Why Most Google Employees Quit After 1.1 Years (On Average)
Summary
TLDRThis video explores why Google, despite being a top employer, has a high turnover rate with employees leaving within 1.1 years on average. It delves into five major reasons, including the 'perk trap' that may unintentionally keep employees at work longer, intense work pressure leading to burnout, fierce internal competition affecting promotions, internal politics hindering career growth, and the allure of starting one's own startup post-Google. The video challenges the perception of Google's benefits as purely positive and questions whether they are a retention strategy or genuinely for employee welfare.
Takeaways
- 🏢 Google employees tend to stay with the company for an average of just 1.1 years, significantly shorter than the national average of 4.1 years.
- 🍽️ The company's perks, such as free meals and shuttles, may have a hidden cost, subtly encouraging employees to work longer hours.
- 🐶 Allowing dogs in the office is a perk that can blur the lines between work and personal life, potentially increasing work hours.
- 📈 The competitive environment at Google can be intense, with high expectations and pressure to perform, which may lead to stress and burnout.
- 🏆 The difficulty of obtaining promotions and recognition within Google, due to internal politics and a highly competitive workforce, can be demotivating.
- 🤔 Despite generous benefits like unlimited vacation time, the constant work pressure and aggressive deadlines can overshadow these perks.
- 💼 The high demand for tech talent means that employees often have many opportunities to move to other companies for better pay or conditions.
- 🚀 Many ex-Google employees choose to start their own companies, leveraging the skills and experience gained at Google to pursue their own ventures.
- 🌐 The competitive tech industry in San Francisco ensures that there are always new opportunities for those looking to move on from Google.
- 🔄 The frequent turnover at Google is a challenge for the company, as it constantly needs to recruit and train new employees to replace those who leave.
Q & A
What is the average tenure of a Google employee compared to the national average in the U.S.?
-The average tenure of a Google employee is just 1.1 years, which is significantly lower than the national average of 4.1 years in the U.S.
What is referred to as the 'Perk Trap' in the context of Google's employee benefits?
-The 'Perk Trap' refers to the idea that Google's extensive perks may have a hidden downside, potentially keeping employees trapped in a cycle of long working hours due to the allure of these benefits.
How does Google's provision of meals potentially influence the working hours of its employees?
-Google serves meals late, specifically not offering dinner until between 6 and 6:30 PM, which encourages employees to stay later to take advantage of all three meals, effectively adding extra hours to their workday.
What is the role of Google's free shuttle service in relation to employee work habits?
-Google's free shuttle service, which includes free Wi-Fi, may encourage employees to use the commute time for work-related activities, effectively extending their workday by the duration of the commute.
How does allowing dogs in the office potentially affect an employee's work-life balance at Google?
-Allowing dogs in the office may eliminate the need for employees to go home to care for their pets, effectively blurring the lines between work and personal life and potentially increasing the time spent at work.
What percentage of Google employees consider their jobs to be extremely stressful according to a report by Payscale.com?
-According to a Payscale.com report, 53% of Google employees consider their jobs to be extremely stressful.
How does the competitive nature of working at Google affect employee satisfaction and turnover?
-The high level of competition at Google, where employees are surrounded by some of the world's smartest people, can lead to feelings of inadequacy and stress, contributing to dissatisfaction and a higher rate of turnover.
What is the issue with internal politics at Google that some ex-employees have reported?
-Some ex-employees have reported a complex internal politics structure at Google that can block their career progression, leading to frustration and eventual departure from the company.
Why do some ex-Google employees choose to start their own startups after leaving Google?
-Some ex-Google employees, driven by ambition and the desire to work on something they have full control over, choose to start their own startups to chase the same high that initially motivated them to join Google.
What is the significance of having 'Google' on one's resume in the tech industry?
-Having 'Google' on one's resume is highly attractive to recruiters in the tech industry, as it signifies that the individual has worked at a top-tier company and is likely to receive numerous job offers and opportunities.
What is the role of company hopping in the tech industry, especially for software engineers?
-Company hopping is common in the tech industry, particularly for software engineers, as they often seek higher salaries and new challenges, using their experience at prestigious companies like Google as leverage.
Outlines
🔎 The Perk Trap and Work Pressure at Google
This paragraph discusses the paradoxical nature of Google's employee benefits, which, while appearing attractive, may actually serve to extend work hours and increase pressure. The script mentions how perks like free meals, shuttle services, and the ability to bring pets to work can subtly coerce employees into longer working days. It also highlights the high stress levels reported by Google employees, with a significant percentage considering their jobs extremely stressful. Despite the availability of stress-relief amenities, the competitive and deadline-driven work environment often leaves employees feeling overworked and unable to take advantage of these benefits.
