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Hot, Exhausting, Fun Perks

Operations Engineer
Current Employee
Has worked at Google for 4 years
August 10, 2013
Lenoir, North Carolina
2.0
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookApproves of CEO
Pros
  • Entertainment! Yes, there is a workout room, pool tables, ping pong tables, Foosball tables, Xbox 360s, Playstations 3s, Wii!

  • FOOD!! Ice cream freezer, cookies, snacks of all sorts, gourmet and normal beverages free for the taking. Breakfast and lunch are all homemade from chefs, with nothing ever frozen.

Cons

Entertainment?? Really?

There isn't any time to take advantage of all the entertainment mentioned above unless you sacrifice your lunch break or one of the 15-minute morning and afternoon breaks.

Sacrifice resting after doing my job??? NO WAY!! See below.

With the amount of sweat and bodily exertion, when lunch comes around, it's all you can do in your one-hour lunch to eat, drink, and down two more Gatorades to keep hydrated.

I'm in great shape, but the jobs performed by Operations Associates and Engineers, such as myself, require extreme physical exertion in order to keep up.

My hands are no longer hands but machines in need of desperate repair. I have callouses so thick that I cannot feel my fingertips. My hands ache terribly each day and are so mangled it feels like I have an extreme case of rheumatoid arthritis, or perhaps I do from all the manual labor!

HOT!!

The Data Center is kept at a temperature so hot that about 30 minutes into working, I am wanting to take a break to grab some Vitamin Water or any water for that matter.

There are no water fountains, and there is only one area, which is typically far away, where employees are able to store water that must be in a CamelBak thermos.

Every work area is extremely hot unless you're lucky enough to have a desk job.

Employees?

It's interesting that the majority of actual work is done by workers who are not true Google employees.

Temporary workers outnumber permanent Googlers by far.

These individuals are interviewed for an entry-level position by Google Management but are actually employed by a temp agency.

These poor saps are underpaid, overworked, and all are fighting for a permanent position that most will not obtain.

They do the same work as many Operations Associates and Engineers but receive no promise for their hard work and are unappreciated by management.

Management is not allowed to give temporary workers any type of feedback as to their performance and are unable to pull them aside to tell them they are doing a good job, nor room for improvement.

Advice to Management

Place water fountains on the DC Floor.

Give employees more breaks to prevent bodily injury, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Communicate with your employees more frequently to receive feedback, rather than having only monthly meetings about our goals.

Allow employees to submit anonymous suggestions, like this advice text box.

Allow temporary employees the same supervisory advice Googlers are given, and give them advice on ways to improve.

Don't be a jerk!

And don't be evil!

I love Google, but for lower-level employees, it is easy to become burned out both physically and mentally.

Take this into consideration and take care of your employees, as well as the temporary workers who work just as hard.

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