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Discussions around <keyword id="19956983" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mental-health" source="keywords">mental health</keyword> at the workplace reignited in the last few days when the death of two corporate employees made headlines. And it is no secret that without having a healthy mind, you cannot be productive. Ample studies in the last few months have pointed out the importance of mental health and it is important to talk about these issues. Today (October 10) marks <keyword id="23481940" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Mental-Health-Day" source="keywords">World Mental Health day</keyword>. It is an occasion for raising awareness about mental health issues and combating social stigma. Celebrated globally since 1992, this day encourages education and advocacy for mental well-being, reminding us that mental health is a crucial aspect of overall health, especially in the workplace. <h2>Ex-Google employee experienced stress, anxiety </h2> <keyword id="23300967" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nicholas-Whitaker" source="keywords">Nicholas Whitaker</keyword>, who worked with <keyword id="19902762" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Google" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Google">Google</keyword> for 13 years, told Business Insider India in an interview that he also experienced the pressures of a high-stress work environment. “During my time at Google, I faced significant stress and anxiety. It became clear that no matter how successful you are on paper, if your mental health is compromised, it diminishes your quality of life and ability to fully engage at work,” he said. He added that <keyword id="19925554" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mindfulness" source="keywords">mindfulness</keyword> played a crucial role in his recovery, saying that mental health is not just a personal issue but a workplace concern that should be treated with equal importance as productivity and performance. <h2>How to protect your mental health? </h2> To help others protect their mental health, Whitaker shared several key practices that can be game-changers. 1. Set Boundaries: Understand your limits and communicate them clearly. This includes managing your workload, taking time away from work, and setting boundaries around communication. Protecting your time and energy is essential. 2. Practice Mindfulness or Meditation: Mindfulness was a lifesaver for him in managing corporate stress. Even dedicating a few minutes each day to meditation can help you stay grounded and aware of your feelings, allowing you to make necessary adjustments before burnout sets in. 3. Take Breaks: In high-pressure environments, it’s easy to feel that there’s no time for a break. However, regular breaks—even just a short walk or stepping outside—can significantly enhance your mental state and boost productivity. 4. Find a Support System: Having people to talk to, whether colleagues, friends, or coaches, can make a considerable difference. Building a supportive community can combat feelings of isolation, which often exacerbate mental health issues. 5. Align Work with Values: Stress and dissatisfaction often arise from a misalignment between personal values and work. Reflecting on what truly matters to you and making small shifts toward work that aligns with those values can lead to greater fulfillment. To conclude, Whitaker said, “Mental health is not a luxury—it’s essential for personal well-being and professional success. When organisations invest in their employees’ mental health, they cultivate a culture where people feel supported, valued, and empowered to excel in their work.” As we observe <keyword id="23486492" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-mental-health" source="keywords">World Mental Health</keyword> Day, it’s crucial to remember that prioritising mental well-being can lead to a more productive, innovative, and fulfilled workforce.

World Mental Health Day: Ex-Google employee shares tips on protecting mental health at workplace, says he experienced stress and anxiety

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with <keyword id="23300967" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nicholas-Whitaker" source="keywords">Nicholas Whitaker</keyword>, who worked with <keyword id="19902762" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Google" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Google">Google</keyword> for nearly 13 years and got laid off in 2023. He is now running a venture of his own. It has been edited for length and clarity. I joined Google over a decade ago and it became much more than just a job. At that time, Google had approximately 40,000 employees, and the atmosphere felt very much like a startup. Teams were nimble and cooperative, offering ample opportunities for personal and professional growth. There was an unmistakable sense of optimism and potential in the air. It was my first experience in the tech industry, and I viewed that period as a significant phase in my development. I gained valuable skills and benefited from the early support and mentorship of my colleagues and leaders. Perhaps this is why the experience of being laid off hit me so hard. I remember the moment vividly. It was 3 a.m., and I received a ping on LinkedIn from a colleague asking if I was safe. Initially, I thought there had been some kind of emergency—a shooting or perhaps a natural disaster. But when I checked my personal email, I discovered the real reason for their message. I found a short, impersonal email informing me that my role had been eliminated. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113637185" title="Fired from Google after 13 years of service, he used his severance to build a business around helping others with their careers" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>I was laid off without a warning </h2> What shocked me the most was the lack of warning. After my colleague's message, I checked my work email only to find out that it was locked out of my phone and laptop. I then checked my personal email and there it was, a short email informing me about my layoff, providing basic instructions about returning company property and navigating unemployment. The next few months were spent sending back my laptop, badge, and other Google gear. Along the way there were multiple errors and miscommunications from the team that made it all even more uncomfortable. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113619411" title="Rename home Wi-Fi, leave badge at office: Ex-Amazon employee reveals tricks used by employees to not work from office" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> There was only one text message from my former manager, asking how I was doing a few days after the layoff. Beyond that, I heard nothing from my old team. It was such a brutally impersonal and inhumane process. <h2>If you have been laid off, you are not alone</h2> If you’ve been laid off, the first thing I want to say is: You’re not alone, and this moment doesn’t define you. When it first happens, it can feel incredibly personal, but <keyword id="19916567" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="layoffs" source="keywords">layoffs</keyword> are usually about business decisions, not your individual worth or performance. After spending over a decade at Google, I know how disorienting it can feel. But over time, I realised that this was also an opportunity to rethink what I really wanted from my career and life. Here are a few pieces of advice that helped me navigate this uncertain time: Give yourself space to process what happened: It’s okay to feel angry, sad, or uncertain. Let yourself experience those emotions, but try not to let them dictate your next move. Take the time you need to recover emotionally before jumping into something new. Reframe the situation: As hard as it sounds, a layoff can also be an opportunity to reassess what you want from your career. For me, the layoff became a catalyst for starting my own venture and reconnecting with what truly matters to me. This is a chance to explore new possibilities that may have been overshadowed by the stability of a previous job. Invest in your health: It’s easy to get caught up in the stress of finding the next thing, but make sure you’re taking care of your mental and physical health. For me, mindfulness and self-care were key to navigating this period. You can’t pour from an empty cup, so make sure you’re refilling yours. Reconnect with your network: Don’t be afraid to lean on your network for support, advice, or job leads. It can feel uncomfortable, but remember that people are often happy to help. Reach out to former colleagues, mentors, and friends, and let them know you’re in transition. Don’t rush the next step: Sometimes, the instinct is to jump into whatever comes next to avoid the discomfort of uncertainty. But if you can, take a beat and make sure your next move aligns with your values and long-term goals. Use this time to reflect on what you want from your next role or career path. Explore new avenues: If you’ve ever thought about starting your own business, freelancing, or shifting industries, now could be the perfect time to explore those ideas. That’s what I did with Changing Work Collective, and it’s led me to a more fulfilling and purpose-driven career than I ever had before. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113800304" title="'Microsoft employee gets $300,000 for working 15-20 hours a week’: X user’s post goes viral" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Ultimately, a layoff is just one chapter in a much larger story. It can be a painful experience, but it’s also a chance for reinvention and growth. Stay grounded, take care of yourself, and trust that you have the resilience and skills to navigate this and come out stronger on the other side.

