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Comment by davidw | Hacker News Reader

The only thing missing was putting on a Google Jumpsuit in the morning - other than that, they're feeding him and housing him. Kind of creepy, but sounds like fun in some ways too.

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I'm pretty sure it's standard operating procedure for large companies to have company housing. I know that if you get hired at Apple or Microsoft they'll put you up in company housing for up to a month while you look around for a place on your own. It's a great perk when a lot of your employees aren't local since they won't have to scramble on the week/weekend before the start to find an apartment and be stuck with the first place they could find that was available immediately.

Of course they do, and I've stayed in company housing myself when working on remote projects. But this goes well beyond that: shuttles, cars, food at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also the way it's the Google this, Google that sounds kind of funny after a while.

Didn't Microsoft also offer much of this? Back in the day, they were the poster child corporation for bringing kids out of college into a college-like atmosphere, in order to keep everyone on "campus" and thus more likely to keep working. Google has just upgraded the formula slightly for the 21st century.

I had the same company "facilities" on a much smaller scale while working for HP: free HP house in the first month, HP shuttle, HP cantina,...

It's great to avoid employees worrying about non-work stuff. It's a bit big brotherish in a way too, but soooo comfy. Where did I put my soma again?

> It's a bit big brotherish in a way too, but soooo comfy. Where did I put my soma again?

I don't understand this attitude at all. You spend a quarter of the week at work (not including travel time or overtime, 40hr work week). Would you rather work at a shitty company that didn't try and keep you happy?

And really, it's your productivity that pays for that shuttle, housing, cafeteria, etc. Would you rather have it all go to the execs of the company? Or would you rather have it spent on making your work environment better?

It sounds like being a Japanese salaryman... except with better pay.

And less booze.

But just the right amount of sushi

From what I gathered about your posts on japanese salarymen though in Japanese BigCo that's the rule whereas in this article Tim points out that his recent experience was the exception.

Postscript: This is a little unfair. Normal people with lives in the neighborhood, aren’t doing this every day or even most days.

I loved that postscript. Apart from the Google housing, I do pretty much all of those things every day, discounting Google Coffee and Google Bacon. Of course, there's always evenings and weekends... sorry, Google Evenings and Google Weekends.

On the other hand, I wasn't even offered Google housing when relocating. Bah.

You just gave me an image of being a Google employee kind of like being a member of the Dharma initiative. Add the jump suits, and you're pretty much there.

It reminds me of The Prisoner an old british series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner

The main character is held prisoner in a perfect but isolated village where he can eat perfect breakfasts and meet friendly people. Except that the village authorities expect from him "information" ;-)

"be mining you" :)

"Google" is mentioned 22 times in the article.

It's the use as an adjective that's disconcerting. But as you stated, sounds fun in a way.

(I think that was a part of a joke)

Agreed, didn't mean to imply otherwise.

I half expected it to be the "Google Airport" instead of just airport.. it felt odd not seeing Google preceding it.

Tim must not have flown through Moffett Field.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-06-05/business/17163317_1_go...

Do Google employees gather every morning to sing the company song?

Because if they do, I get the feeling he'd belt it out with enthusiasm.

Only on Friday afternoons.

Yeah, isn't he supposed to be working from home in Canada?

I guess he is just visiting the main campus for a while. That would explain why he is put up in the temporary corporate housing just off Castro.

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