🤖 Intense Competition and the Struggle for Promotions
The second paragraph delves into the competitive nature of Google's work environment and the challenges it presents for employees. It describes the intense selection process to join Google, with a competitive ratio far exceeding that of getting into Harvard. The pressure to perform and innovate in a team of highly intelligent individuals can be both motivating and overwhelming, leading to conflicts and feelings of inadequacy. The paragraph also touches on the internal politics that can hinder promotions, causing frustration for employees who feel they are not being recognized or advanced within the company.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Google employees
💡Tinder
💡Perks
💡Work-life balance
💡Burnout
💡Internal politics
💡Promotion
💡Competition
💡Startup
💡Company hopping
💡Recruiters
Highlights
Google employees who start relationships on Tinder tend to have shorter relationships.
The average tenure of a Google employee is just 1.1 years, compared to 4.1 years in America.
Google is known for its benefits and perks, yet has a high employee turnover rate.
The video explores reasons ex-Google employees gave for quitting, including seeking more freedom and frustration with the work environment.
The 'Perk Trap' is a controversial concept where Google's perks may be designed to keep employees trapped.
Google serves three meals a day, but dinner is served late, encouraging employees to stay longer.
Google's free shuttle and Wi-Fi may encourage employees to work more during commutes.
Allowing dogs in the office could be a strategy to keep employees at work longer.
Google's generous work from home policy and unlimited vacation time may not be fully utilized due to work pressure.
53% of Google employees consider their jobs extremely stressful, according to a payscale.com study.
Ex-Google employees describe feeling like they are constantly working against the clock with little time to relax.
The competitive environment at Google can be both stimulating and pressuring, leading to high expectations and potential conflicts.
Ex-Googlers felt overshadowed by highly talented colleagues, affecting their motivation and opportunities for promotion.
Internal politics at Google can hinder promotions, leading to frustration and departures.
Many ex-Google employees choose to start their own startups, leveraging their experience and ambition.
Ex-Google employees often find themselves in high demand, with recruiters actively seeking them out.
The video suggests that staying at Google for one year and then leaving can be beneficial for future career opportunities.
Transcripts
google employees and relationships that
start on tinder have one thing in common
on average they don't last very long
while employees in america stay with a
company for 4.1 years on average a
typical googler quits in just 1.1 years
so why does the number one best place to
work for many years in a row famous for
benefits and perks massages
mouth-watering meals where 3 million
people apply to work every year with all
this why does google have such a massive
problem keeping people around
we're gonna find out whether google is
hiding some dark secrets or why maybe
the reason people move on so fast is
they rock it onto something even more
positive even greater success fame and
fortune after just one year this video
is purely based on the reasons that
ex-google employees gave for quitting
from seeking more freedom to extreme
frustration with the work environment to
creating their own startups
[Music]
[Applause]
here are five major reasons why most
googlers say goodbye to google in one
year or less
the perk trap
recently a controversial tick tock video
shows the dark side of google's
exclusive perks now you might wonder
what could go wrong with receiving
benefits at work because at first
nothing seems shady employees work hard
contributing the company so they get
rewarded with benefits but what if the
benefits have a dark side and are
nothing but debate to keep you trapped
this is what ken walks a former employee
said in a controversial tick tock that
went viral this year aspiring young
workers flock to the company assuming
they have amazing work-life balance eat
delicious food and play ping-pong with
colleagues and it's not their fault
because that's how google portrays
itself but according to ken this may be
careful marketing just to attract
employees and what you actually see is
to get employees to stay for longer for
example google serves three tasty meals
a day but they don't serve dinner until
between 6 and 6 30. and you might say
okay that's not that late but if you
think about it by the time you finish
eating it's gonna be seven or seven
thirty that means to take advantage of
all three meals you're gonna need to be
at your desk from morning until evening
and getting every employee to stay until
six instead of five those hours really
add up another perk is google's free
shuttle and you even get free wi-fi on
the shuttle great but you can probably
guess what most people are using that
wi-fi to do work more considering the
shuttle can take about one hour from sf
to google campus when there's traffic if
you just add those two hours of commute
time per day and one extra hour that
people stay late for dinner then people
already got three hours of extra work
from you now google also lets you bring
dogs to the office which just seems
purely positive but what ken said is by
doing that google just eliminated
another reason for you to go home or to
think of anything else other than work
it's kind of like you and your dog are
living together in one cage and there's
one thing that's for sure google's
earning back what they spent on these
perks many times over now several
million people watch ken's video and
some agree others disagreed some say
they would happily spend long hours of
work if they got all these free benefits
honestly though what do you think leave
a comment below and of course beyond
what we mentioned here there's a lot of
perks we didn't cover such as google's
generous work from home policy unlimited
vacation time and more but can you
actually enjoy them with the second
reason
endless work pressure
of course google isn't alone with the
list of companies that put a lot of
pressure on employees with aggressive
deadlines but how much pressure is too
much well maybe when work pressure
starts to take a toll on health because
anxiety and burnout can definitely be a
factor in early departures research on
workplace stress recently done by
payscale.com said that 53 of google