I was fired from Google after 13 years of service. Here's what I learnt on how to deal with layoffs

<keyword id="19902762" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Google" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Google">Google</keyword> laid off thousands of employees in 2023 and many found their lives turned upside down with just an email notification. After all, when you have given your heart and soul to an organisation, it is never easy accepting the fact that you are being asked to leave at a moment’s notice. The situation becomes even more complicated when you have been with the company for more than a decade. Something similar happened with <keyword id="23300967" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nicholas-Whitaker" source="keywords">Nicholas Whitaker</keyword>, who had been working with the company since 2010 and found out about his <keyword id="20118388" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="layoff" source="keywords">layoff</keyword> abruptly. <h2>The 3 am email bringing bad news</h2>“My layoff experience was traumatic. I got an email at 3 am to my personal email, that I only found because a colleague pinged me on Linkedin in the DMs to ask if I was ‘Ok’ and if I was ‘safe’,” Whitaker told <keyword id="21390875" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Business Insider India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Business Insider India">Business Insider India</keyword> in a conversation. He added that when his colleague enquired about his safety, he thought it was a “shooting or some natural disaster.” In other words, he didn’t even imagine that he was being laid off from Google. He then revealed that when he checked his work email, he discovered that he was locked out of his laptop and phone. He then checked his personal email and there it was, the “short and impersonal email” that told him that his role at Google was being eliminated. <h2>The layoff process was uncomfortable</h2>When Google announced large-scale layoffs last year, the company made a lot of headlines for handling them in an unprofessional manner. In March 2023, several Google employees had even written an open letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, asking him to deal with layoffs in a better manner. Whitaker, narrating his own experience, shared with Business Insider India that after receiving the dreadful layoff email at 3 am, he spent the next few months completing formalities to get his payments that were due. He said, “It took all of the next several months for me to mail back my laptop, badge and any gear that I had that was Google property. (I also had to) navigate unemployment, health insurance and get all of the documentation I had to submit to "self Offboard" and to receive payments that I was supposed to get.” “Along the way there were multiple errors and miscommunications from the team that made it all even more uncomfortable,” he said. Whitaker also noted a complete lack of communication and empathy from his old team at Google. “I got a single text message from my prior manager asking how I was doing a few days after I was laid off, but otherwise no one reached out to check on me or offer assistance from my old team. Overall I found the process to be brutally impersonal and inhumane,” he said. <h2>Experience at Google</h2>But was Google always “inhumane” in his experience? Not really. There were some amazing days too and Google, according to Whitaker, was a different company when he had joined. “My initial experience working at Google was like it was a completely different company. I started as a temp, contractor and then a vendor for Google back in 2010, and at the time I think it was something like 40,000 employees. It had a real startup feel to it. Teams were agile and collaborative, and there was a lot of room for growth. It may have been specific to my team and org, but it felt like you had a lot more room for experimentation and autonomy to make decisions, and failure wasn't seen as a bad thing, but a necessary part of innovation,” he said. Whitaker also said that a “class system” was there at Google, especially since he was a TVC (Temporary, Vendor and Contractor). “As a TVC you wouldn't be included in many of the activities and learning opportunities that full time employees had, and didn't get invited to extracurricular activities. There was a real bias towards culture at the time, and words like Don't be Evil, and be Googly were often used.” However, in general, he added that the atmosphere was positive and full of possibilities. “Colleagues generally were very supportive, collaborative and encouraging to work with. I was excited as this was my first time working in big tech, or Corporate America and I saw that period of time as a real coming of age for me. I learned how to be a professional at Google and appreciated all of the early guidance and support that I got from colleagues and leaders.” <h2>Helping others</h2>It has now been over a year since Whitaker was laid off. He now has his own venture and helps other people navigate their careers. Talking about what motivated him to kick-start his own venture, he said, “After 13 years in big tech, the last few years in particular being particularly difficult due to toxic teams and leaders, I didn't want to jump right back into that kind of experience again. A year before getting laid off, I had experienced a bad <keyword id="19956983" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mental-health" source="keywords">mental health</keyword> crisis that was the result of workplace bullying, gaslighting and toxic leadership. "I wanted to help others avoid and recover from similar situations and create a community where people can find mutual support and coaching on how to best navigate their careers in a conscious way. My severance after working so long at Google allowed me to fund the launch of my coaching business, and eventually ‘changingwork.org’." <keyword id="23300968" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Changing-Work" source="keywords">Changing Work</keyword>, Whitaker explained, is his way of addressing a deep need in corporate life — helping people rediscover their sense of purpose and alignment in their careers and finding ways to build more conscious leaders and businesses. He added, “What makes this so transformative for me personally is that it allowed me to step into a role where I could integrate all the lessons from my own career—especially the parts that were hardest for me. During my time at Google, I saw firsthand how high-pressure environments can lead to burnout, anxiety, and a disconnect from our true selves.” The recent tragic death of a young CA at Ernst &amp; Young (EY) employee in India has turned the spotlight on toxic work cultures prevalent in many high-pressure industries. Broader debates on burnout, mental health struggles, and unrealistic expectations in corporate environments in the workplace have occupied social media platforms. This incident serves as a painful reminder that companies must prioritize <keyword id="21050364" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="employee-well-being" source="keywords">employee well-being</keyword> and mental health to foster sustainable, humane workplaces. And makes the work that people like Whitaker are doing all the more important. “I’ve spoken publicly about how mindfulness practice, coaching and therapy literally saved my life during some of my darkest times at Google. Changing Work is the culmination of that journey. It’s not just about helping others find balance and fulfillment—it’s about creating a space where I can live those values every day,” he concludes.

Fired from Google after 13 years of service, he used his severance to build a business around helping others with their careers

