The grass is always greener… in the GooglePlex

By Kenneth van Rumste On April 10, 2009 · 4 Comments

Isn’t it always better to work for another company then the one you are working for now? The grass is always greener at the other side of the fence isn’t it? Well ironically enough, this is completely true for everybody in the whole world, except for the guys working at the GooglePlex… For myself of course, as my boss sometimes reads my blog, this is not true; I’m very pleased with the job I do .

But the truth must be said, I would be more pleased if we had a swimming pool or a beach volley court. A massage now and then or a visit to the barber once in a while would ease up life. The birds would be singing in the trees, the cows slowly graze the green fields around the complex. Ah life is beautiful.

But would this all make me happier? album_large_893806 Will I be more stimulated to create code that is better written (my code is always superbly written )?

I guess I would like the fact that I get all those things but I do think that Google has the same problems every other company has:
The personality of your colleagues won’t be changed by the surroundings.

If your colleague is an idiot, he will stay an idiot, no matter what… A swimming pool won’t change that.
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If you work is a 60 minute drive, it will stay a 60 minute drive and sooner or later you will get sick and tired of that drive.

I guess the social life isn’t very stimulated in this way, is it? They make sure you have a nice time at work, so you don’t have to go home at all. What about friends and family? They probably all work at the GooglePlex?

album_large_893803 I think that this luxurious lifestyle will of course get you a lot of employees, and this is all just a marketing stunt and one big show off.

But isn’t that the point of it all? I’m jealous, aren’t you? Looking at those pictures, it feels a little bit like imagining you would win the lottery…

There will, one day, be a DEVEXPLEX….

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Tagged with: beach • googleplex • massage • swim • work

4 Responses to The grass is always greener… in the GooglePlex

Van de Voorde Toni says:

April 10, 2009 at 9:40 pm

Kenneth but we do hear birds singing (not in a tree but still ), and we have a massage now and then … ok since we work for Adlogix we only had one massage (so for our boss if he’s reading, it’s time for a new massage session , and this time by a good looking girl :p !!! ) …

So that’s not bad after 1 year and 7 months … lets hope for a little pool soon … it’s almost summer :p
David says:

April 11, 2009 at 12:24 pm

I must agree with you… having all those wonderful things perhaps is not nice because you have them, but because you KNOW you have them. And I also think there’s some kind of feeling of superiority at googleplex that’s very important for those guys.
What would happen if that superiority would be gone (e.g. the top 100 businesses and of course Adlogix all had swimming pools and massages and beach volleyball and …)? I think they would invent new things to keep themselves from working and become even more superior. But at some point, this won’t work any more and as you say, if your coworker is an idiot they will stay so, whatever happens.
Allan says:

April 14, 2009 at 9:30 am

Toni,
Please submit your request for a massage to the appropriate department, using the correct form and specifying your specific needs.
BTW : The “summer dining room” will soon be open again!
Google Roof fire | devexp says:

August 28, 2009 at 1:04 pm

[...] I talked about the GooglePlex a few months ago. Seems like the guys have a bit to much of spare time as the created a fire during [...]