Working at Google - Part Three

After seeing the last part, you may ask: Do they actually work at Google? All those extra activities may take a great amount of time, what is the company's business in keeping people occupied not doing the actual work, not sitting in front of a computer? What those activities really produce are the ideas, each brainstorming session is very productive -- if only we could talk about the brainstorming sessions -- working at Google is one big brainstorming. It is well-known that the communication is the key for good teamwork. On the other hand Googlers may have some personal affairs to talk about in private, there are also cabins for private chats, which are well isolated.

What the company does for its employees to be productive when they do the real job? Firstly, and most importantly, they arrange the office environment to be friendly, relaxing and free of any distractions. Secondly, they make each workplace as comfortable as possible, most computers have two big-screen monitors and there are comfortable office chairs. Thirdly, as part of distraction-free environment, every technical problem is solved by the tech support. In many other companies, people who know how to fix their computers are supposed to do so as the part of their job, not at Google. Here's a photo of work stations in Google Zurich:



Speaking about office environment it is worth noting that the offices are in fact fabric tents inside buildings:



You ask why? Here is the answer (via http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20060619/behind-the-glass-curtain):
Wilkinson's group designed an ingenious system of tented glass offices that allows daylight to stream through the window-side offices and into the center of the floor while preserving acoustic integrity. The white canopies are made of an acrylic-coated polyester, quilted together with polyester-fiber fill. They help reflect light into the rest of the office and are topped by a neat unobtrusive unit that contains lighting, HVAC, sprinklers, and an air diffuser. At intervals panels of glass are glazed in color combos that identify each office neighborhood.

I'm sure that you would like to work in such an environment. Maybe you know about other companies which take care of their workforce to the extreme?

What is the best place to work for you, your home or the office?

What in your opinion makes an office environment good for productivity?

What do you think about open space and hot desking?

Working at Google - Part Two

In the second part of the presentation I would like to present the work culture at the Google offices. To get started, let's take a look at the company headquaters known as the Googleplex in Mountain View, California:

Yes, what you see there are the solar panels on the rooftops:

Now, let's take a look inside:

As you see on the video it's hard to imagine an office perk, that Google doesn't offer. Hungry? There are a few cafeterias on the campus, which serve food from many places in the world as Google looks for its employees wordwide, and a great part of them came from overseas just to work there. Apart from the food, there are also doctors, hairdressers, gyms, massage rooms available on site absolutely free. Google really values its workers and cares for their health and well-being.

What's really distinctive is the way how the meetings look like. To maximize productivity, company does its best to ensure that Googlers are creative and innovative. To get the most of it, meeting rooms are colorful, filled with a lot of objects that may make people curious at first, such as lava lamps. There are also huge whiteboards and colored markers for people to share ideas with each other.

Google, in fact, is not only the Googleplex, there are number of offices around the world. How they look like? Let's take a look at Google Zurich, Switzerland:

Among many usual perks such as free lunches, access to the gym and on site tech support, this office has one distinctive feature: going downstairs is the far too inefficient, most Googlers use slides and a firepole instead.

Here are some questions to discuss:

What are the perks that you find most valuable?

Would you like to work in better environment with more amenities or for better salary?

Do you think that special features or rooms that encourage people to talk and brainstorm are a necessity? Isn't a plain water cooler or photocopier enough to make such gatherings?

Would you like to work for Google, even if it means the need of relocation?

Does money give happiness?

In my presentation I would discuss one of the fundamental questions of human life, namely: "Does money give happiness?".

We know the world without money only from the early chapters of historical books.

Money was created just to facilitate the exchange of goods for goods. Since the money was created, human life changed. Over the years, it’s role grew, and now we can’t live without it.

When I was little I wanted to be a king. It seemed to me that the king is someone who does nothing, who is very rich and does not worry about anything. Now I know that it isn’t true.

It is clear that I am not against money, because without it, now I can’t imagine life.
After all, I can’t just ‘drink knowledge’, I can’t ‘warm with a hot feeling’ and I can’t ‘have a good sleep at soft trust’. The ideas are beautiful, but the daily maintenance costs.

Money paves our ways in life that we can’t keep with knowledge or group of friends. It is widely known that rich people usually have an easier life.