Dear Reader, Another week draws to a close, and there’s much to discuss across the business and tech world. As <keyword id="19981455" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ratan-Tata" source="keywords">Ratan Tata</keyword>’s passing sends ripples of emotional reflection throughout India, former employees of <keyword id="20050933" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Cliq" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Tata Cliq" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Tata Cliq">Tata Cliq</keyword> opened up about how his leadership values shaped their careers. Meanwhile, the electric vehicle space saw turbulence as <keyword id="19897349" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola-Electric" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ola Electric" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Ola Electric">Ola Electric</keyword> faces rising customer complaints and a noticeable dip in market share—raising questions about the company’s once-stellar reputation. Additionally, with World <keyword id="19956983" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mental-health" source="keywords">Mental Health</keyword> Day just behind us, we put the spotlight on the importance of mental well-being in high-pressure environments through insights from a former <keyword id="19902762" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Google" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Google">Google</keyword> employee. And something seems to be off with the GenZ folk as they begin showing off their <keyword id="23513751" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="smartphone-pinkies" source="keywords">smartphone pinkies</keyword>. Join us as we dive into these stories and more, keeping you informed on the latest shifts in business and more. <h2>Top stories from the week </h2> ’My parents received a letter thanking them when I joined’: Ex-Tata Cliq employees recall Ratan Tata’s company culture Former employees of Tata Cliq recall how Ratan Tata’s compassionate leadership and values were ingrained in the company’s culture. Many employees never met him personally but felt his influence through practices that valued not only the workers but also their families. For instance, a former Cliq employee shared that her parents received a letter of thanks when she joined Tata Cliq, reflecting the deep respect the <keyword id="19924335" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Group" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Tata Group" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Tata Group">Tata Group</keyword> held for its employees. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/article/my-parents-received-a-letter-thanking-them-when-i-joined-ex-tata-cliq-employees-recall-ratan-tatas-company-culture/articleshow/114118229.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> The Ola Electric Saga: Are surge in complaints and declining market share a wake-up call for <keyword id="19914967" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhavish-Aggarwal" source="keywords">Bhavish Aggarwal</keyword>? Ola Electric, once dominating India’s electric two-wheeler market, is now facing a surge in customer complaints and a sharp decline in market share. The company has been under fire for long wait times, unresolved technical issues, and customer dissatisfaction. The government has also issued notices for potential violations. Once holding nearly half the market, Ola’s share has fallen to 27%, with competition from legacy automakers Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors rapidly increasing. Is this a wake-up call for Ola’s founder Bhavish Aggarwal? <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/the-ola-electric-saga-are-surge-in-complaints-and-declining-market-share-a-wake-up-call-for-bhavish-aggarwal/articleshow/114120828.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> <keyword id="19919711" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gen-Z" source="keywords">Gen Z</keyword> folk are showing off their ‘smartphone pinkies’ — and the images are horrifying A new trend called “smartphone pinky” is gaining attention, with Gen Z users flaunting bent or dented pinkies caused by holding their phones for extended periods. This quirky phenomenon is becoming a viral sensation on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. While some celebrate their “iPhone pinkies” as a badge of honour, medical experts warn that these habits could lead to more serious conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome and nerve damage. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/gen-z-folk-are-showing-off-their-smartphone-pinkies-and-the-images-are-horrifying/articleshow/114070817.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> The Nobel Prize-winning ‘godfather of AI’ says he’s glad one of his students had a hand in ousting Sam Altman from OpenAI Geoffrey Hinton, a newly awarded Nobel laureate in physics and the “godfather of AI,” expressed pride that his former student, <keyword id="21285071" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ilya-Sutskever" source="keywords">Ilya Sutskever</keyword>, played a role in ousting Sam Altman from OpenAI. Hinton noted that Altman prioritised profits over AI safety, diverging from the original vision of OpenAI. Though Sutskever later expressed regret for his decision, Hinton’s remarks highlight the growing tensions within the AI industry. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/artificial-intelligence/news/the-nobel-prize-winning-godfather-of-ai-says-hes-glad-one-of-his-students-had-a-hand-in-ousting-sam-altman-from-openai/articleshow/114077932.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> World Mental Health Day: Ex-Google employee shares tips on protecting mental health at the workplace, says he experienced stress and anxiety On World Mental Health Day earlier this week, former Google employee Nicholas Whitaker opened up about the stress and anxiety he faced during his 13-year tenure at the tech giant. He talked about the importance of setting boundaries, practising mindfulness, and aligning work with personal values to maintain mental well-being. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/article/world-mental-health-day-ex-google-employee-shares-tips-on-protecting-mental-health-at-workplace-says-he-experienced-stress-and-anxiety/articleshow/114072724.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> <h2>Top web stories</h2> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/travel/india/webstories/top-dussehra-getaways-from-delhi-escapes-for-the-festive-weekend/slidelist/114046437.cms">Top Dussehra getaways from Delhi: Escapes for the festive weekend</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/travel/india/webstories/vande-bharat-sleeper-trains-first-glimpses-show-snazzy-colours-and-comfortable-furnishings/slidelist/114068864.cms">Vande Bharat sleeper train’s first glimpses show snazzy colours, comfortable interiors</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/food/webstories/9-ways-to-curb-your-sugar-cravings-for-a-healthier-lifestyle/slidelist/113851201.cms">9 ways to curb your sugar cravings for a healthier lifestyle</a>

Weekend wrap: Ratan Tata's legacy, Ola Electric's woes, smartphone pinkies and more

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Google engineer said survivors of the recent mass layoffs cried in meetings the day of the cull.</li><li>Two engineers told Insider some remaining staff were worried about further job cuts.</li></ul>Some Google employees who survived the recent cull of around 12,000 staff cried during meetings the day layoffs were announced, a serving employee told Insider.In video calls that day, "some of the folks were sobbing, they were drying their eyes," the employee, an engineer for Google on the East Coast, said.On January 20, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google parent Alphabet, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs-jobs-alphabet-work-employees-staff-sundar-pichai-2023-1">announced layoffs</a> equating to about 6% of the company's global workforce. Pichai told remaining staff they could work from home that day to process the "difficult news."The East Coast engineer, who has worked at Google for more than 10 years, requested anonymity to protect his employment but his identity is known to Insider.He said that when surviving staff ask each other how they're doing, some joke they're alright because they still have their jobs. People nod to each other with a shared sense of understanding when passing each other in the office, he said: "It's not the typical nonverbal interaction there used to be before. Now it's a meaningful nod."<h2>'Just another big company'</h2>An engineer on the West Coast who's been with Google for more than 10 years told Insider surviving staff were "angry and sad.""We truly did believe that Google was something different," he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity to protect his employment but his identity is known to Insider."This is just another big company," he said. "Now, anything that used to feel special or like you really were a part of a mission — not just a big money-making machine — that feeling is I think gone."Both engineers said some remaining employees were worried about further cuts.The East Coast engineer said Google employees were often headhunted but didn't leave because of the perks and sense of job security — but perks had been gradually been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cracks-down-employee-travel-happy-hour-cut-costs-2022-9">"stripped down"</a> and the layoffs meant employment didn't feel as secure any more, he said."Now what is left to distinguish this company from any other company, any other recruiter that contacts us with a good offer?" he added.Laid-off Google staff in the US <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs-alphabet-jobs-pichai-email-slap-in-the-face-2023-1">woke up on January 20 to an email saying they'd been cut</a>, though some found out through messages from concerned colleagues.Nicholas Whitaker, who worked in Google's people development team before being laid off, told Insider he saw messages from colleagues that morning asking if he was okay and thought there'd been a shooting or a natural disaster.As access to company systems was cut off on January 20, laid-off staff were forced to reach out to colleagues by other means to say goodbye.The West Coast engineer said surviving staff were given no information about who'd been let go, aside from a "cannot connect" message on Google's internal communication system if they tried to contact them.Several laid-off staff told Insider they'd been overwhelmed by offers of help from current and former staff, such as offers to share résumés. <a href="https://xoogler.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xoogler</a>, a community of former Google staff, has organized <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScZXPj_0sUSPvLw9YJMxcXIMpQOf4qwfUKF-10HwJBEE9VPYQ/viewform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mental-health and immigration-advice sessions</a>. Whitaker said he was offering free meditation and mindfulness sessions."I miss my colleagues," Jarrod Ahalt, a laid-off security engineer, told Insider. "We've been trying to support each other as best as we can."Google didn't respond to Insider's request for comment.Were you recently laid off by Google or another tech company? Contact this reporter at gdean@insider.com.

