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Google's new culture: Perks are out. Being grateful you have a job is in

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Re: Google's new culture: Perks are out. Being grateful you have a job is in

#71

Post by nostrademons »

plinkplonk wrote: post #31
blinks wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I'm still getting free food up here in Google Kirkland, and it's great. The article seemed pretty odd to me, too.

Yes so what perks are being cut exactly? The article is vague about that.

Tea time has gone the way of the dinosaur. (Well, technically not, since the dinosaur is still standing out in the courtyard, but tea time is just gone, but you know what I mean.)

Also, Charlie's Cafe now serves hamburgers and fries. Rumor has it that when Charlie was here, he banned the use of ketchup as a disincentive to the serving of foods that require it. Googlers are better than that!

Re: Google's new culture: Perks are out. Being grateful you have a job is in

#72

Post by netsp »

stcredzero wrote: post #56
netsp wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Subtle. People choose higher pay, but are happier with jobs that have more perks. Many of them are not even costly to implement since they cost mostly time and result in higher productivity. Eg RDOs.

Great coworkers are the ultimate perk. Really, that should be the primary factor in choosing a job.

It is not often a primary factor largely because it is hard to know in advance. Also because of the above. Given a choice between salary and other things, people choose salary.

However, the "choice" is made in other ways. People stay in or leave jobs or even industries for non salary factors. Perks, culture, coworkers, pressure, interest in work etc.

While it may be hard to find cases that people choose a job because of good co workers, it's probably easy to find cases where people leave for the reverse reason.

Re: Google's new culture: Perks are out. Being grateful you have a job is in

#73

Post by netsp »

JCThoughtscream wrote: post #29

Article's rather disingenuous. Google's perks list is still Extensive - trimming services out of fiscal concern isn't the same thing as switching to a minimalistic "be glad we give you anything at all" approach. And how much of it's just PR from Schmidt to avoid looking like they're out of touch with the current economic situation?

IS it really expensive? How do you measure these things? Relative to salary? Relative to other company's perks bill?

Re: Google's new culture: Perks are out. Being grateful you have a job is in

#74

Post by bmj »

steve19 wrote: post #22
ulf wrote: post #4

Some day people will look back and pinpoint that the day the free snacks were taken away was the day that Google started to be just like every other company...

This will bite them in the ass. Wages are rarely a source of satisfaction in a job. Employees consider them simply the fair exchange for their time. The perks on the job and the company culture count for much more. I suspect that is everyone was given a 5% paycut, but the perks kept, they would be happier than they are now. (I refer in general to all employees - not just the engineers)

My employer doesn't provide many Google-style perks (we get free coffee and other drinks, quarterly lunches, and snacks, sometimes), but they do offer a very flexible working schedule. They could take away the coffee and the snacks, and I wouldn't mind one bit, but the flex time and the facilities for working remotely? I'd seriously consider a change of scenery.

Re: Google's new culture: Perks are out. Being grateful you have a job is in

#75

Post by cdibona »

JCThoughtscream wrote: post #29

Article's rather disingenuous. Google's perks list is still Extensive - trimming services out of fiscal concern isn't the same thing as switching to a minimalistic "be glad we give you anything at all" approach. And how much of it's just PR from Schmidt to avoid looking like they're out of touch with the current economic situation?

We did rework the micro-kitchens, but there's still some solidly awesome junk food there. (pocky!)

Re: Google's new culture: Perks are out. Being grateful you have a job is in

#76

Post by cdibona »

nostrademons wrote: post #71
plinkplonk wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes so what perks are being cut exactly? The article is vague about that.

Tea time has gone the way of the dinosaur. (Well, technically not, since the dinosaur is still standing out in the courtyard, but tea time is just gone, but you know what I mean.) Also, Charlie's Cafe now serves hamburgers and fries. Rumor has it that when Charlie was here, he banned the use of ketchup as a disincentive to the serving of foods that require it. Googlers are better than that!

No, Charlie actually wasn't into French Fries. They were quite rare. Even now, Fries are kind of a treat.

Re: Google's new culture: Perks are out. Being grateful you have a job is in

#77

Post by JCThoughtscream »

cdibona wrote: post #75
JCThoughtscream wrote: post #29

Article's rather disingenuous. Google's perks list is still Extensive - trimming services out of fiscal concern isn't the same thing as switching to a minimalistic "be glad we give you anything at all" approach. And how much of it's just PR from Schmidt to avoid looking like they're out of touch with the current economic situation?

We did rework the micro-kitchens, but there's still some solidly awesome junk food there. (pocky!)

And there you have it. Given that Pocky is decidedly overpriced and overhyped, the fact that Google's serving it is proof that they're still perk-happy!

Re: Google's new culture: Perks are out. Being grateful you have a job is in

#78

Post by gonzopancho »

white_eskimo wrote: post #60
axod wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as the perks are done well :) eg "Wear a Hawaiian shirt to work day" != perk

I don't know if you were making a direct reference to Salesforce.com's "Employees have fun in the office, participating in foundation/volunteer activities with their peers and wearing Hawaiian shirts on Aloha Fridays." ( http://www.salesforce.com/company/careers/culture/ ) I consider the whole Hawaiian shirt thing to be a "gateway" perk. If the company promotes wearing fun attire, then you can be sure to expect other…

I think it was an Office Space reference.

Re: Google's new culture: Perks are out. Being grateful you have a job is in

#79

Post by blasdel »

stcredzero wrote: post #54
CamperBob wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hewlett-Packard?

That level of old, but not HP. It was actually the first company to exist off of 100% software sales/licensing revenue. (Not hardware sales, with accompanying software, like IBM in those days.)

SPSS?

Re: Google's new culture: Perks are out. Being grateful you have a job is in

#80

Post by JCThoughtscream »

netsp wrote: post #73
JCThoughtscream wrote: post #29

Article's rather disingenuous. Google's perks list is still Extensive - trimming services out of fiscal concern isn't the same thing as switching to a minimalistic "be glad we give you anything at all" approach. And how much of it's just PR from Schmidt to avoid looking like they're out of touch with the current economic situation?

IS it really expensive? How do you measure these things? Relative to salary? Relative to other company's perks bill?

Good question! I've no idea. Maybe by how often it's used?
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