Comments on: Google & The Day Care Controversy

By: Lexy

Lexy — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:14:33 +0000

From the NYT article:
If Google had really wanted to do something path-breaking about its day care crisis, it would have spent less time creating elitist day care centers and more time figuring out how to “scale” day care for everybody no matter what their salaries.

Exactly… who cares if you have onsite daycare if it costs $57,000/yr? Certainly not your employees making less than $100K a year. Managing a daycare benefit would be a horrible nightmare of proportions I can only imagine, but if you’re going to do it it has to be affordable or it’s stupid.

By: Melina

Melina — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:43:26 +0000

@Frannyo I so agree that benefits, once given, create havoc when removed. Simple things like juice, soda or weekly bagel deliveries become an expected part of the workday. This benefit is much more important than orange juice…

Perhaps employees will sell some of their shares to cover the increase in costs (Icahn can pick up more ownership). Or they can use the 20% of time designated for projects they are passionate about to take care of their children (which I assume they ARE passionate about). Can’t imagine that would fly, but hey, it is an idea!

Especially sad for the employees is how obviously this one time benefit is meant to satisfy one person in the company (according to the picture painted by the press).

By: Neil

Neil — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:11:26 +0000

I’ve seen a few blogs/articles lately that suggest that Google’s innovative HR ideas might not really work out in the long term.

I thought this was an interesting one, for example:

http://1-800-magic.blogspot.com/2008/06/back-to-microsoft.html

By: perrik

perrik — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:06:49 +0000

Loved the bizarre nepotism involved with the Google daycare issue. It’s such a throwback to the .dotcom boom time when business was conducted at random.

By: Susanna Cesar Morton

Susanna Cesar Morton — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:38:11 +0000

There’s a lesson here: In sales you have to set the right level of expectations, then over deliver. It’s a disaster to set high expectations then under deliver.

Come on Google, we expect more forward thinking from an industry leader.

Here’s my take: http://snipr.com/2uawi

By: Neil

Neil — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:24:09 +0000

There have been a few articles/blogs/etc lately suggesting that maybe Google’s innovative HR ideas may not work out in the long term.

This person didn’t much like the lack of career structure or management & has headed back to MS:

http://1-800-magic.blogspot.com/2008/06/back-to-microsoft.html

By: Laurie

Laurie — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:03:09 +0000

@FrannyO I agree that a benefit is permanent once it’s introduced. I would hate to manage a day care benefit because WHO AM I? THE NANNY?

@RachL What’s your take on this: I’m totally sick of paternalistic corporations managing my benefits. No one spends my money better than I do. Give me the corporate money you put into my health care plan (& other benefits) and I’ll find my own health insurance, childcare, etc. - OR - I’ll vote for a government that will use my tax money in a more efficient way and implement universal pre-K, health care coverage, etc. Thoughts? Blog about this, please.

@cols Google seems to forget that the best place to work is in your pants. When you work those board shorts, cols, you boost employee morale!

@hrwench Col is now our SVP of Totes Awesomeness.

By: HR Wench

HR Wench — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:20:32 +0000

I’m with Col.

EAT IT GOOGLE!! HOW’S THAT TASTE? QUIT HITTIN’ URSELF! QUIT HITTIN’ URSELF! MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

By: col

col — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:43:27 +0000

my fave excerpt from the NYT primer: “Ms. Wojcicki is a figure of significant stature at Google; hers was the garage that Mr. Brin and Google’s other founder, Larry Page, rented while starting up Google. Today she is the company’s vice president for product measurement, though as I discovered in talking to unhappy Google parents this week, not many Googlers seem to know what her exact duties entail. Everybody, however, knows that she’s Mr. Brin’s sister-in-law.”

i know many figures of significant stature whose exact duties are fairly nebulous.

and as illogical and spiteful as it may be, i love to see google get knocked off its pedestal. arrogant bastards.

By: Rachel Robbins

Rachel Robbins — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:16:30 +0000

I agree with Google - it’s a luxury. Even if they have to pay comparable rates for the same service, they’re still lucky to have on site daycare. No amount of money can makeup for being able to visit your children and not having a long commute to pick them up and drop them off.

I think the Googlers have become just a little too entitled.