A Google engineer says survivors of the mass layoffs cried in meetings the day around 12,000 of their colleagues were culled

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Google told laid-off workers that they could apply for other roles at the company.</li><li>Most staff are being paid until March 31 but their access to internal systems has been cut off.</li></ul>Laid-off Google workers say they're frustrated about being treated as external candidates for jobs even though they're still on the payroll.Google announced on January 20 that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs-jobs-alphabet-work-employees-staff-sundar-pichai-2023-1">it was laying off 12,000 workers</a>, or 6.4% of its workforce. Most US workers were told that they would immediately be blocked from work systems but would still be paid until March 31, seemingly to comply with the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/layoffs/warn">WARN Act</a> that requires employers to give advance notice of mass layoffs.Staff would be given severance packages from March 31 if they can't find another role internally, Google said."If you are unable to secure another position by March 31, 2023 your last day at Google will be March 31, 2023 ... which provides you with at least 60 days' pay and related benefits from the date of this notification," Google told many of its US staff when it notified them of their termination.But laid-off workers told Insider that they are having to apply for roles as external candidates."It seems like we would have to apply as if we were not in the company while still technically employed by the company," a software engineer who'd been at Google for less than six months told Insider.One affected employee who'd worked in Google's gTech division for about two years told Insider that the laid-off workers didn't have access to internal systems, including one known as Grow, which includes learning tools and internal hiring. Laid-off staff are not eligible for roles only posted for internal candidates, "so we have a much more limited pool of potential roles," she said.A laid-off technical program manager told Insider in a message that if she'd had more notice about the layoffs, she could have applied for other roles within Google while she still had access to its internal hiring systems. She said she'd moved across the country when she started her job at Google less than a year ago.Google's external candidates site has hundreds of job listings for roles including <a href="https://careers.google.com/jobs/results/?q=Software%20Engineer">software engineers</a>, <a href="https://careers.google.com/jobs/results/?distance=50&amp;q=Technical%20Program%20Manager" target="_blank" rel="noopener">technical program managers</a>, and <a href="https://careers.google.com/jobs/results/?distance=50&amp;q=analyst">analysts</a>. Google <a href="https://careers.google.com/how-we-hire/">says</a> many of the roles recruit on a rolling basis."We're basically being treated like outsiders who never worked at Google," Paul Baker, a laid-off video production manager, told Insider via email."I think it's a pretty clear signal that they aren't interested in helping us find new roles at Google and that we're on our own," Nicholas Whitaker, who worked in Google's people development team, told Insider."It is frustrating," the former gTech worker said. "We're still technically employed by Google for all intents and purposes, but we don't have any access to any of the internal systems aside from the offboarding site."Applying as an external candidate is "not a fun process," she said. Google is known for its <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/17/heres-how-many-google-job-interviews-it-takes-to-hire-a-googler.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">rigorous interview process</a> and admits that most staff applied for other roles at the company before getting an interview. The technical program manager said that it took her about six months from applying to getting an offer.Candidates are also restricted to three job applications per rolling 30-day window. "This limit gives our hard-working staffing team more time to focus on your application and helps you focus on the jobs that are the best match for your talents," Google <a href="https://careers.google.com/how-we-hire/">says</a>."Our chances are slim to none to get re-hired," Baker added.Google did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Laid-off Googlers say they're frustrated about being treated as external candidates for internal roles even though they're still being paid

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Google is cutting back cafe opening hours and reducing how often staff can get their laptops replaced.</li><li>But staff say that cuts to their perks have been going on for years.</li></ul>After years of shaping the trend of luxurious company perks, Google has been stripping back its freebies amid a huge cost-cutting push. While some of the policies — like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cuts-perks-leaked-memo-google-cost-cutting-2023-3">cutting back its cafe opening hours and reducing how often staff can get their laptops replaced</a> — are recent developments, current and former Google workers told Insider that the company had slowly been cutting back on perks and discretionary spending for years."Google was one of the pioneers of the work culture where the employees are pampered," an East Coast engineer who has worked at Google for around 15 years told Insider. "Then slowly the perks have been going away. They were being stripped down gradually."<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-free-food-staff-scraps-buffet-us-offices-catering-alphabet-2021-4">Some temporary cuts, such as changes to catering, a pause on free massages, and the closure of its on-campus shuttle buses and fitness centers</a>, were necessitated by the pandemic, but workers told Insider that the changes went beyond this.Many of the current and former workers spoke to Insider on the condition of anonymity to protect their employment and because they worried it could hinder their job search. Despite the cutbacks, they said they were largely still happy with the perks and benefits offered by Google."Even now that a lot of the perks have gone away, I still think this is an amazing place to work," the East Coast engineer said. "And it's still like Disneyland, despite the changes.""As we've consistently said, we set a high bar for industry-leading perks, benefits and office amenities, and will continue that into the future," Ryan Lamont, a Google spokesperson, told Insider.