Google is often credited for its ability to hire and churn out superstars who, along their Google journey, rake in such perks as stock options, free food, yoga balls, and supreme, manic happiness. But a recent story, which surveyed a sampling of former Google employees, paints a different picture.
According to an article on WebGuild.org called "Google Dreams Turn to Nightmare for Many," for most people, the gorgeous Google life is primarily fantasy. Rather, the real life of an average applicant and new hire is far less fulfilling and more bureaucratic.
A couple of the myths about the good lives of Google employees were easily debunked, at least in part because of the lousy economy. While many people flocked to Google in hopes of getting rich or making themselves recruitable, employees today are finding it's no longer that easy: "Many confess that they did come for the money. They hoped to get rich quick and retire but today it has become a living nightmare as they struggle to get by. With the stock down and no sign of recovery, they are demoralized and trapped," states the article.
The Googlers we typically hear about are those few who started at the company and took their earnings to launch their own startups... or those who went on to take executive positions at companies like Facebook and Yahoo, and even the high ranks of the Obama administration.
Less often are the stories told about the Google employees who, according to a recruiter, make between $30,000 and $45,000 per year, and find themselves stuck inside a company run by top-level micro-managers.
The situation at Google is a tad different today than it was years ago when cash was more readily available and disposable. Today, in a challenging economy, Google has seen its stock price get slashed in half, which has disappointed shareholders. In March, it had to reprice nearly 8 million stock options in order to keep employees happy.
But, according to the WebGuild piece, many employees are not happy and reported feeling "demoralized." One person likened life inside Google to being "swallowed by a giant borg."
It starts with the hiring process. According to most of the Googlers surveyed for the article, it took several months to get hired. Further, writes one former Google employee, "if Larry Page is still reviewing resumes, shareholders should organize a rebellion. That is a scandalous waste of time for someone at that level, and the fact that it's 'quirky' is no mitigation."
Unfortunately, unhappy employees can't easily walk away. The skills that used to make Google employees valuable are outdated in the new world of social software, and simply being a Googler is not a good enough credential to get a job in a bad economy. While Google's hiring and management process may not differ greatly from other companies of its stature and size, the inner-workings of the Googleplex certainly seem to operate in stark contrast to the hype that has made the company what it is today.
In these recessionary times, companies are finding it hard to keep up their promises. So bonuses & benefits are being revised. And many are laying off. Since Google is doing neither, Googleplex is still a preferable place to work, at least by relative comparison.
As soon as I read something that seems to go against the common flow, I immediately go to the person's sources to form my own opinion. Sometimes people just want to disturb things, other times they have a grudge, and there are times when they need to show others the truth. The only way for me to decide for myself is to check the source.
After checking the source, I think the real take-away from all this is "Never trust hype". It's an old, old lesson but people keep forgetting it.
If you couple that with doing what you love, it will make a big difference. If you do what you love, the various downsides that come with every job won't phase you. And if you never trust the hype, you'll have an easier time in being sure you're doing what you love.
One of the emails I read in the source mentioned how the person wanted to change the world, just like all her other employees. To that, I wonder if the individual had considered HOW to best make that change?
I want to make a difference too, and in some ways it's a lot easier to do so in a smaller company. I might not change the world, but I make a difference to the people around me.
Not just Google but this tends to happen at most companies growing too quickly. Individuals are 1) trying to position themselves in terms of personal power or 2) exploiting the company's resources for themselves. Either way, they eventually think they are Gods. This is definitely true at government agencies/institutions and colleges & universities.
Most individuals, despite their abilities and skills, tend to react. The problem with reacting is dependence whereas the benefit of proacting is independence.
And with "The American Dream", one is already dreaming if thinking other people will provide that dream. The American Dream is what you CREATE and PROTECT.
Richard W Swinney - IT Consultant, Rare TECH Appeal
If you read Tom Watson's tome, "The IBM Way", you will understand that altruism is not the reason why good employers create a great place to work. Watson realized that happy employees are more loyal and productive, resulting in higher profits.
