Dear blind community, I have been following you for a couple of months now since I started interviewing/negotiating, very helpful! I finally decided to accept Google offer partially due to the childhood impression of it being the 'happiest place to work', with whimsical charm and all mystical perks, etc. Went to the orientation this past week and I am surprised to find the much-talked-about food to be mediocre at best (any decent dessert runs out in the first 15 minutes, I found absolutely nothing appealing in many cafes, micro-kitchens are worse than my previous company not in tech), the haircut is not free, massages are once a year and very few other interesting perks. Apparently, I am also not alone in feeling this way in our noogler group. While I understand if the coding itself is interesting then those are very small things. Just a bit disappointed in that respect. I wonder if anyone who have been in the company for longer may have some insights on how did things change? (did they disappear or maybe there was never those rumored perks?) Addition: thanks to all the replies, the purpose of this post is not to say it's necessarily a bad workplace in my standards (that I'll figure out in the coming weeks when real work kicks in). Just that I'm surprised how different it is from the media image one can get from outside the industry and I'm genuinely curious whether this is a result of evolution or those things never existed.
I was always amazed by people making 250+ k and caring about free lunches and haircuts.
Well...true it doesn't actually matter...I just always thought this is about making life easier and believed it's a good investment on the company's part (on top of 250k+ paycheck a piece, those things cost very little and can make people happier with more time to work)
LOl
“Happiest,” charm, etc. is all fluff for suckers. How can any WORKPLACE be described in those terms. You exist to help the company deliver better returns to shareholders. That’s not bad per se, but not what I associate with charm and happiness. What really matters in any job, other than a means of financial support for your personal life, is that you’re working with people you respect and enjoy being around. The perks are a distant second. As to why the food doesn’t rock your socks off, good food does not scale. The chefs are working under significant constraints.
Love your comment and your username, dingaling
Google whining about food is ridiculous. Invite homeless people once for a while in the campus , they will be more than thankful. I have heard the food that can still be used is thrown out escorted by security in garbage cans that is padlocked. Sundar should cut off all free food and serve only dosa.
If the hefty salary doesn’t make you happy, nothing else will. Kids these days
Can't people care more about other things than $?
Yes they should. But with the salary you get, you can buy food and still have deep pockets my friend. Tomorrow you’ll feel lack of a maid service at home so will ask if company provides it or not. 🤦♂️
You interviewed at the wrong one. You should try Facebook. Food is good! Though you have to work harder in comparison to Google.
Interesting, I'm surprised so many people knew FB has better food/perks from both fb and other companies. WLB is not a major concern since in my last job I worked till past midnight almost every single day.
FBs food is so-so. The smoothies and soft serve are awesome though.
Go to Facebook!
Come to Palantir. We have free weekly massages, haircuts, laundry, and the best dessert chef in the valley 🍰
Hey I interviewed there! You guys were the only one (out of 6 I did initial phone call) which I didn't get! Guess best perks don't like me...
Varies a lot by office. Where do you work? Small offices tend to have the better food imo. Not sure about perks over the years, doesn't matter a lot to me so haven't followed closely.
Thanks! I did orientation in MTV but do work in a smaller office, will check it out next week when I get there! (I thought MTV is the best since it's what's in the movies and all, so I guess there's still hope for better). Doesn't matter that much to me either, just slightly disappointed after all the years of hearing about those things.
I worked there years ago. The food was the best then! This was before fb became a well known name and goog was indeed the best in food snacks and perks. After I joined fb I occasionally missed the great good at google so I went back for lunch a few years ago. Boy was I disappointed. I think they try to save perks money now. But people as old as me would tell you what you thought of google used to be true. You missed it though. BTW fb cafes are so much better now compared to google. Hope it lasts.
Hi Moonris, Thanks for the answer, very helpful! Well guess I didn't catch the good time to enter tech... I indeed observed that in many ways they are a bit 'cheap' on the food/snack/perks, which doesn't match what I thought was part of the culture. I fear whether along with the food there are other things in the culture, more fundamental ones, which are gone too... Hence this post. Guess I'll have to wait and see... How do you like Facebook other than food?
Go to FB, much better cafes and perks. Although the WLB will make you kill yourself.
Is dry cleaning free?
just checked: No... I haven't found info on laundry yet
We have dry cleaning services but they’re not free ☹️