Google Employees Reveal Their Favorite Perks Working For The Company.
Google jobs are some of the most sought after positions in the entire tech industry.
Employees who work for the search giant don't have to worry about much besides their work. Google says, В "the array of benefits of perks aim to ensure that Googlers remain happy and healthy in all aspects of their lives."
Google provides its workers with a lot of perks, most are unheard of at the average 9-5 gig. Some former Googlers and a few that are still with the companyВ listed their favorite benefits on answers site Quora.
Employees have access to free rental cars if they need to run an errand, free gyms on campus, and some offices even offer on-site daycare.
The rest of the perks are sure to make you rethink just how good your company's perks are.

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A lot has changed at Google recently. Larry Page announced in August that the tech giant was splitting itself up and creating a new holding company, Alphabet, to contain all the pieces.
That separated newer Google's other businesses — Calico, Nest, and Fiber, the investing arms Google Ventures and Google Capital, and incubator projects such as Google X — from core businesses like search and Android.
But after a brief moment of excitement as news of the shake-up broke, Google employees simply got back to work, seeming pleased with the direction their company was heading.
And there's a good reason for that. Google has always looked after its staff, providing workers with a lot of perks to make it worth their while to stay with the company. Some former Googlers, and a few who are still with the company, have listed their favourite benefits on Quora, and others have submitted them to Glassdoor.
The free gourmet food and snacks are never-ending.
Googlers employees are extremely well fed, getting healthy and varied breakfast, lunch, and even dinner if they stay late — for free. There are also coffee and juice bars scattered throughout the campuses.
The consensus is that the convenience of having food provided cannot be overstated.
One Googler commented that they loved the food perk because, "it saves me time and money, and helps me build relationships with my colleagues."
Working at Google, you're exposed to amazing people and great thinkers.
One Googler said that the company is a great place to see, listen to, and meet with people who he grew up reading about ("Never in my life have I met so many people with a Wikipedia page than in the last year!" he writes).
We are surrounded by smart, driven people who provide the best environment for learning I've ever experienced. I don't mean through tech talks and formal training programs, I mean through working with awesome colleagues -- even the non-famous ones.
I've worked at several other s and have never been more challenged and energized professionally from my colleagues than at Google. People are generally happy to work there, they come from diverse backgrounds, and almost always have an interesting story to share.
Besides being exposed to tech leaders, there are often talks with celebrities and other thought leaders.
Googlers feel like they are really living in the future.
Because Google is one of the top technology companies in the world, it's no surprise that employees are at the forefront of technology.
Googlers get to use the company's products to get work done and beta-test products that haven't been released to the public yet.
"Chrome was my primary browser before it was announced. I've used phones, tablets, and Chromebooks before they went on sale. It's fun. I get a sneak peek at the future, and if I give good feedback or get even more involved, I can shape it as well," one employee shares.
Dogs are welcome!
Googlers are free to bring their pets to work.
A former Googler describes why bringing his dog to work is so great. He says that it not only helped keep his energy up, but brought spontaneous joy to his coworkers and helped him meet people he probably would not have otherwise.
Here's his whole answer:
Though managing a dog between meetings can sometimes be challenging, having her with me meant that every few hours I needed to get outside and take a break which helped me manage my energy. In addition my dog brought a lot of spontaneous joy to my colleagues who sometimes sought her out when needing a break from an arduous task. For everyone looking out your work window to see dogs chasing each other or running after tennis balls really warms the spirit. Eventually my dog became far better known than I was and she oddly enough ended up introducing me to a lot of people I wouldn't otherwise have met. The benefits of allowing dogs in the office far outweigh the costs, and the increase in job satisfaction for those with dogs or who like dogs far outweighs the mild annoyance of those miserable individuals who somehow make it through life unaffected by wagging tails and contagious enthusiasm. If there is an easy Google benefit almost anyone can replicate, bringing dogs into the workplace is it.
Googlers at the Mountain View campus get a free ride to and from work.