<h2>Food, travel, and socials have been cut</h2>Google has been credited with starting the trend of free, high-quality corporate catering. Some staff, however, told Insider that the food options at Google appear to have been pared back in recent years."Food was the greatest perk at Google," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs-terminally-ill-mom-carer-job-heartbeat-paul-baker-2023-1">Paul Baker</a>, a video producer who was laid off in January, said. He said that Google's food budgets were "scaled back" towards the end of the 2010s and it stopped offering as many vegan entrees.A laid-off Google Cloud sales engineer said that since the pandemic he had noticed that the food options Google offered at its Cambridge, Boston office were "significantly reduced from their pre-pandemic heights," with little variation between weeks. Other current and former workers, however, disputed these claims and said the food at their offices was still high quality.In recent months, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cracks-down-employee-travel-happy-hour-cut-costs-2022-9">Google has curbed its spending on employee travel</a>, restricting it to "business critical" trips.In the past, for travel between two of Google's biggest offices on the West Coast, "it was just assumed if you had a good reason to go, do it," an engineer who's been with Google for more than 15 years told Insider. "Now, we need permission."A laid-off sales consultant told Insider that travel budgets had been "very tight," with travel for client engagements even being questioned. "It was a struggle to get certain things approved, even lunches, dinners or holiday gifts for the clients," they said. "That was definitely never a problem in the past."Team socials and events were cut back, too.Baker told Insider that his team had previously had annual outings. "Then once the pandemic hit, any and all parties ceased," Baker said. "We had a 2022 outing planned in Texas, then it was redacted."A laid-off engineer told Insider that even during his short stint at Google – just over a year – he had noticed team budgets for discretionary expenses being cut, such as meals with colleagues.He said, however, that his team valued bonding and mental health "and would keep allowing us to expense reasonable occasional dinners." Another laid-off Googler <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-engineer-laid-off-spidey-senses-severance-email-cold-isolated-2023-1">previously told Insider</a> that "fun budgets" had been slashed and perks became "less interesting" during his eight years at the company.A former technical program manager told Insider that she was surprised by the "lack" of company merchandise she got when she onboarded at Google in 2022. "I got a really cheap jacket and backpack, that's all," she said.<h2>Holiday parties were largely scrapped</h2><div type="image" title="Google offices" height="1000" width="2000" msid="99582571" hostid="261"></div>One of the biggest changes Google has made over the years was cutting back on holiday gifts and parties, staff told Insider.Some workers said they'd previously received phones from the company. "Then it kind of became surplus hardware inventory that wasn't selling well," like the first Google Watch and the Sony Blu-ray player with Google TV, an engineer said.Nicholas Whitaker, who worked in Google's people development team before being laid off, told Insider that the last physical gift he got was a LG smart watch back in 2010, "and that was a big kerfuffle when it happened, because in years prior they gave cash."Over time, Google began to replace the gadgets and cash bonuses with $400 donations to a charity of their choice, current and former workers said."I never received any type of holiday gift or bonus in my entire time there," a laid-off worker who'd been at Google for more than five years said.Baker said when he was a temp his manager got a Google gadget and cash in 2015 and a Pixel watch in 2016."It made me super excited to get a cash bonus or a flashy gift if/when I returned to Google," Baker told Insider. "But no end of the year holiday cash bonuses came.""Getting a fun gift was a thing of the past," Baker added.Most long-term Google employees told Insider that they didn't mind the switch to charity donations."In the early days there was a lot of resistance and complaining about it, and doubt about the reasons behind the move," Whitaker told Insider."Most people I know thought it was more of a cost-saving measure and a PR thing than anything but went along with it because they didn't have a choice. It's tricky, because it's a privilege to even get a bonus or a gift as a perk, so people don't want to come off as ungrateful and ungenerous, but like a lot of initiatives it was spun as something good for the employees.As well as shifting from gifts to donations, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/23/google-ceo-pichai-fields-questions-on-cost-cuts-at-all-hands-meeting-.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google also cut back on holidays parties</a>.One former employee said that, in 2020 and 2021, staff in their division of Google Cloud were invited to virtual chocolate, wine, and tea tastings."This did not happen in 2022," they said.The former sales consultant said that Google's "lavish" holiday parties were "fully cut" after the pandemic. One laid-off technical program manager said for her team's 2022 holiday party they "just met in the office" and had food from the company's cafeteria, while Baker said staff "were forbidden to bring a plus one" to the Los Angeles' office's holiday party in Hollywood.<h2>Workers may feel 'tricked' when perks get cut</h2><div type="image" title="Google headquarters is seen in Mountain View, California, United States on September 26, 2022." height="2411" width="4822" msid="99582575" hostid="261"></div>"We get bombarded with offers on LinkedIn recruiters and other companies," the East Coast engineer said, but Googlers don't accept them "because we don't want to leave a company that we felt protected us." This stability has been lost because of the company's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs-jobs-alphabet-work-employees-staff-sundar-pichai-2023-1">recent mass layoffs</a>, he said."If we lost most of the perks, and now the only distinguishing factor was the sense of security that we had, what is left to distinguish this company from any other company, any other recruiter that contacts us with a good offer?" he said.Google isn't alone. Companies generally start reducing their perks as they become bigger to maximize shareholder profit, business-psychology expert Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic told Insider. Bruce Daisley, an author on workplace culture and former Twitter VP, added that Google may have dropped some perks to avoid the need to have as many layoffs.And the pandemic has also caused a shift in the provision of perks across the industry, with companies moving away from so-called "life on site" perks like free food and team socials which only benefit people who come to the office.The experts said that instead of freebies, workers are now demanding flexibility such as being able to work from home or from overseas. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-to-bring-workers-back-to-office-three-days-week-2022-3">Google, however, seems to be moving in the opposite direction, having recently told employees in the San Francisco Bay Area and "several other US locations" to return to the office</a> for at least three days a week.For workers who do still visit the office, the loss of some perks in favor of remote-work benefits could be frustrating, Jennifer Moss, an author who focuses on workplace culture and burnout, told Insider. She said staff notice even small changes to their work perks. "The worst thing you can do is change the coffee," she said.Daisley, in contrast, said that non-paid benefits "don't really have any correlation with people's level of engagement with their jobs."Workers may still feel "tricked" when some of their perks are taken away, Chamorro-Premuzic said, but the current environment of the tech industry – which has laid off tens of thousands of workers in recent months – means staff likely won't complain.Were you recently laid off by Google? Or do you still work there? Contact this reporter at gdean@insider.com.

