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Emails From Former Disgruntled Google Employees Surface

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 07:38 CST

Google is known for its modern workplace environment, including daily perks like free massages, and ice cream, but according to some former workers, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

A set of emails from former Google employees revealed complaints about low pay, work hours, and the hiring process.

Many found disappointment after considering their potential position at Google to be the promised land.

“You read so much about how amazing it is to work for Google and for the first two years it was,” wrote a former employee named Scott.

“Before I left it just was a place full of quiet moans, talented people being undermined and a structure that created hostility and politics.”

The emails were part of study by the company to see why former employees decided to resign.  The private correspondence eventually found its way to the popular TechCrunch blog, where it was eventually published.

According to one former employee, workers were promised a better benefits package, but the plan was pulled when Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt found out how much it would cost.

The email read: “[Schimdt] fell back in his tired, familiar standby (“People don’t work at Google for the money. They work at Google because they want to change the world!). A statement that always seems to me a little Louis XIV coming from a billionaire.”

“I still can’t recall all the moralizing postures without a shudder of disgust.”

While some complained about the popular search engine company, others defended the company, saying practices at Google were far better than previous jobs.

Reasons for leaving the company varied from saying they could be paid more at rivals like Microsoft, to leaving because their managers were “jerks.”

“Google is supposed to be some kind of Nirvana, so if you can’t be happy there how will you ever be happy?” wrote Dan. “The truth is that Google can be a really horrible place to work if you happen to run up against its shortcomings.”

Many seemed angry about a hiring process that took months to complete, and included micro-management from Larry Page, Google’s co-founder, who still reviews resumes of potential employees.

“We believe it’s worth it. If you hire great people and involve them intensively in the hiring process, you’ll get more great people," said a Google spokesman in response to the complaint.

According to some, the perks came at a cost.  One former employee wrote about the free dining hall saying “if you were staying for dinner, it better be because you were working afterwards.”

The complaints come as a surprise to many.  Last year, the company was named Best Company to Work For in the US by Fortune magazine, and was named the UK’s best employer by the Great Places to Work Institute.

“Of course there will always be a small number of ex-employees for whom Google may not have been a perfect fit but for the vast majority of employees this is not the case,” said a Google spokesman.

Google offices are known for their benefits.  In their London offices, the company gives free massages, has an on site Yoga studio and game room.

In the Mountain View, California branch, speakers such as Hilary Clinton and President Barack Obama are known to drop by for impromptu talks.

The release of the disgruntled emails comes on the heals of last weeks job cut, which laid-off 100 employees in the first major lay-off in the company’s 11-year history.

Image Courtesy UPI

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On the Net:

• Google
• TechCrunch

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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