Google Employees Reveal Their Favorite Perks About Working For The Company

One Googler said that the company is a great place to see, listen to, and meet with people who he grew up reading about ("Never in my life have I met so many people with a Wikipedia page than in the last year!" he writes).

Another Googler also had only great things to say about his coworkers:

We are surrounded by smart, driven people who provide the best environment for learning I've ever experienced. I don't mean through tech talks and formal training programs, I mean through working with awesome colleagues -- even the non-famous ones.

I've worked at several other .coms and have never been more challenged and energized professionally from my colleagues than at Google. People are generally happy to work there, they come from diverse backgrounds, and almost always have an interesting story to share.

Besides being exposed to tech leaders, there are often talks with celebrities and other thought leaders.

Because Google is one of the top technology companies in the world, it's no surprise that employees are at the forefront of technology.

Googlers get to use the company's products to get work done, and beta-test products that haven't been released to the public yet.

"Chrome was my primary browser before it was announced. I've used phones, tablets, and Chromebooks before they went on sale. It's fun. I get a sneak peek at the future, and if I give good feedback or get even more involved, I can shape it as well," one employee shares.

Google has some of the best and brightest IT specialists available to help other employees get their jobs done.

The TechStop is Google in-house tech support shop, it provides Google employees guidance with all hardware and software needs and problems 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

One employee likes The TechStop so much "because it's just such a practical approach to solving the simple problems that get in the way. For example if you forgot your laptop power supply, go get another."

Even though Google's buses have become controversial with San Francisco residents as of late, they're still an amazing resource for its employees.

All the buses are equipped with Wi-Fi, so not only can employees live anywhere in San Francisco without needing a car to get to work, but they can relax, have fun, or get work done on the way there.

Googlers are free to bring their pets to work.

A former Googler describes why bringing his dog to work is so great. He says that it not only helped keep his energy up, but brought spontaneous joy to his coworkers and helped him meet people he probably would not have otherwise.

Here's his whole answer:

Though managing a dog between meetings can sometimes be challenging, having her with me meant that every few hours I needed to get outside and take a break which helped me manage my energy. In addition my dog brought a lot of spontaneous joy to my colleagues who sometimes sought her out when needing a break from an arduous task. For everyone looking out your work window to see dogs chasing each other or running after tennis balls really warms the spirit. Eventually my dog became far better known than I was and she oddly enough ended up introducing me to a lot of people I wouldn't otherwise have met. The benefits of allowing dogs in the office far outweigh the costs, and the increase in job satisfaction for those with dogs or who like dogs far outweighs the mild annoyance of those miserable individuals who somehow make it through life unaffected by wagging tails and contagious enthusiasm. If there is an easy Google benefit almost anyone can replicate, bringing dogs into the workplace is it.

Employees can give each other "massage credits" for a job well done on projects. The massage credits can be redeemed for a free 1-hour massage on campus.

Besides massages, one engineer describes what it was like when he got an injury while working at Google:

I got an injury while I was in the U.S. and needed to have three surgeries and follow-ups that in total made me not being able to work for five months. Starting with my manager and colleague, the entire company was really sympathetic with what happened to me and encouraged me to concentrate on getting healthier. When I came back an extended time I was definitely feeling stressed, but my manager set her expectations fairly, which enabled me to ramp up very quickly and continue where I left off.

It's typical for mothers to get time off from work for up to six weeks after having a child, but at Google it's another story.

New dads receive six weeks of paid leave, and moms can take 18 weeks, and employees' stock continues to vest (and they continue to receive bonuses) while they are on leave.

"The Goog even gives us a bonus, called 'baby bonding bucks' shortly after our baby is born to help with expenses like diapers, takeout, and formula during our leave," one employee writes.

When parents return to work, there are free on-site daycares for children.

Google certainly inspires a lot of loyalty with Googler's spouses. If a Googler passes away while working there, all their stock vests immediately, and, on top of the life insurance payout, their surviving spouse continues to get half of the Googler's salary for the next 10 years. There's also an additional $1,000/month benefit for any of the Googler's children.

"When I mentioned this benefit to my wife, she cried," one Googler writes. "She actually cried that the company would do that for her if something happened to me."

A former engineer really liked having showers on campus:

I love to think in the shower and frequently worked out ideas in there. The opportunity to get outside and run around if you had some energy to work off, knowing you could just shower and switch into some other clothes helped alleviate a lot of the fidgety energy I felt being pent up in a cubicle. It let me focus on work. I also felt comfortable pushing myself harder on my morning bike ride in, knowing I could shower and change when I got there.

Plus, many offices offer scooters for employees to zoom around the office on.

The 80/20 rule allows Googlers to dedicate 80% of time to their primary job and 20% working on passion projects that they believe will help the company.

The general consensus is it's the people, the business, and the technology that Google employees work with that make it worth being there.

A current employee wrote that the risk-reward ratio at Google was a great factor:

We have an amazing business that keeps growing, that customers and users love, and that provides us with more job stability than almost any other company. It's not going to make any one of us rich, but the risk-reward ratio is pretty good, and sustainable.

In addition to vacations, Google's leave policies give workers more opportunities to explore life outside of the workplace.

Googlers can take up to one three-month leave of unpaid time off, under specific circumstances. Health care benefits continue for unpaid leaves of up to three months. Googlers can use their time off to work with non-profit organizations, political campaigns and other community-oriented projects they're interested in.

Once a Googler, always a Googler. One ex-employee (read: Xoogler) says that the alumni support is one of the best perks of the job. "Xoogler groups are some of the largest support portals in the world. If you're a Xoogler, you'll know someone in any country you visit."

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