Google recently announced further cutbacks to employee perks, but staff say the company has been pulling back on freebies for years

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Laid-off Google workers were shocked that the tech giant let them go by email.</li><li>"How Google behaved was not Google," one affected employee said of the abrupt emails.</li></ul>Laid-off Google workers say they're dismayed by the abrupt and impersonal way <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs-jobs-alphabet-work-employees-staff-sundar-pichai-2023-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">they were let go</a>.Google told affected US staff in an early-morning email on January 20 that "we no longer have a job for you." Google has long been seen as a trendsetter in corporate culture, helping shape what's now become a standard among top tech firms, and staff say they're disappointed that after years of service, it terminated them by email.One security engineer, who found out he was laid off after he got a notification on his work phone overnight and realized he couldn't unlock his company devices, told Insider that being let go in this way was a "shock.""That wasn't the culture that we worked in, at least before that point," he said. "How Google behaved was not Google."Many laid-off workers spoke on the condition of anonymity over concerns speaking to the press could violate their severance package or because they may want to return to Google in the future, but their identities are known to Insider.Google is known for its <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/17/heres-how-many-google-job-interviews-it-takes-to-hire-a-googler.html">rigorous interview process</a> and its workers are frequently targeted by headhunters, but many choose to stay on because of the open culture, benefits — like on-site laundry and gyms — and job security.Paul Baker, a video production manager, told Insider that he "100% embraced Google culture" and would sometimes spend the whole day on campus. "I drank the Kool-Aid," he said."Google felt like my home," a member of Google's analytics team who'd been there for around a decade told Insider. "It was a family ... You could feel it when you walked through the door."He said he felt <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-workplace-families-can-be-toxic-steps-to-take-instead-2023-2">"taken advantage of."</a> The decision to lay staff off over email was "inhuman" and showed that Google was "just a company," he said.One laid-off technical program manager said she'd turned down other job offers and moved cross-country when she started her job less than a year ago. Reading the email, she "broke down in tears," she said.Other laid-off workers told Insider the email layoffs "came off as lazy," showed "cowardice," and "really stunk.""The mechanics of it all are very unpleasant," one said.Baker told Insider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs-terminally-ill-mom-carer-job-heartbeat-paul-baker-2023-1">he was laid off while on paid carers' leave</a>. A friend messaged him about the layoffs, and Baker realized he was affected when he couldn't log into his laptop."This is kind of unprecedented because Google's never acted like this before," he said. "We're basically cut off and I'm still in a scramble trying to figure out: How does my severance work while I'm on carer's leave?"Other workers were laid off <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-laid-off-mother-on-parental-leave-baby-father-too-2023-1">while on maternity leave</a>.Baker said he wasn't resentful about the impersonal nature of the layoffs, "just extremely disappointed."Nicholas Whitaker, who worked in Google's people development team before being laid off, told Insider that when he saw messages from colleagues that morning asking if he was okay, he thought there'd been a shooting or a natural disaster.His initial reaction was "complete shock and dismay," he said, describing the lack of personal outreach as a "slap in the face.""The thing that stings the most is just the lack of respect and the lack of humanity in the way that it was approached."Laid-off workers said in many cases their managers reached out on other channels to offer support and express surprise at the layoffs after affected employees were swiftly cut off from corporate communication channels. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs-managers-not-informed-town-hall-12000-2023-1">Many managers appear to not have been told in advance about the layoffs or asked to help select employees.</a> Two of the laid-off workers Insider spoke to said their managers had also been let go.Time zones created further problems. While many workers in the US woke up to their termination email or got it before they were due to start work, this wasn't the case for employees in Europe. Dan Lanigan-Ryan, a recruiter based in Ireland, told Insider that he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs-recruiter-call-candidate-disconnected-locked-out-dublin-alphabet-2023-1">gradually got locked out of company accounts</a>, which other workers put down to tech problems, culminating in a call with a job candidate dropping."I was blocked out of everything. And then I saw on the news about 15, 20 minutes later that Google was announcing 12,000 layoffs," he said.Google publicly announced the layoffs at around 2:30 a.m. PT, 5:30 a.m. ET, and 10:30 a.m. GMT.Lanigan-Ryan said that because he was a contractor, he didn't get a termination email from Google, instead just getting a message a few hours later from his agency.The 10-year analytics employee said that some US staff hadn't received the email, because Google had the wrong email address on file.Two decade-long employees who weren't affected by the layoffs told Insider that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs-staff-cried-meetings-colleagues-workers-alphabet-tech-jobs-2023-1">staff were now uncertain about their jobs and feared further workforce reductions</a>. "Anything that used to feel special or like you really were a part of a mission — not just a big money-making machine — that feeling is I think gone," an engineer on the West Coast said. An East Coast engineer questioned what distinguished Google from other companies for remaining staff being headhunted now that their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs-employees-psychological-safety-2023-1">sense of job security</a> was gone."To preserve the culture of the company, I would've liked to see layoffs done in a more concerted and thoughtful way," one laid-off worker, who'd been at Alphabet's treasury for around five years, said."I just can't understand why Google would've selected to squander the trust that employees have in the company by doing it this way."A technical writer at Google who wasn't laid-off told Insider remaining staff feel "expendable" and were having trouble focusing. She called the layoffs a "massive betrayal of trust.""It feels very much like they are just as cutthroat corporate as anybody else," a laid-off employee who'd been at Google Cloud for close to five years said."The crown has fallen here."Were you laid off by Google? Or do you still work there? Contact this reporter at gdean@insider.com.