Even though Google's buses have becomecontroversial with San Francisco residents as of late, they're still an amazing resource for its employees.
All the buses are equipped with Wi-Fi, so not only can employees live anywhere in San Francisco without needing a car to get to work, but they can relax, have fun, or get work done on the way there.
The TechStop helps Googlers stay plugged in with 24-7 tech support.
Google has some of the best and brightest IT specialists available to help other employees get their jobs done.
The TechStop is Google in-house tech support shop, it provides Google employees guidance with all hardware and software needs and problems 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
One employee likes The TechStop so much "because it's just such a practical approach to solving the simple problems that get in the way. For example if you forgot your laptop power supply, go get another."
Free "massage credits."
Employees can give each other "massage credits" for a job well done on projects. The massage credits can be redeemed for a free one-hour massage on campus.
I got an injury while I was in the U. S. and needed to have three surgeries and follow-ups that in total made me not being able to work for five months. Starting with my manager and colleague, the entire company was really sympathetic with what happened to me and encouraged me to concentrate on getting healthier. When I came back an extended time I was definitely feeling stressed, but my manager set her expectations fairly, which enabled me to ramp up very quickly and continue where I left off.
And the development of your career.
An anonymous employee wrote:
"I am really impressed with how invested Google is in your well-being and career growth. I've never had a conversation with my past managers about career trajectory as much as I've had at Google. As someone who is quite shy, it is hard for me to bring up promotions and career track with my manager. But Google really trained the manager to be proactive about their employees' growth. I enjoy that the most.
(The matching 401K isn't a bad perk either.)"
New parents get the break they deserve.
It's typical for mothers to get time off from work for up to six weeks after having a child in the US, but at Google it's another story.
New dads receive six weeks of paid leave, and moms can take 18 weeks, and employees' stock continues to vest (and they continue to receive bonuses) while they are on leave.
"The Goog even gives us a bonus, called 'baby bonding bucks' shortly after our baby is born to help with expenses like diapers, takeout, and formula during our leave," one employee writes.
When parents return to work, there are free on-site daycares for children.
One man's wife actually cried when she heard how good Google's death benefits were.
Google certainly inspires a lot of loyalty with Googlers' spouses. If a Googler passes away while working there, all their stock vests immediately, and, on top of the life insurance payout, their surviving spouse continues to get half of the Googler's salary for the next 10 years. There's also an additional $1,000/month benefit for any of the Googler's children.
"When I mentioned this benefit to my wife, she cried," one Googler writes. "She actually cried that the company would do that for her if something happened to me."
Employees get free fitness classes and gyms, and are encouraged to participate in organized intramural sports.
I love to think in the shower and frequently worked out ideas in there. The opportunity to get outside and run around if you had some energy to work off, knowing you could just shower and switch into some other clothes helped alleviate a lot of the fidgety energy I felt being pent up in a cubicle. It let me focus on work. I also felt comfortable pushing myself harder on my morning bike ride in, knowing I could shower and change when I got there.
Plus, many offices offer scooters for employees to zoom around the office on.
The 80/20 rule gives Googlers plenty of opportunity for creativity.
Googlers are encourage to read.
A Zurich-based Googlersays that when he joined the company in 2006, every "Noogler" was allowed to pick out three out of a selection of books as a gift. Apparently the company has a lot of libraries too, with books about technologies, machine learning and statistics, product management, engineering and maths to name a few, that Googlers can take away and read.
And keep on learning.
Google is known for its tech talks — presentations and lectures on various topics that are open to employees to either attend or watch remotely.
"The culture at Google is incredibly open to sharing of knowledge and ideas, so if you spend your time constructively while you are there, you can really learn a lot," one Googler says. "There were things that I never even knew were possible that I heard for the first time through tech talks or watching archived presentations. You have some of the leading experts in their fields who are either your co-workers and happy to talk to you or outside researchers/political top-brass/celebrities/etc . invited to give talks at Google."
There's a good risk-reward ratio.
Google employees with the Android Gingerbread.
