What a visit to Google taught me about happiness (a lesson I’m just understanding now).

I have a close friend who works for Google, and when I was in California a while ago, I went to work with her for the day. While she did her thing, I worked on my laptop in a conference room.

The Google offices were just like the articles describe. Dogs everywhere, people sitting on exercise balls instead of desk chairs, pool tables here and there, scooters to take you from building to building, and lots of free food and drink.

I was describing it to someone last night, and heard myself waxing enthusiastic: “They had healthy food, like cereal and fruit! And coffee, and different teas, and soda! All right there, you could just take it!”

Then it hit me. Cereal…fruit…coffee…Diet Coke. Just the kind of thing that’s freely available in MY OWN APARTMENT. Every day, for at least part of the day, if not the entire day, I work from home, where such a cornucopia is right at hand.

The things that seemed like such treats when I found them at Google were, in fact, the staples of my own house.

I realized yet again the peerless wisdom of Samuel Johnson, who told Boswell, “Sir, it is surprising how people will go to a distance for what they may have at home.”
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A blogland colleague, from LifeRemix, has launched a new social link aggregator that sounds very cool, Shoutingmat.ch. I checked out the "lifehack" channel, and immediately got sucked in. A great way to get to a lot of great content, fast.
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Comments

[Wesley]

I had lunch at their Santa Monica offices and encountered the exact same thing. It was amazing. I still prefer working at home, but not by much.

[Mrs. Micah]

Wow. Those offices really do sound cool.

Yet when I think about it, my office offers snacks, beverages....I mean I even got one of those special Nantucket Nectars caps from a free office orange juice. I might win $1000 as well as get to drink yummy OJ. Count one's blessings at home, eh?

[anonymous]

you got one thing slightly incorrect. Your house has those items available but they are not free. You paid for them. Google offers them as part of your total compensation.

[plagiat]

you're so right, often we don't realize that we are jealous of something, but in the end this jealousy is causeless. however, there is a diffrence between the food at home or at work. Your friend doesn't has to go shopping for ist, it is there without any effort. that's quite something.

[amy]

I agree with anonymous here, although I admit it's a big downer. Getting stuff 'for free' makes us feel really good, but it's important, as a survival tactic in this increasingly marketed world, to think carefully about 'free', as it's frequently used to convince people to buy something, or buy more than they ordinarily would because some of it is 'free'. The case of 'free food' at home and at work is slightly different, but it's still worth keeping in mind the difference between 'free' and 'included in compensation package' or 'already purchased'. Free makes you feel better in the short run, but obscures the actual relationship between , in one case, the employee and employer, and in the other, between the contents of your fridge and your own grocery-purchasing behavior.

Maybe think of it this way: "How wonderful that google as an employer treats its employees as well as I treat myself at home, by recognizing that working at an office denies them access to their own, carefully stocked refrigerators (and possibly denies them the time to stock their own refrigerators), and makes the effort to stock its own fridges with healthy food, such as its employees would stock their own fridges with. And: how wonderful that I respect myself enough to take the time to stock my fridge with healthy food."

So, it's not the free that's so great, but the fact that someone paid attention to your bodily needs.

[Sophie]

Just writing to tag onto what Amy has already so eloquently said--the amazing thing here isn't that Google offers these things or that you have them at home. The amazing thing is a corporation that is flexible enough to support human needs rather than forcing human needs to become subordinate to the overall corporate goal. In this day and age, with ethical employment conditions so rare, any step towards recognizing the humanity of workers is important.

Now if you want to impress me, tell me that the custodial staff also has access to snacks and beverages.

[Sharyn]

What I think is the gist of all this is that Google feels like a great place to work, because they are trying to create a "home-like" atmosphere.

[amy]

Sophie: hear, hear, re: custodial staff!

[Gretchen Rubin]

Wait, I don't get the distinction you're drawing here between the actual (not) "freeness" of the food.

(Pretend that I am the employee.)

In neither case is the food ACTUALLY free. In one case, I bought it myself, for home. In the other case, my salary takes into account the cost of the food. if it's part of a compensation package, it's not "free."

Now, there is a big difference in the FEELING of freeness. The food at Google feels much, much more free than my food at home. And one thing that's true about people is that we are very easy to manipulate by exploiting our love of free stuff. Or seemingly free stuff.

As folks pointed out, another big impact from the free food is the sense that the corporation is trying to please the employees. That counts for a lot, whether or not you want the sushi, or the bananas, or the green tea, or the licorice, that they stock.

[TasterSpoon]

I kind of assume initially that companies that supply things like skim milk and fruit and bicycles and nap rooms are generally "enlightened" and consequently are enlighted about other quality of life issues, like work-life balance and the importance of family.

But sometimes it's just the opposite. The impression I've gotten of Google (and I have only one friend there so it's not a well-informed one) is that they try to make it so hospitable so you NEVER GO HOME.

I have another friend who works for the government who gets nothing in the way of free bananas or lattes or croissants...but goes home at 4 pm and gets a half day every other Friday.

If I had to choose, I'd pick that.

[Martha Garvey]

What a great conversation. I would have to agree that the most fantastic company plant I ever visited, full-service everything, gyms, cafeterias, etc., also seemed to encourage a "never go home" feeling. But they also ATTRACTED "never go home" people. I used to be like that, and at the time, I was, I would have loved it. I think what I crave in a working environment is flexibility and the acknowledgement that we are ALL human beings with lives outside the office--and I think that will manifest itself in many different ways, depending on the company.

I love the "bring your dog" idea at Google, except that...my dog isn't good with a lot of other dogs. If Google could write an algorithm that fixed that, I would work for them for free. Well, freeish.