Laid-off Google workers say the impersonal way the company let them go shows it's 'just as cutthroat corporate as anybody else'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Before President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> tested positive for COVID-19 early Friday morning, he came into contact with hundreds of people.</li><li>Here's a running list of the high-profile contacts we know about, and whether they have tested positive or negative for the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>.</li><li>First lady <keyword id="3219462" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Melania-Trump">Melania Trump</keyword>, top aide Hope Hicks, Sen. Mike Lee, and Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel are among those who have tested positive so far.</li></ul>In the days before President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, he attended private fundraisers, campaign rallies, White House events, and a 2020 presidential debate.In that time, he came into contact with at least hundreds of people. Many of them were maskless, sitting or standing close together, and sometimes indoors.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-assess-your-risk-of-catching-coronavirus-2020-5">Experts say</a> the best ways to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is to stay physically distant from other people, with masks on, outdoors.Trump announced his positive test result early Friday morning. Since then, first lady <a href="https://www.insider.com/white-house-staff-members-who-had-covid-19-2020-10">Melania Trump</a>, White House aide <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hope-hicks-bio-trump-spokeswoman-2017-2">Hope Hicks</a>, Sen. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/utah-sen-mike-lee-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-2020-10">Mike Lee</a>, and Republican National Committee chairwoman <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/republican-party-chair-ronna-mcdaniel-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-2020-10">Ronna McDaniel</a> are among those who have also announced they have the virus.Here's a running list of the people we know Trump came into contact with in the days before he tested positive, based on White House pool reports, <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> stories, and official statements. We will update it as we learn more information.<div type="image" title="trump" height="1365" width="2048" msid="78455646" hostid="261"></div><h2>White House staff and family members Trump is regularly in contact with</h2><ul><li>Mike Pence, vice president - tested negative</li><li>Melania Trump, first lady - tested positive</li><li>Karen Pence, second lady - tested negative</li><li>Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser - tested negative</li><li>Jared Kushner, son-in-law and adviser - tested negative</li><li>Barron Trump, son - tested negative </li><li>Hope Hicks, counselor - tested positive</li><li>Ronna McDaniel, RNC chairwoman - tested positive</li><li>Mark Meadows, chief of staff</li><li>Stephen Miller, senior adviser</li><li>Jason Miller, Trump campaign senior adviser</li><li>Dan Scavino, White House spokesman</li><li>Kellyanne Conway, senior counselor - tested positive</li><li>Kayleigh McEnany, press secretary</li><li>Larry Kudlow, National Economic Council director</li><li>Nicholas Luna, director of Oval Office operations</li><li>Bill Stepien, Trump campaign manager - tested positive. </li><li>Robert O'Brien, NSA adviser</li><li>Donald Trump Jr., son</li><li>Tiffany Trump, daughter</li><li>Eric Trump, son</li><li>Lara Trump, daughter-in-law</li><li>Kimberly Guilfoyle, son's girlfriend and campaign fundraiser</li><li>Judd Deere, deputy press secretary</li><li>John McEntee, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office</li></ul>This list is not exhaustive. A few hundred people work in the West Wing, and a couple hundred more staff members keep the White House running.Members of the White House press corps and traveling pool have been regularly tested for the coronavirus for months, but at least three have tested positive since the president's diagnosis, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/02/media/journalists-white-house-covid-19/index.html">CNN reported</a>.<h2>Saturday, September 26: Trump announced his Supreme Court pick at an event with 150 attendees at the White House and held a rally in Pennsylvania</h2><div type="image" title="GettyImages guests" height="683" width="1024" msid="78455647" hostid="261"></div>According to the president's official schedule, Trump met with evangelical leaders in the Oval Office, announced his Supreme Court pick in an event in the Rose Garden, and held a rally in Middletown, Pennsylvania.People who attended these events include:<ul><li>Amy Coney Barrett, his Supreme Court pick - <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/barrett-coronavirus-court-trump/2020/10/02/ecf7c7ce-04cf-11eb-8879-7663b816bfa5_story.html">had the coronavirus this summer</a> and tested negative on Friday</li><li>Barrett's husband Jesse and their seven children</li><li>John Jenkins, Notre Dame University president was in the audience at the Rose Garden event - tested positive</li><li>Sen. Thom Tillis - a member of the Judiciary Committee, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sen-thom-tillis-tested-positive-covid-19-coronavirus-2020-10">tested positive for the coronavirus</a> on Friday</li><li>Bill Barr</li><li>Laura Ingraham</li><li>Corey Lewandowski</li><li>David Bossie</li><li>Matt and Mercedes Schlapp</li><li>An estimated 150 people at the White House Rose Garden event</li><li>A few thousand people at the campaign rally, including attendees and event staff</li></ul><div type="image" title="AP donald trump" height="2665" width="4003" msid="78455648" hostid="261"></div><h2>Sunday, September 27: Trump went to his private golf club in D.C. and held 2 events at the White House</h2>According to the president's schedule and pool reports, he went to the Trump National golf club in Washington, DC., had a press conference in the White House briefing room, and held an event for Gold Star Families in the East Room of the White House.People he came into contact with this day include:<ul><li>Chris Christie, Trump ally and former New Jersey governor</li><li>Rudi Giuliani, Trump's former lawyer and former mayor of New York City</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-military-generals-at-white-house-event-before-trump-covid19-2020-10">Army Gen. Mark Milley</a> - tested negative</li><li>Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville</li><li>Air Force Chief of Staff Charles "CQ" Brown</li><li>Dozens of attendees at the Gold Star families event</li></ul><h2>Monday, September 28: Trump held 2 events at the White House with attendees</h2>According to the president's schedule, he held an event with Lordstown Motors representatives on the South Lawn and a press conference in the Rose Garden.<div type="image" title="GettyImages trump" height="683" width="1024" msid="78455649" hostid="261"></div>The following people were on the invite list, according to the White House pool report:<ul><li>Peter Navarro, assistant to the president</li><li>Sen. Rob Portman</li><li>Rep. Mike Turner</li><li>Steve Burns, CEO of Lordstown Motors</li><li>Rich Schmidt, Lordstown Motors employee</li><li>Michael Fabian, Lordstown Motors employee</li><li>Dr. Scott Atlas, Advisor</li><li>Douglas Hoelscher, Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs</li><li>Brad Smith, Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy</li><li>Ja'Ron Smith, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of American Innovation</li><li>Quellie Moorhead, Special Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Policy Coordination</li><li>Secretary Alex Azar, Department of Health and Human Services</li><li>Secretary Betsy DeVos, Department of Education</li><li>Administrator Seema Verma, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services</li><li>Admiral Brett Giroir, Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services</li><li>Rear Admiral Michael Weahkee, Director of the Indian Health Service</li><li>Dr. Tammy Beckham, Director of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy, Department of Health and Human Services</li><li>Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi</li><li>State Senator Robert Taylor of Texas</li><li>State Representative Dan Huberty of Texas</li><li>Robert Ford, President and Chief Executive Officer, Abbott Laboratories</li></ul><h2>Tuesday, September 29: Trump attended the first presidential debate with Joe Biden in Ohio</h2><div type="image" title="Trump Biden debate masks" height="1331" width="2000" msid="78455650" hostid="261"></div>Trump faced off with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Procedures like testing and mask-wearing were put in place, but the president's family were <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-family-members-not-wear-masks-during-debate-joe-biden-2020-9">seen without their masks during the event</a>.People at the debate or who greeted Trump before it included:<ul><li>Joe Biden</li><li>Jill Biden</li><li>Chris Wallace, Fox News anchor and debate moderator</li><li>Alice Marie Johnson, whom Trump previously pardoned. She traveled on Air Force One to go to the debate.</li><li>Rep. Jim Jordan</li><li>State Representative Bernadine Kent</li><li>James Whitaker</li><li>Bob Paduchik, Trump campaign adviser</li><li>Colby Covington, MMA fighter invited by Trump and sat behind Guilfoyle</li><li>James Evanoff Jr., a Biden invite and United Steelworkers Local 979 member</li><li>Gurneé Green, a Biden invite and Cleveland boutique owner</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/JTHVerhovek/status/1311991145585541120">Kristin Urquiza</a>, a Biden invite who lost her father to COVID-19</li><li>About 80 audience members, including both candidates' families and invited guests</li><li>Event staff</li></ul><h2>Wednesday, September 30: Trump held a campaign rally and a private fundraiser in Minnesota</h2><div type="image" title="GettyImages trump" height="700" width="1024" msid="78455651" hostid="261"></div>Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/minnesota-trump-supporters-react-to-president-covid-19-diagnosis-2020-10">attended a private fundraiser in Shorewood, Minnesota</a>, and held a campaign rally in Duluth.People he may have come into contact with include:<ul><li>Rep. Jim Hagedorn</li><li>Rep. Tom Emmer</li><li>Rep. Pete Stauber</li><li>Kurt Daudt, MN House Minority Leader</li><li>Paul Gazelka, MN Senate Majority Leader</li><li>Maralee Gazelka</li><li>Jason Lewis, Republican nominee for Minnesota senate seat</li><li>Major General Shawn Manke, of the Minnesota National Guard</li><li>Col James Cleet, Wing Commander of the 133rd Air National Guard</li><li>Chief Master Sargent Mark Legvold, of the 133rd Air National guard</li><li>Marty Davis, Cambria CEO who hosted the fundraiser</li><li>Attendees at the private fundraiser</li><li>An estimated 3,000 people at the rally and event staff</li></ul><div type="image" title="2020 10 02T223154Z_865758351_RC2LAJ98UZT3_RTRMADP_3_HEALTH CORONAVIRUS USA TRUMP.JPG" height="1625" width="2500" msid="78455652" hostid="261"></div><h2>Thursday, October 1: Trump held a fundraising event at his New Jersey golf club</h2>On Thursday afternoon, Trump had a fundraiser at his private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Names of attendees at that event have not been released.Trump announced his positive COVID-19 diagnosis just before <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1311892190680014849">1 a.m. ET</a> on Friday. He <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-walter-reed-medical-center-hospital-covid-fever-cough-19-2020-10">went to Walter Reed medical center</a> on Friday evening for tests and to stay for a few days.

