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That was definitely for their benefit of their workers rather than the greater society, and on the whole doesn't seem much different than the larger Silicon Val

That was definitely for their benefit of their workers rather than the greater society, and on the whole doesn't seem much different than the larger Silicon Valley companies of today. Take Facebook for example. They have a large utopian-esque campus for the benefits of their workers. In this campus they have bikes for getting around, free bars and restaurants (and an ice cream shop), an on campus doctor, bicycle repair shop, and in fact have somehow managed to convince CBP and USCIS to visit their campus to conduct Global Entry and Visa interviews instead of the workers having to travel to an office. Couple this with the free employee shuttle buses for employees to travel from their homes to the campus, and it seems very much like the "Model village" you described. EDIT: Here is a link to an article (with photo tour) of their Menlo Park campus: https://www.businessinsider.com/facebooks-disneyland-inspired-campus-2013-10 https://www.businessinsider.com/facebooks-disneyland-inspire...

jstarfish 8y ago
> and in fact have somehow managed to convince CBP and USCIS to visit their campus to conduct Global Entry and Visa interviews instead of the workers having to travel to an office. Not to detract from your point, but this is a common service for employers above a certain size-- not some shady negotiation. My last few (not even close to FAANG) employers have all offered this perk.
- ConceptJunkie 8y ago
  None of these things are shady. The parent was just using them as examples of companies trying to make their employees' lives better as a means of helping to retain them.
- nathankunicki 8y ago
  I'm not trying to suggest it's shady, but it's clearly an employee perk that is not available to society at large. It's another effort by the company to make an "exclusive" community that benefits their employees and as a result helps retain talent for as long as possible. None of it is a philanthropic effort as originally suggested.
rargramble 8y ago
And these exist mostly to keep workers on campus, so that they don't need to go home as much.

jstarfish 8y ago

> and in fact have somehow managed to convince CBP and USCIS to visit their campus to conduct Global Entry and Visa interviews instead of the workers having to travel to an office. Not to detract from your point, but this is a common service for employers above a certain size-- not some shady negotiation. My last few (not even close to FAANG) employers have all offered this perk.

ConceptJunkie 8y ago
None of these things are shady. The parent was just using them as examples of companies trying to make their employees' lives better as a means of helping to retain them.
nathankunicki 8y ago
I'm not trying to suggest it's shady, but it's clearly an employee perk that is not available to society at large. It's another effort by the company to make an "exclusive" community that benefits their employees and as a result helps retain talent for as long as possible. None of it is a philanthropic effort as originally suggested.

rargramble 8y ago

And these exist mostly to keep workers on campus, so that they don't need to go home as much.