Like so many technologies that borrow from the past, Google took "The IBM Way", Miscrosoft's "Hire Only the Best", and remixed them in a way to foster innovation.
INNOVATION. While I have no doubt that many brilliant but naive college grads swooned over jobs at Google for the financial gain, most of the "Googlers" I have met wanted a real chance to innovate.
Google's 20% program, the democratic method of participation, and the number of products and features evolving from the program is different. This is were a lot of innovation happens. Ideas go into a bin, employees select and work on them. Strangers with a common interest become project teams; better ideas get more support; and some make it to market.
Google offers the opportunity to innovate, with real-time peer evaluation, and the possibility to create the next big thing.
Google's workplace amenities are great. They make it comfortable, easy, and, to a degree, fun to work long hours. For people that love what they do, it makes it easier to do more of what they love. For folks just looking for a stepping stone, it sets an expectation. If you want a work life balance, it offers convenience.
The challenge for Google is to maintain the culture in challenging times and as the company grows.
Interesting post Nicole. When perspective employees learn that Google is no longer a road to riches, will the company lose its luster? Perhaps a better question is: Will Google lose potential employees now that the cat is out of the bag, or is the economy so bad at this point it doesn't really make a difference?
Thanks for the interesting post. I was just watching one of the "Extreme" shows on TV last week that profiled the Googleplex's around the world. Needless to say, I was impressed with the facilities and seemingly "work hard, play hard" culture which existed. The facilities were amazing and inviting, but I did find myself wondering just how many hours one was expected to work each day if they make sure that everything you ever need is right there.
Anyway, I have to wonder if the symptoms that are being described here are in any way unique to Google right now. It may be difficult to find a company at this time in which the employees do not feel down-trodden and/or depressed. In an economy such as this, we all feel the pain in some way. Those who have lost jobs or live with the daily fear of losing a job are obviously under enormous pressure. However, those who do survive cuts are often left with "survivors guilt" as well.
The corporate culture left behind in this type of economy will suffer regardless of how strong it was to begin with. People tend to focus on the bad things about a company - sometimes as a psychological tool to soften the blow if they do get shown the door. In uncertain times, worry is contageous and destructive. A culture which in normally positive and employee-centric can quickly erode to a dollars and cents, bottom-line oriented organization. It is the equivalent to the "fight or flight" instinct in humans and is difficult to control in desperate times. I am not taking any sides and have no particular love for Google, I just know that from an organizational behavior/corporate culture perspective this is no surprise and is most certainly not an isolated incident.
Nicole! It looks like Google is really a clon of Miscrosoft only in the Internet buisness. In Douglas Coupland Microserfes is written just about the same. People, working 60 -80 hours a week, making $ 25-35 000 a year and checking of the stock market rates dream how to get away. Sad, very sad.Though, may be these are just romours that Google employers spread, so no one wants to work in Google and they can keep their places in crisis:).
Google's search methodology has always been deeply mired in mathematics. If you're talking about working on the core technology, then you're probably right. Google is a lot of detail work now, most likely. Not a lot of core work. Of course, Google is trying to branch out with stuff like Google Docs, and services like Google Reader. So there *are* places to grow in the group. And there are lots of other efforts.
So it's really a question of what you're seeking to do. If you're chasing the money, so to speak, then you're headed for disappointment, much like the workers to which Nicole referred. If, however, you think of Google as a company that's headed places where you think you can have a place, then it's going to take patience, and (frankly) success isn't guaranteed. Since when is it ever? But, like I stated with the subject title I chose, do something you love doing. It really matters.
I'm sure Google was this kind of place you describe Rob -- back a few years. But they've moved on, and what used to be exciting has become rote. No one bothered to update these poor applicants.
It may also be that the fashion of working as you describe can only last awhile and in certain environments. People grow up, get married, have families. They're simply not as willing or able to work round the clock as they may once have been.
To attract the ardent fanatics fresh from college you need to have something really new and interesting for them to do. Google seems to have outgrown that capability.
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