A running list of all the people Trump came into contact with in the days before he tested positive for COVID-19

Biographies are some of the most interesting books to read because they peek into the lives of other people.&#xa0;
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;node=10207115011&amp;pf_rd_i=10207069011&amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_p=1968818082&amp;pf_rd_r=0JCRX2R77PPT3RN3XFPR&amp;pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-5&amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;pldnSite=1&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=4H5G5ZCWQOO7IGVS">Amazon released</a> the best biographies and memoirs of 2014.
From Lena Dunham's tell-all to Napoleon's personal letters, here are the best biographies and memoirs of 2014.
1. "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081299499X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=081299499X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=H45LVLDT4VXTVFK6">Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's 'Learned'</a>" by&#xa0;Lena Dunham: Dunham's book tackles life issues every woman can relate to, and includes everything from her first sexual experience to her obsession with death. "If I can take what I've learned and make one menial job easier for you," Dunham writes, "or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine will have been worthwhile."
2.&#xa0;"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608198065/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1608198065&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=MNJO3UG7ZUSBYWRW">Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Roz Chast:&#xa0;Cartoonist Roz Chast writes about the difficulty of going from child of your parents to caretaker of your parents. Chast, an only child, details the years leading up to the deaths of her parents and how she coped with trading the family home for an institution, managing her parents' care, and saying goodbye. &#xa0; 
3.&#xa0;"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670025321/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0670025321&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=IYQNKF5OUPN43MFR">Napoleon: A Life</a>"&#xa0;by Andrew Roberts:&#xa0;Roberts brings new life to the legendary leader Napoleon. He is the first to use Napoleon's recently found 33,000 letters which reveal a lot about his character and his relationships with his wife, friends, and enemies. Roberts visited nearly all of Napoleon's 60 battle sites and made the trip to St. Helena, where Napoleon lived in exile, to gain further insight into this complex ruler.&#xa0;
4.&#xa0;"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/147673190X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=147673190X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=CA4TQUOUKHEOQOE7">The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Jeff Hobbs<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Hobbs/e/B001JS6HJU/ref=lp_10207115011_ntt_srch_lnk_4?qid=1419028357&amp;sr=1-4"></a>:&#xa0;Hobbs was the roommate and friend of Robert Peace while at Yale University. Peace was exceptionally smart but came from an impoverished, broken home. Despite his academic success Peace could not escape his past, which ultimately cost the young man his life.
5.&#xa0;"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804136637/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0804136637&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=NASXHN5PYAAO7NGH">A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Ben Macintyre<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ben-Macintyre/e/B001H6WAL8/ref=lp_10207115011_ntt_srch_lnk_5?qid=1419028357&amp;sr=1-5"></a>:&#xa0;Kim Philby rose through the ranks to lead Britain's counterintelligence team during the Cold War. The charismatic leader became friends with fellow British officer Nicholas Elliott, and the head of CIA counterintelligence&#xa0;James Angleton. Little did Elliott and Angleton know that their friend was a Soviet spy, tanking Western operations for years. The two men maintained their friend's innocence until finally realizing Philby's unimaginable betrayal.
6.&#xa0;"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250020204/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1250020204&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=ZGLW5RAMQETSWH2Q">The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Helen Rappaport<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Helen-Rappaport/e/B001JP8EVC/ref=lp_10207115011_ntt_srch_lnk_6?qid=1419028357&amp;sr=1-6"></a>:&#xa0;The four Romanov sisters were admired for their beauty and wealth; however, Rappaport reveals an intelligent and perceptive side to the Russian Grand Duchesses. Newly found diary entries and letters show the sisters as witnesses to the end of imperial Russia and the start of the Russian Revolution. 
7.&#xa0;"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594205701/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1594205701&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=73ISTMCPKUU5PQ3Z">I'll Drink to That: A Life in Style, with a Twist</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Betty Halbreich<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Betty-Halbreich/e/B00OACBORW/ref=lp_10207115011_ntt_srch_lnk_7?qid=1419028357&amp;sr=1-7"></a>:&#xa0;Eighty-six-year-old Betty Halbreich reflects on how she became the legendary personal shopper at Bergdorf Goodman. After a failed marriage, Halbreich was lost and alone in New York where she takes a job as a personal shopper at the famous store. Running the store's first personal shopping service, her reputation for her honesty and eye for style has earned her the trust of New York's social scene. &#xa0;
8.&#xa0;"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006226740X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=006226740X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=VPFXZZJNEXRJ3A7G">Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Tom Robbins:&#xa0;Novelist Tom Robbins looks inward and recounts his life from his upbringing in Appalachia during the Great Depression to his international travels pre-9/11 security. He held many jobs, from Air Force weatherman to radio DJ to counter culture hero. Readers can see how Robbins' life shaped the characters of his famous novels.
9. "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307908003/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0307908003&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=FNILDQSCIFYYAOGM">The Zhivago Affair: The Kremlin, the CIA, and the Battle Over a Forbidden Book</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Peter Finn and&#xa0;Petra Couvée:&#xa0;In the mid-1950s, an Italian publisher went to the home of the great Russian poet Boris Pasternak and left with the poet's first and only novel, and the words,&#xa0;"This is&#xa0;Doctor Zhivago.&#xa0;May it make its way around the world." Pasternak's words shook up the world during the Cold War. 
10. "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061896454/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0061896454&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=2JZEAQTFQIWSOWQS">Updike</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Adam Begley:&#xa0;The story looks at the life of Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Updike. The book takes readers from Updike's Pennsylvania childhood to his time at Harvard, his experience with suburbia, his travels, and his retirement. The biography details Updike's complex character and how he was able to create characters that are key players in American literature.
11. "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1602862567/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1602862567&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=KTUSE7CLYYIBGUBS">Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed: A Memoir of the Cleveland Kidnappings</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Michelle Knight&#xa0;and&#xa0;Michelle Burford: This is Michelle Knight's harrowing account of her abduction and imprisonment for over a decade. Knight, along with two other women, were imprisoned and tortured in Ariel Castro's basement for years before breaking free in 2013. Knight talks about her past, the abduction, and how she will rebuild a life for herself now that she is free.<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michelle-Burford/e/B009GKFPQ4/ref=lp_10207115011_ntt_srch_lnk_11?qid=1419876701&amp;sr=1-11"></a>
12. "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802122582/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0802122582&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=5RM6RE7A4PNQK7RG">Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Will Harlan<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Will-Harlan/e/B00J6HOFOU/ref=lp_10207115011_ntt_srch_lnk_12?qid=1419876701&amp;sr=1-12"></a>: America's "wildest woman"&#xa0;Carol Ruckdeschel is a self-educated scientist who tackles alligators, eats roadkill, and built her own cabin on Georgia's Cumberland Island. The island, owned by the Carnegie family, is also home to sea turtles whose fate is threatened by the Carnegies' plans for the island. The story shows the poor yet courageous Ruckdeschel going against one of America's powerful families to protect the sea turtles.
13.&#xa0;"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/034553283X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=034553283X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=VM3R477DVO7JE3FN">Glitter and Glue: A Memoir</a>" by&#xa0;Kelly Corrigan<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kelly-Corrigan/e/B001JS1R2W/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_13?qid=1419883266&amp;sr=1-13"></a>: After graduating from college, Kelly Corrigan sets out to see the world but soon finds herself broke, so she takes a job as a nanny for a widower's kids. Corrigan's mother always said,&#xa0;"Your father's the glitter but I'm the glue" - words which start to take meaning for Corrigan as she looks after the kids and develops a stronger appreciation for the people and experiences that shaped her.
14. "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0914671006/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0914671006&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=KSWX4TX5CVOT7BWQ">My Struggle: Book One</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Karl Ove Knausgaard: This autobiography is a tale of fathers and sons. The artistic Karl Ove struggles to find his place in the world after his alcoholic father's death, and eventually finds new perspective when he becomes a father himself.
15. "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400068940/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1400068940&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=UTP2FCQZVHWPE4R4">Please Be with Me: A Song for My Father, Duane Allman</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Galadrielle Allman:&#xa0;Galadrielle Allman was just two years old when her father Duane Allman, of the Allman Brothers Band, died in a motorcycle accident.&#xa0;Galadrielle's memoir tells the story of growing up with her father's fame and music all around her and how she came to know him and his legacy even after his death.&#xa0;
16. "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385347839/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0385347839&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=GTFLTZMVJTFFLYEI">The Invisible Front: Love and Loss in an Era of Endless War</a>" by&#xa0;Yochi Dreazen<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yochi-Dreazen/e/B00JH148FQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_16?qid=1419883266&amp;sr=1-16"></a>:&#xa0;Tragedy strikes when Major General Mark Graham and his wife lose both of their soldier sons within nine months: Jeff is killed in Iraq, and Kevin takes his own life. The Grahams are shocked at how the Army receives both of their sons' deaths differently, and work to change the&#xa0;military's institutional shortcomings when it comes to mental illness and PTSD.
17. "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250039843/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1250039843&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=WXQGCGYPRDWH6RML">Shrinkage: Manhood, Marriage, and the Tumor That Tried to Kill Me</a>" by&#xa0;Bryan Bishop: At 30 years old and with his radio career taking off, Bryan Bishop and his fiancee receive crushing news: Bryan has an inoperable brain tumor. Bryan uses his humor and positivity to chronicle the toughest fight of his life and how his will to live, mixed with an aggressive treatment, gave him back his life.&#xa0;
18.&#xa0;"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/145169797X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=145169797X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=36WJL2BBJSB7NBGP">Cosby: His Life and Times</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Mark Whitaker: Journalist Mark Whitaker, through interviews with Bill Cosby and his closest friends,&#xa0;details how Cosby made his own way to become a television icon despite coming from poverty and a broken home. The biography also delves into Cosby's personal dramas and struggles, and the influence his wife Camille plays in his life.
19.&#xa0;"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1455511951/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1455511951&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=DNS2O2G7NV5R6SXQ">Call Me Burroughs: A Life</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Barry Miles: In the 1960s, Norman Mailer deemed William Burroughs&#xa0;"the only American novelist living today who may conceivably be possessed by genius." Burroughs was a figurehead of the Beat Movement. Miles chronicles Burroughs' cultural legacy up until his death.
20. "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451649282/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1451649282&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=bibooklists-20&amp;linkId=4VRTVDCV4U4XPSVF">Unremarried Widow: A Memoir</a>"&#xa0;by&#xa0;Artis Henderson:&#xa0;When Artis Henderson's husband Miles, a soldier, dies in a helicopter crash in Iraq, Artis becomes an "unremarried widow" at 26. Her husband's death mirrors the death of her father, who died in a plane crash when Artis was five. Artis looks at the 21 years between the two tragedies and how these two men, who she only knew briefly, have impacted her life.&#xa0;



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