4 ms·

I wouldn't go so far as to call Google "evil" for reducing perks, but the microkitchens were a lot better before. They used to be overflowing with goodies, many

by neilk 15y ago

I wouldn't go so far as to call Google "evil" for reducing perks, but the microkitchens were a lot better before. They used to be overflowing with goodies, many perishable. After the bean-counter moment it was all dry cereal and prepackaged snacks. For me it was just a "shrug, whatever" moment. I realized that as a growing public company Google wanted to control costs more. And I might be weird, but excessive perks creep me out a little. I worry about it warping my mind too much. One day during my time at Google, I was in a grocery store and felt mild outrage at the thought that they were going to charge me for food. Once you're used to a perk, it's another fishhook the company has embedded into your flesh.

copper 15y ago
I imagine her main gripe would be that the free food was treated as a component of her compensation, and then withdrawn for the perfectly rational (but unrelated) reason of cutting costs.If someone did that to my salary (and it's happened a few times, for various reasons), that would generate a certain amount of ill-will.
- neilk 15y ago
  That was her fault. She acknowledges her naïveté in accepting this as part of her salary negotiation, but strangely clings to her outrage as well.
  - copper 15y ago
    That's true. I'd say that time is pretty much the only thing that can heal outrage about such things, though.
    - jes 15y ago
      I've found that doing some introspection helps me to deal with situations where I'm upset.
  - wisty 15y ago
    It's also their fault. They made an offer they weren't planning on keeping. And they lose the most - an irate employee is a dead loss to an organization, but still gets a paycheck (until they more on or get fired, which takes a long time).
  - mjwalshe 15y ago
    Well that's human nature people get far more upset about losing something losing $20 a day in free food feels much worse than gaining the same amount in pay.
mvgoogler 15y ago
"After the bean-counter moment it was all dry cereal and prepackaged snacks." You must be going to different MKs than I do. My experience is the MKs have always had (at least since Dec 2008, when I started) plenty of seasonal fresh fruit, pre-made salads and sandwiches in addition to the dried cereals and pre-packaged snacks. <shrug> The perks are nice but are far from the top of the list of things that I would miss about working here - working with world class people, the opportunity to work on huge problems at scale, the amount that's invested in internal tools and processes, a culture that allows and even encourages you to question management - those are the types of things that I would miss. The perks are just nice extras.
- zem 15y ago
  yeah, i've been working there a few months, and the perks are very nice, but the people i get to work with, and the deep belief in code quality, are what makes it such a pleasure to work there. (that said, i'd be seriously upset if the shuttles were taken away).

by neilk 15y ago

copper 15y ago

I imagine her main gripe would be that the free food was treated as a component of her compensation, and then withdrawn for the perfectly rational (but unrelated) reason of cutting costs.If someone did that to my salary (and it's happened a few times, for various reasons), that would generate a certain amount of ill-will.

neilk 15y ago
That was her fault. She acknowledges her naïveté in accepting this as part of her salary negotiation, but strangely clings to her outrage as well.
- copper 15y ago
  That's true. I'd say that time is pretty much the only thing that can heal outrage about such things, though.
  - jes 15y ago
    I've found that doing some introspection helps me to deal with situations where I'm upset.
- wisty 15y ago
  It's also their fault. They made an offer they weren't planning on keeping. And they lose the most - an irate employee is a dead loss to an organization, but still gets a paycheck (until they more on or get fired, which takes a long time).
- mjwalshe 15y ago
  Well that's human nature people get far more upset about losing something losing $20 a day in free food feels much worse than gaining the same amount in pay.

mvgoogler 15y ago

"After the bean-counter moment it was all dry cereal and prepackaged snacks." You must be going to different MKs than I do. My experience is the MKs have always had (at least since Dec 2008, when I started) plenty of seasonal fresh fruit, pre-made salads and sandwiches in addition to the dried cereals and pre-packaged snacks. <shrug> The perks are nice but are far from the top of the list of things that I would miss about working here - working with world class people, the opportunity to work on huge problems at scale, the amount that's invested in internal tools and processes, a culture that allows and even encourages you to question management - those are the types of things that I would miss. The perks are just nice extras.

zem 15y ago
yeah, i've been working there a few months, and the perks are very nice, but the people i get to work with, and the deep belief in code quality, are what makes it such a pleasure to work there. (that said, i'd be seriously upset if the shuttles were taken away).