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Google is saving $1B per year as a result of employees working from home

latimes.com

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Re: Google is saving $1B per year as a result of employees working from home

#81

Post by paxys »

Google is saving $1 billion per year because of COVID-19, not because employees are working from home. This is literally mentioned in the article, but the headline is twisted (for clicks no doubt):

> During the first quarter, Google parent Alphabet Inc. saved $268 million in expenses from company promotions, travel and entertainment, compared with the same period a year earlier, “primarily as a result of COVID-19,” according to a company filing.

Even if they hypothetically continue the WFH setting for all employees indefinitely, other costs will still creep back up once the world starts getting back to normal. They will still hold conferences (and send employees to conferences). Team events and corporate retreats will still happen. Launches won't be digital-only. Advertising will pick back up. None of this is related to whether employees are at their desks in the office or not.

Re: Google is saving $1B per year as a result of employees working from home

#82

Post by seedless-sensat »

Bluecobra wrote: post #44
eli wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At google in particular isn’t the on-site food and entertainment a big perk? Seems like even a slightly worse employee retention rate could really cut into this savings.

I don’t give a rat’s behind about free food and entertainment. It’s nice, but being able to avoid the chaos of an open office and a long commute is nicer.

Honestly, I (childishly) felt dependant on the Google office perks. I didn't want to work anywhere else. It was only after the office closed, I reevaluated my priorities, and subsequently quit Google.

WFH will impact Google's retention. It is no longer a differentiated company.

Re: Google is saving $1B per year as a result of employees working from home

#83

Post by bluefirebrand »

dcolkitt wrote: post #61
beambot wrote: post #4

Google may save $1B this year on the P&L, but I can assure you that a large cohort of employees are vastly less effective (especially parents!). Time will tell how wfh pans out in terms of long-term enterprise value creation, after confounding variables (i.e. COVID) are removed. Source: A lot of my Googler friends are itching to get back into the office -- whether parents or people whose social lives centered around…

I'm a parent, who does WFH, and definitely disagree about the preferability of office work. Sure my kids will occasionally pop their heads in the door to say hello. I guess that's an occasional distraction, which has some small productivity cost. You know what hurts productivity more? The soul-crushing experience of missing out on watching your kids grow up because you're spending all day in an office or commuting. I…

> Sure my kids will occasionally pop their heads in the door to say hello. I guess that's an occasional distraction, which has some small productivity cost.

Surely not a bigger productivity cost than a coworker doing the same thing, though.

Re: Google is saving $1B per year as a result of employees working from home

#84

Post by cbozeman »

bradlys wrote: post #67
dcolkitt wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a parent, who does WFH, and definitely disagree about the preferability of office work. Sure my kids will occasionally pop their heads in the door to say hello. I guess that's an occasional distraction, which has some small productivity cost. You know what hurts productivity more? The soul-crushing experience of missing out on watching your kids grow up because you're spending all day in an office or commuting. I…

> If you work from 9-6, and commute an hour each way, that basically means you hardly see your kids at all five days out of the week. So live closer to work. Google pays enough for people to do that. The schools are usually better too.

> Google pays enough for people to do that.

No they don't.

Go look up house prices right around campus on Trulia. I would say it's shocking, but disgusting is a more apt feeling.

Re: Google is saving $1B per year as a result of employees working from home

#85

Post by PragmaticPulp »

k__ wrote: post #19
marmshallow wrote: post #6

It's hard to quantify the potential loss of productivity or collaboration caused by working from home, though. No way to find out either, unfortunately.

Yes. But arguing around $1B saved won't be easy.

> But arguing around $1B saved won't be easy.

That’s about 0.6% of revenue for Google. Number sounds big until you put it in perspective and realize it’s just noise.

If people were even 1% less productive (in terms of producing revenue) then even that $1B saved isn’t profitable.

That said, there could be other arguments for expanding WFH but saving less than 1% of expenses is not one of them. It’s likely that the savings are largely due to COVID preventing typical travel anyway, which had nothing to do with WFH.

Re: Google is saving $1B per year as a result of employees working from home

#86

Post by UncleMeat »

spurgu wrote: post #76
adamesque wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Objectives and Key Results. The things you choose to optimize for during any given planning period.

Which is arguably stupid as it makes you focus on improving specific numbers instead of your product/service. Crude example: OKR: Improve customer feedback ratings from 4.2 to 4.5+ stars Result: Customer support personnel start handing out free upgrades/bonuses/merchandise to complaining customers, resulting in many 5 stars reviews and while not solving any problems customers are facing, still achieving the OKR. Meas…

That isn't a criticism of OKRs. That is a criticism of literally any and all metrics.

Re: Google is saving $1B per year as a result of employees working from home

#87

Post by refulgentis »

spurgu wrote: post #76
adamesque wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Objectives and Key Results. The things you choose to optimize for during any given planning period.

Which is arguably stupid as it makes you focus on improving specific numbers instead of your product/service. Crude example: OKR: Improve customer feedback ratings from 4.2 to 4.5+ stars Result: Customer support personnel start handing out free upgrades/bonuses/merchandise to complaining customers, resulting in many 5 stars reviews and while not solving any problems customers are facing, still achieving the OKR. Meas…

I hate, hate, hate, hate, this argument, it's correct but it distracts incredibly from the fact _numbers still do matter_. Software engineering, remarkably, is the only industry I know of that can wave away any metrics, at all, ever, being even mentioned, by pointing out it's possible to game a metric.

Re: Google is saving $1B per year as a result of employees working from home

#88

Post by twobitshifter »

bradlys wrote: post #67
dcolkitt wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a parent, who does WFH, and definitely disagree about the preferability of office work. Sure my kids will occasionally pop their heads in the door to say hello. I guess that's an occasional distraction, which has some small productivity cost. You know what hurts productivity more? The soul-crushing experience of missing out on watching your kids grow up because you're spending all day in an office or commuting. I…

> If you work from 9-6, and commute an hour each way, that basically means you hardly see your kids at all five days out of the week. So live closer to work. Google pays enough for people to do that. The schools are usually better too.

Even without a commute, the point still stands. Young kids are usually in bed by around 7, that’s enough time to eat and take a bath, maybe read a story and that’s it.

Re: Google is saving $1B per year as a result of employees working from home

#89

Post by UncleMeat »

tyingq wrote: post #11

Guessing Google leadership doesn't believe that, since: If employees want to work remotely after Sept. 1, for more than 14 additional days per year, they’ll have to formally apply for it, according to a separate note marked “Need to know.” They can apply for up to 12 months in “the most exceptional circumstances.” The company could, however, call employees back to their assigned office at any point, the note said. ht…

The 14 day policy cited in the article is wrong. It is more than 14 days of international remote work.

Re: Google is saving $1B per year as a result of employees working from home

#90

Post by jedberg »

dougbarrett wrote: post #34
jedberg wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those parents may be a lot more productive once their kids go back to in person school and after school activities that keep them away from 8-5.

Maybe for older kids that are involved in extracurricular activities, but for younger kids that won't be the case. With a 4 year old starting pre-k this fall, I'll be lucky to have a distraction free work environment from 9-2 daily.

Pre-pandemic I had a 2 and 4 year old. The 4 year old was gone all day between 9 and 2 MWF for preschool, and we had a nanny the rest of the time.

I suspect post-pandemic it will be similar. Someone who works at Google can probably afford a nanny. It's just because people aren't comfortable with others in their home right now that it's a problem.

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