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Comment by adrianN | Hacker News Reader

A workplace that offers free snacks, drinks, ping-pong tables and relaxation pods is set up to maximize your time spent in the office and encourages a culture that excludes people who value their time off work, for example because they have a family.

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This is ridiculous. I'm married, have two kids, and prioitize family. I leave at or before 5 nearly every day. And....

I love office perks. On-site haircuts are fantastic - much faster than going to a salon on a weekend. Snacks and free good coffee make the day more pleasant. I don't take advantage of all of the possible perks, as some are clearly aimed at people working different schedules than I. But the reverse holds true as well (the single 23 year old likely does not avail themselves of bring your child to work day activities. :)

It's not all a conspiracy to screw workers. Improving quality of time at work and productivity during work hours is a win for everyone. I leverage perks to get more family time, not less, and I observe many of my with-family colleagues doing similarly.

I've worked at plenty of places with free snacks/drinks (some even considered enterprise), but never a place that had ping pong tables or relaxation pods, so casually introducing those to the argument is a tough sell and changes the context enough so that I don't think the rest of your point still stands. What are your thoughts on a more fitting comparison, such as snacks/drinks provided vs. BYO/vending machine/go to the store?

Not OP but I'd say it's the shortest path to obesity, unless you have a very strong will.

I never buy anything at the automated machines at my workplace, but when my colleagues bring some food for others to share, I always take some, for instance.

Depending what's available. At my job, if I forget my lunch, my only option is driving to a fast-food joint. If my employer offered snacks (some healthy, some not), I'd likely end up healthier. It's situational, depends on the person and workplace. Willpower is only a small part of it (at least for me).

I work at Google. I get in at 8, leave at 4, because I value my family time more than my work time and it has not held me back whatsoever. Not even an eyebrow raised.

What position? If you want to disclose.

Similarly, I get in at 10 and leave at 5. I'm a generic swe.

I'm a senior SWE.

That's largely true for me as well (also Googler, albeit recent). Looking after a somewhat broader area in SRE as a manager, the one thing that makes that tricky at times is time zones of partner teams and stakeholders. I think Google does an overall good (but not perfect) job at trying to lessen the negative impact of that. There is a culture of respecting people's private time and working hours. There is certainly a culture of caring about each other's well being. (This may be biased by my org, SRE, or my office in Europe.)

The commute times are way worse than the free lunches when it comes to family time.

I don't think it works this way (I worked at Google, the snacks were nice to have when I was there, but never a reason to stay late).

not necessarily. I don't do extratime at work, but still I enjoy free snacks, drinks, and so on

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