The general consensus is it's the people, the business, and the technology that Google employees work with that make it worth being there.
We have an amazing business that keeps growing, that customers and users love, and that provides us with more job stability than almost any other company. It's not going to make any one of us rich, but the risk-reward ratio is pretty good, and sustainable.
Google employees can get extended time off to follow their passions.
In addition to vacations, Google's leave policies give workers more opportunities to explore life outside of the workplace.
Googlers can take a three-month leave of unpaid time off, under specific circumstances. Healthcare benefits continue for unpaid leaves of up to three months. Googlers can use their time off to work with nonprofit organizations, political campaigns, and other community-oriented projects they're interested in.
Once you're a part of the Google network, you'll be part of it forever.
Once a Googler, always a Googler. One ex-employee (read: Xoogler) says that the alumni support is one of the best perks of the job. "Xoogler groups are some of the largest support portals in the world. If you're aXoogler, you'll know someone in any country you visit."

Google Reprices Employee Stock Options.
Nevertheless, Google's willingness to reset more than 8 million stock options at lower prices is likely to spur similar gestures by companies hoping to motivate their employees during a demoralizing recession.
"There is a lot of momentum building" to reprice stock options, said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, a research manager for executive compensation specialist Equilar. "Everyone has just been sort of waiting for a big name to do it."
Google already has been joined by coffee chain Starbucks Corp., which unveiled a proposal to allow its employees to swap their existing stock options for new ones that will be more likely to put cash in their pockets.
But Google's repricing program made a bigger splash because it's far more generous to the employees — much to the dismay of the shareholders who have seen their holdings in the Internet search leader plunge by 57 percent, or a collective $130 billion, since the stock peaked at $747 per share in 2007.
Google shares surged $18.20, or nearly 6 percent, to close Friday at $324.70 as investors cheered the company's fourth-quarter earnings report. But analysts said the rally probably would have been even more robust if not for the decision to reprice the stock options.
"A lot of people just hate it," said Broadpoint AmTech analyst Rob Sanderson. "I had one money manager tell me, `The next time you talk to Google's management, tell them I want all the stock I bought at $400 a few months ago to be repriced at $285."'
Understanding the angst triggered by option repricing requires an explanation on how the perquisites work.
Employees at thousands of companies generally receive a bundle of stock options when they are hired, and frequently receive additional grants in subsequent years.
The options are assigned what is known as an "exercise price" — the employee's cost for cashing in the reward. This price typically equals the stock's price at the time of the grant.
The more a company's stock price rises above the option price, the higher the profit for employees. The idea is to inspire workers to put in longer hours and come up with better ideas — to increase the company's value and the employees' potential windfall.
But if a stock price plunges below the option price — a phenomenon known as being "underwater" — employees can become dejected, distracted and perhaps even tempted to entertain other job offers, especially if a large portion of the compensation comes in the form of options.
The problem of underwater options faces 72 percent of the companies in the Fortune 500, based on Equilar's analysis of average exercise prices in mid-December.
Google's work force is awash in underwater options: Nearly 17,000 employees are holding more than 8 million stock options with an exercise price of at least $400.
Those are the options likely to be exchanged in a program running from Jan. 29 through March 3. The new options are expected to have an exercise price tied to the market value of Google's stock in early March.
Even though the repricing will result in $460 million in accounting charges, Google reasoned the cost is acceptable, to avoid morale and retention problems among its 20,222 workers. Since its inception in 1998, Google has given options to virtually all of its employees, turning thousands of them into multimillionaires.
"We think it's a good deal for shareholders and for our employees as well," Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said Thursday.
Even though it has been cutting back on some perks, Google is still renowned for pampering employees — a trait that isn't widely shared. That's why Sanderson isn't convinced Google's repricing will cause other companies to follow suit.
"Google gives away free lunches to employees, but that didn't compel everyone else to do it," he said.
Did Google even need to be so magnanimous at a time when many people are simply happy to have a job?