employees consider their jobs extremely
stressful no wonder ex-google employees
claim google acts like a demanding
girlfriend even with the unlimited
vacation work from home and more direct
stress relievers like meditation rooms
and insurance covering therapy the
question is are these things actually
helping well if we look at payscale's
report and what ex-googlers say it
largely seems like no but why because
many google employees claimed they felt
like there was a culture of them working
against the clock and they didn't have
any time to relax and de-stress
themselves because it's hard to have
leisure time when you're only thinking
about the task you're behind on due to
an aggressive deadline and ex-googlers
say that due to these deadlines they
always felt behind schedule and only in
rare cases if the team was lucky would
they actually finish a project on time
now in this situation it's very easy to
rationalize something like skipping the
gym when your whole team is working too
now it's not like anyone's gonna stop
you from going but you might be seen as
a slacker for not working as hard as the
rest of the team and to be perceived as
a hard worker you might be eating those
tasty meals at your desk now you might
be typing a comment right now that says
hey you have your perks you have the
high salary so stop complaining but when
you're actually in the environment it's
a bit different not everyone can handle
that stress you might also wonder is
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way more than enough to survive and make
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the video and move on to the third
reason
difficult to survive
i don't want to be dramatic but working
at google you might feel like you're
living a state over in death valley the
constant work pressure can make you
sweat and the competition can make it
hard to survive now the competition
begins as soon as you apply it at google
you have to compete with three million
applicants every year and overshadow
them just to get an interview which
means landing a job at google is harder
than joining harvard 20 times harder
actually but passing the interview and
becoming a googler might be just the
beginning you'll be working with some of
the smartest people in the world which
is of course a great stimulating
experience but you're also going to feel
pressure to match up to them in terms of
performance productivity and creativity
you might try to come up with new ideas
and initiatives to stand out and get a
promotion but this can actually create
conflict with your colleagues who have
their own ideas and incentives and
having someone incredibly smart and
experienced or creative on your team can
actually leave you feeling like you're
stuck in their shadow and many
ex-googlers surveyed actually felt like
they got left out being on such a type
of team personal motivation aside being
on a competitive team can also make it
harder to get big projects and
promotions and over time it can be
discouraging to operate in this
circumstance which does lead to a lot of
employees company hopping to get more
recognition that brings us to our fourth
point politics kills promotions
the next googler named michael lynch
said he tried his best to stick with the
company he gave his best yet there was
still no opportunity to ever get a
promotion and numerous ex-googlers have
felt this way describing a house of
cards style internal politics structure
that happens within the company blocking
them from claiming up the ladder of
success now within tech companies it
should be purely results driven but
people pleasing within google is
apparently a massive problem people
getting passed over for promotions
taking it personally and then going on
to find a new job this is exactly what
crystal brick experienced an ex-product
marketing manager who ended up leaving
her six-figure job for the same reasons
now the question is when people leave
where do they go google seems like the
top and what's next well there are many
comparable companies such as facebook or
netflix but a sizeable amount of people
take advantage of the fifth major reason
to start a startup
uncle ben from spiderman said it best
with great power
comes great responsibility
what he didn't say was with great
responsibility can come extreme stress
if even in big companies stress is
inevitable why not spend that stress on
developing your own company instead and
if competition is inevitable then why
not compete with google itself one group
of ex-google employees took this very
literally and they created a new search
engine called neva and neva is far and
away not the only startup ex-googlers
have created there's so many like
cardiogram texts now coda amplitude
zenesis dildas snap
cape and the list is endless now it's
just a fact that people ambitious enough
to get into google in the first place
are probably ambitious to a fault where
they eventually find it more exciting
and worthwhile to work on their own
company chasing that same high that
initially motivated them to get into
google in the first place now of course
you're gonna lose the perks company
culture benefits and things we've been
talking about this whole time but if
your startup does fail the perks and
competitive salaries exist at almost all
the big tech companies at sf because
they're all competing for the limited
pool of great software engineers tech
employees are notorious for company
hopping especially for higher salaries
as soon as they get bored and if you
have google on your resume you better
believe recruiters are going to be
flooding your inbox more than if you
were a bikini model on instagram and
they'll be trying to get you to move to
their company being so in demand is no
doubt a good thing it makes the
temptation to move though for a pay bump
especially after having a bad day
extremely high imagine if you're google
you're trying to steer a ship with
employees jumping off every single day
so it's an uphill battle to keep people
around and get anything done so maybe
it's not surprising google tries to
juice people as much as they can when
they are still around anyway what do you
think is working for google worth it are
the benefits just a sales tactic or do
they genuinely care about their
employees maybe the sweet spot is
landing google staying for one year and
then leaving it on your resume to use it
for the cloud and future opportunities
just like all the people who drop out of
harvard let me know what you think and
i'll see you next time
[Music]
you
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