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They didn't reduce comp, only perks, which affects him as well. If he cuts comp, I'm sure he'll do the same to himself. And honestly, swag is a great place to

by m00x 4y ago

They didn't reduce comp, only perks, which affects him as well. If he cuts comp, I'm sure he'll do the same to himself. And honestly, swag is a great place to cut. It's such a waste of material and money. Most of it ends up in the dumpster.

luckylion 4y ago
How much did they typically spend on "swag" per employee per year?
doomslice 4y ago
They cut non-business critical travel which many employees for some reason felt was a perk of the job. I heard second hand that some employees would do "office tours" just to try the lunches at the different offices (under the guise of doing some in person meetings that certainly could have been done online). Cutting that kind of wasteful travel is necessary in an economic slowdown (and even necessary before that).
- whatshisface 4y ago
  Perhaps necessary in an economic slowdown when you're a paper company with 2% margins... Let's be honest, Google does not "have" to do anything. They're just trying to grab some pennies. The interesting part is that they felt the pennies nearest at hand were in their employee perks, rather than in expanding their business. That is always a bad sign even if the company we're talking about is as profitable as Google. Not every business needs the best people working there, nor does every business need its employees to be highly motivated - it's a valid move in the extreme for Google to transition to being like SAP, but I can't believe all of the people in this thread that are defending that they have a right to do it without asking what their executives know that makes it seem so appealing.
- dc-programmer 4y ago
  That is pretty decadent actually. Financials aside, I do believe frivolous activity like that creates a culture of unseriousness
ghaff 4y ago
I admittedly have more swag both from tech events and my own company than I know what to do with. But, especially when it's individually shipped to me at home, I usually roll my eyes a bit when I get some package of random branded Chinese crap in the mail. I do have some swag I've gotten over the years that I really like but don't mail me a T-shirt or a lunch bag.
denton-scratch 4y ago
Most of it's dirt-cheap; tee-shirts and baseball hats aren't expensive. If they give you tech toys, they bought them on a heavy discount. I'd always sooner have a pay-rise, and choose my own toys.

by m00x 4y ago

luckylion 4y ago

How much did they typically spend on "swag" per employee per year?

doomslice 4y ago

They cut non-business critical travel which many employees for some reason felt was a perk of the job. I heard second hand that some employees would do "office tours" just to try the lunches at the different offices (under the guise of doing some in person meetings that certainly could have been done online). Cutting that kind of wasteful travel is necessary in an economic slowdown (and even necessary before that).

whatshisface 4y ago
Perhaps necessary in an economic slowdown when you're a paper company with 2% margins... Let's be honest, Google does not "have" to do anything. They're just trying to grab some pennies. The interesting part is that they felt the pennies nearest at hand were in their employee perks, rather than in expanding their business. That is always a bad sign even if the company we're talking about is as profitable as Google. Not every business needs the best people working there, nor does every business need its employees to be highly motivated - it's a valid move in the extreme for Google to transition to being like SAP, but I can't believe all of the people in this thread that are defending that they have a right to do it without asking what their executives know that makes it seem so appealing.
dc-programmer 4y ago
That is pretty decadent actually. Financials aside, I do believe frivolous activity like that creates a culture of unseriousness

ghaff 4y ago

I admittedly have more swag both from tech events and my own company than I know what to do with. But, especially when it's individually shipped to me at home, I usually roll my eyes a bit when I get some package of random branded Chinese crap in the mail. I do have some swag I've gotten over the years that I really like but don't mail me a T-shirt or a lunch bag.

denton-scratch 4y ago

Most of it's dirt-cheap; tee-shirts and baseball hats aren't expensive. If they give you tech toys, they bought them on a heavy discount. I'd always sooner have a pay-rise, and choose my own toys.