"While we agree with management that it is in shareholders' interests to keep Google employees motivated and retain the company's focus on growth, we question the necessity of the (repricing) program given the current employment environment," ThinkEquity analyst William Morrison wrote in a research report.
On the flip side, it could still be smart business to feel make workers feel wanted — even as millions of other people are unemployed.
"The reality is that talented people will always be able to find another job in any market," Sanderson said. "And if you lose your intellectual capital, you could be losing the future of the company."
Hoping to hold on to its employees, Google is extending the vesting period for each swapped option by a full year. Vesting refers to the time that must lapse before an option can be exercised. So a Google employee with an underwater option that vests in June 2010 would have to wait until June 2011 to exercise a repriced option.
Sanderson and Morrison both agree that Google could have lessened the backlash against its repricing by coming up with a program that didn't sting its shareholders as much.
Besides raising issues of fairness, Google's program threatens to lower future earnings per share by creating the need to issue more outstanding stock when the options are cashed in.
Google could have lessened the dilution experienced by its shareholders if it required employees to exchange anywhere from four to 10 of their current options for a repriced option. Or they could have traded for a share of restricted stock that would vest over several years.
It will probably take a few years before any definitive conclusions can be made about the wisdom of Google's repricing, said Collins Stewart analyst Sandeep Aggarwal.
"If it turns out to be good for Google in the long run," he said, "then it will be good for shareholders too."
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Google Introduces Novel Stock Plan for Employees.
Now that the Northern California tech firm is offering transferable options, it will be something that all other technology companies will look at but few will be able to do, experts say.
Google has a launched a new stock option program that will help its employees better realize the value of their stock option grants, experts say.
By doing so, however, Google has taken away the pay-for-performance nature of stock option grants, they say.
Under the transferable stock option program, which Google announced Tuesday, December 12, employees can sell their options once they vest. Through a partnership with Morgan Stanley, Google has set up an online auction marketplace whereby financial institutions can bid for employees’ options.
The new options have a 10-year life span and the same vesting schedule as existing options, with some vesting after a year and all vesting within four years. The program is not available to executives.
“In addition to increasing the value of every option employees receive, the TSO program makes the value of their options much more tangible,” the Mountain View, California-based company said in a statement on its official blog (googleblog. blogspot). “By showing employees what financial institutions are willing to pay for their options, it is made clear that the value of their options is greater than just the intrinsic value.”
Given the value of Google’s stock, which closed at $482.12 per share Thursday, December 14, it might be hard for employees to appreciate the value of their options—particularly prospective employees who can’t fathom that the price could continue to go up, says Mark Reilly, a compensation consultant.
The new program addresses that issue. But at the same time, by giving employees the ability to sell their options so soon the company is no longer aligning the options with company performance, says Russell Miller, practice leader at Korn/Ferry Executive Compensation Advisors.
With traditional options, an employee loses money if the value of the stock decreases. But with the transferable stock options, the stock could remain flat or fall and the employee will still get the value of the grant.
“That’s the tradeoff,” he says. “The new program enhances employees’ perceived value of their options at the time they are granted, but diminished the pay-for-performance orientation of the grant.”
The new program also weakens the ownership culture that has defined Google, Reilly says.
“This doesn’t encourage employees to be partners in the business; it encourages them to cash out,” he says. “If they were going to do that, they could have just offered a bonus program.”
But stock options are too core to Google’s industry, and besides, creating a completely new stock option program for employees is “much cooler” than just offering a long-term incentive program or restricted stock, says Bill Coleman, president of Salary.
“It’s a trademark Google move,” he says. “They are saying, ‘We aren’t going to do what everyone else is doing. We are going the think through this and come up with something clever and creative.’ ”
Now that Google has made the move, it will be something that all technology companies will look at but only a few will be able to do, experts say. For one, the administrative costs to create such a program are high, Meltzer says. It also takes a special kind of company to attract financial institutions to want to engage in something like this, he says.
“This kind of program isn’t going to be available to everyone,” Meltzer says.