Episode 4.2 What is it like at Google Office

Hi friends! Welcome back! In the last episode we talked about the journey of joining Google. In this episode, I am going to talk about light and fun topic: What is it actually like working at the office. Then we are going to touchbase on a more serious note. Lets start with the obvious ones!

Most of the office stories you have read about Google offices are true. I have visited several Google offices, including London (my base), LA, Tokyo, İstanbul, Singapore and others. Here the main things Google Offices, at least the big ones, have.

Almost all offices will have breakfast and lunch buffets with range of healthy and delicious dishes. Some will have dinner and light meal bars as well, such as burritos, handmade sandwiches,etc. All offices have microkitchens with fridge full of healthy drinks and sodas, with cupboards full of nuts, fruits, healthy snacks and not so healthy snacks. All offices will have tea and coffee and big ones will have cafes and baristas with free coffee. Some offices will also have cooking class kitchens with chefs.

Almost all offices have a gym and most have classes and instructors. Additional cool thing I like is Gooogler to Googler sessions. If you have a skill, such as martial arts, dances, yoga — you can create scheduled classes and teach to other Googlers. There are also hobby clubs like running club, basketball or football clubs, surfing clubs, cycling club etc. And yes, there is a cycle storage for your bike. Obviously all the offices have fully set shower rooms with shampoos and towels. Some offices even have washers and dryers.

Offices have places to wind down, such prayer and meditation rooms accommodating different faiths and beliefs and gaming rooms with pool and table games as well as gaming consoles. There are also massage rooms either with therapists with a subsidised cost or high end massage chairs and beds. Little eye rest is key, so classic sleeping pods are available at every office. If you are feeling a bit under the weather, some offices have small clinics with nurses and GPs.

Other benefits include stocks, weekly TGIFs and various events, networking opportunities, WFH options, study support and study leaves, sick leaves, access to therapy, health benefits and insurances, etc

All in all sounds amazing, but! everything would be for nothing if company culture and people did not make you feel good. I am going to be honest in very big majority of the time, I am very happy to work with the people I work and to do the job I do. Are there moments when I am frustrated, annoyed, anxious? Of course! We cannot expect 100% happyness all the time. Overall, people are what we call Googley. When you search for term Googleyness, it tells you the following: Googleyness encompasses the following key traits: Amicability; courteousness. Being able to see the big picture; caring about important causes. Curiosity; a learning mindset. Commitment; focus. Conscientiousness. And I can tell people do care, people are curious and focused. At the end of the day you have probable some of the smartest people in the building and you have a lot to learn from those around you. As I said, it is not a fairytale and you may have people with different styles and approach to work than you, but here is why the Google Culture is important. It bring people of different backgrounds and experiences under the same umbrella. That culture is not perfect at times, which is why in the last 2 and half years, I have been here it always evolved and will keep changing. A lot contributes to this change, including outside factors such as Covid and economic downturns, which led to other events and tough decisions. One of those were the layoffs. It was hard, it was sad and a lot of people were confused and frustrated. I am not going to comment here on why and how and when, but I will say this. The Covid made us stay at home, which was amazing for digital businesses, but post-Covid return to life was equally real. The layoffs happened and maybe it could have been done differently, but it did happen and I am sure those colleagues are doing well, there are smart and amazing people. What it did for the company culture was that it opened discussions. More open discussions about us, our goals, our commitments, our relationship to our work and more feedback than ever was given to leadership.

Actually, what about leadership? Who are they and are they good? Well, define good? I will tell you facts and you make your mind.

• Do they listen? Yes, most of the times. They may not agree with you or not have answers that you are looking for or agree with, but it is guaranteed that you will have an open door for discussion.
• Are they open to change? I would say so, otherwise we would not be the top multiformat media platform after all these years. We will always ask for better, more efficient, more human-centric products and processes. Not all will be done and we may feel frustrated sometimes (we do from time to times), but what I have seen is that in the long-term most of the asks find its place and if not, the stock prices tell us about it. At the end of the day it is a for-profit company, just happens to be one of the best ones to work at.
• Is there anything to make better? Of course and there are always will be. As far as it stays truly open to feedback and change, I personally believe it will get better. The change is the only thing that is constant.

Well, on that note, I will end this episode and will see you in the next one, where I talk more about changes. Changes from entrepreneurship to corporate and change from Edinburgh to London.