Today people are often evaluated not by their words and deeds but the thickness of their wallet. Wealth allows you to get a better job, learn in a better school, even get better friends. Among older people the most important is to have a house, a car and holidays. Among young ones you must have brand clothes, the newest mobile phone and one of the best computers.

The poor are often rejected by their environment, they just can’t keep "living. " It is more difficult for the poor to learn and they have to work harder even if they are talented. In our times money is crucial, it is time now to decide whether money gives happiness.

It is clear that you can’t buy sincere love, faithful friendship and good health. Easy to give examples here. We read and hear about the beautiful and rich, I mean mostly actresses and musicians who shun from friends and fans. They are objects of jealousy and admiration. However, rarelydo we hear that someone from the "aristocracy" celebrates the twentieth anniversary of a happy marriage. When their popularity fades away and fortune disappears they die in obscurity.

I think friendships are more durable and relationships are more accurate among poor people.

I think I proved that money really doesn’t give happiness. Therefore, let us go the other way – Can money cause unhappiness? I would like to quote literary examples. We all know such works as “ The Miser” Moliere and “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. The second example shows a profound experience and the transformation of the miser -Ebenezer Scrooge to take place during the night of Christmas Eve. He is a loner who is not fond of people and cares only about multiplying his wealth. We talked about it the previous term.

Of course money is needed . Some people will be utilizing it in a wonderful way. This reflects the movie that you know for sure. It shows the story of a man of extreme poverty who is successful only because of stubbornness, dedication, ambition and love ... to his son. I am talking about "The Pursuit of Happiness. " It is a story based on facts.

And the last issue. Think… the most common cause of arguments is money. Money is a reason for marriage and family break up. Criminals are willing to hurt and kill to get it. Money gives only momentary pleasure, for example, from buying something they have dreamed of.

The worst part is that I've posted photos of the comic though, it contains in itself the truth, unless I’m wrong?

Money is like a drug - addictive and leads to the bottom. Don’t you think so?

Working at Google - Part One

How do you see your dream job? What do you value the most? Good salary? Nice working environment? Meeting great people? Or maybe some additional perks that employer would give you such as medical care, or access to hi-tech gadgets? There are companies that

offer it all!

The Fortune Magazine publishes the list of the best employers called "100 Best Companies to Work For" each year. Among such well known names as Dreamworks, Mercedes-Benz, Cisco, Hasbro and Starbucks there is one IT company well known for its web search engine -- Google. Actually it is in the top five of this ranking for the fourth time in a row.

Here is a nice video from 2007 when Google achieved the top of this ranking:

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/google-named-the-top-employer/62b5c0w

What makes this web search service provider so special? Everything begins with a simple philosophy -- "Don't be evil". Google has very specific criteria for hiring people -- not great work experience, zillions of professional certificates, etc. What makes a Googler (as Google employees refer themselves) is his or her passion and dedication for the job, work environment and -- most importantly -- for the people.

You can read more about Google philosophy at:

http://investor.google.com/corporate/code-of-conduct.html

To give an example of "Don't be evil" philosophy: Each Google employee may spend 20% of the working time (fully paid of course) to work on his or her own project, which may have nothing to do with company's current development strategy. This is especially important for innovative knowledge workers, as it stimulates creativity and helps to avoid burnout, while keeping the team in shape and focused. On top of that, the company benefits by regularly having a few new products and services available. The most notable recent example of "20 percent time" at work is the Japan Crisis Response Page:

http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

A lot of Googlers, firstly, those at the Tokyo office, but soon many more from around the world, devoted their time to setup a page which has up-to-minute information on the disaster and allows searching for missing persons.

How Google became one of the biggest players on the market, while keeping the great majority of its services, including the trademark search engine absolutely free, and not willing to charge for them in the future (that would certainly be evil!)? The answer is very simple -- well-designed business model which fits neatly to all those services. Only two of them make the most of Google earnings. They are: AdWords and AdSense, both aimed mostly at other businesses (which usually are willing to spend more than individuals). AdWords are simply the sponsored links which appear at the top of the search results and are highlighted. AdSense is a context-aware way of placing relevant sponsored links on web pages.

I would like to discuss:

What is in your opinion the best company to work for?

What makes a good employer and what is important for you in your career?

Is it possible to not be evil and still earn money not only in IT?

Do your current job have any special features that encourage you to be loyal employee?