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Google Perks Are Great, But They All Mean Business
megazoid81 writes "While there have been complaints of late, Google was recently named the best place to work according to the widely read annual Forbes survey, in its first appearance on the list. The plethora of perks at Google does make you wonder though what kind of hours the company expects its employees to keep. In the context of Google's perks, a Knowledge@Wharton article explains that there are two kinds of workers: segmentors and integrators. Segmentors want to maintain a strict separation between work and home while integrators don't mind mixing the two. The piece posits that segmentors might actually mind too many perks at their workplace and find their commitment eroding. Does Google have a disproportionate number of integrators in its workforce? What kind of worker are you — segmentor or integrator?"
Can you integrate sleep and work? Or sleep and pleasure? Not very well. Same with work and pleasure. You need down time to throw everything away and see to your higher-order needs, or they will come up wanted (read: affect your work).
Clock out time, that's it. Turn the machine off, leave the building, and forget about it until 9am. If your business can't handle that, they obviously need more staff.
The division is easy, but too simplistic. I'm both: I do like to separate my work and my free time pretty cleanly. Because of that I actually appreciate my hour-long train commute as it creates a natural barrier and an external imposition to go to and from work at specified, reasonable hours.
At the same time I really, _really_ like my work, so I tend to mull things over on my off time, and idly reading up on background stuff I find interesting (and that incidentally is really helpful for work).
There is a real difference between wanting to be at work for long hours, and idly reflecting on interesting problems even when off duty.
Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
I've gotta say, each there is a story about working at Google, everyone seems to talk about how horrible the number of perks are because it must mean they expect you to work crazy hours, and I wonder how jaded we've become?
How about this as an idea, maybe the perks aren't meant to make people work crazy hours but instead just make good business sense?
And on top of all of this, it makes their employees really happy, and gets them really good press!
I, for one, would be more than happy to talk to a recruiter at Google
I don't think one should consider a job the same sort of commitment as a marriage. A job is an involvement, not a commitment. Like a breakfast of ham and eggs: the chicken is involved, the pig is committed.
I am not a crackpot.
There are two kinds of workplace analysts- segmentors and integrators:
Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
I'm not paid to share my personal life with people who have no right to know what I do on my own time, and who will take any advantage they can. ... The trick is just to shut up, and not bare your soul to would-be attackers.
I read your last two posts on this topic and I see a lot of fear and defensiveness, but absolutely no JOY. What's the point? You say your job is a means to an end, but it's also probably one half of your waking weekday hours!
Add in the time you might spend decompressing, venting, preparing, and discussing your job dissatisfaction at home, with friends, on on forums like this... and there's the proof that you HAVE integrated your job into your personal life. But in a negative way. This adds up. So in the "end", is it worth it?
It is NOT normal to fear your all your fellow workers as "would-be attackers" and be forced to behave as a "vanilla" or "bland" person who is not really you. If you condition yourself to behave like someone else for 7.5 hours per day, you WILL be changed by it in all your off-work time.