energy levels.
Not everyone who is an excellent contributor needs to be willing to work on weekends or have that 'go-getter' energy.
The optimal path is one of optimizing for the path of least resistance, while this fella seems intent on rushing ahead, head first, until something breaks, or as he calls it, gets 'worn down'.
Of course if you lack the brains to be able to comprehend what the path of least resistance is, the next best thing is to be extra energetic and try everything until something sticks.
That's this guy in a nutshell. This type of approach to life is often destructive and abusive, what the author calls having a 'short fuse'. These extra energetic folks need to be reigned in by people who have a working brain, then the extra energetic people can be excellent. This can be seen in sports, where a group of intelligent people take extra energetic maniacs and mold them into championship teams.
Re: Why did I leave Google or, why did I stay so long?
#47A lot of interesting things here, but also the usual "billionaire complaining about all these entitled employees" vibes.
Yea, billionaires complaining about millionaires is a phenomenon in valley and vice versa too.
Re: Why did I leave Google or, why did I stay so long?
#48> “ It is practically impossible to fire someone for the basic reason that you don't need this role any more or there is a better person out there or just plain old - you are not doing a great job. This neuters managers and does not lead to great teams, driven by mission, pushing each other to do better.”
Ugh, this refuted myth again?
The “insecure, bad leader who blames subordinates for their own failures” meter is going off the charts with this one.
Re: Why did I leave Google or, why did I stay so long?
#49A lot of interesting things here, but also the usual "billionaire complaining about all these entitled employees" vibes.
I'm no billionaire, but I am an Xoogler and his descriptions of employee entitlement and misaligned incentives are spot on.
Nothing he is saying is wrong, but this is entitlement as a VP : blaming everything on "corporate" rather than accepting your responsibility as a leader to fix those problems.
Re: Why did I leave Google or, why did I stay so long?
#50Another "leader" who complains about employees wanting work life balance and they are extremely entitled. These are the type of managers you want to avoid. I'm sure many Googlers are happy you left.
Yeah, how dare they think that they're entitled to hobbies or a life outside of their job? How dare they take a day off because they're not feeling well and want to take care of themselves?
FFS.