In light of the recent hype and anticipation of Google’s newest development — Google+, we’re going back to our Incredible Archives for an exclusive look inside the Googleplex.
Google ranked No.1 on Forbes business magazine’s 2007 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, and for good reason. Our photographer was provided with an opportunity to capture the inner-most quarters of the multi-building, campus-like headquarters of Google in Silicon Valley, commonly known as “Googleplex”. A quick look at the photos showed us just what “employee-friendly” was all about.
Look around the spacious grounds and through the main complex and you get the feeling you’re strolling through an ivy-league university campus complete with volleyball courts, outdoor eating tables, even two swim-in-place wave pools, all for the enjoyments of the employees. Dress is super-casual. The only ones wearing suits and ties are visiting businessmen. Jeans, t-shirts, and sometimes even pajama bottoms are the norm. But the biggest perk is free food served three times a day in eleven different cafeterias. Employees love the meals so much that the phrase ”the Google 15” has become part of their vernacular; fifteen being the average number of pounds the food-lovers put on after indulging in the myriad of gourmet organic recipes offered up.
To work off the pounds, and the stresses of creative genius, Google has its own state-of-the-art gym right on campus offering weight-training and a host of exercise machines, rowing machines, lockers and shower rooms. For workers spending long hours in front of computers, or to just work out the kinks, there are massage rooms with professional masseuses available, plus electronic massage chairs in common areas. Sleepy? There are plenty of areas with comfortable couches or bags to take a quick power nap in. Imagine walking into a company’s headquarters anywhere else in the world and seeing employees playing pool in the middle of the day, or whizzing through the long office hallways or between buildings on electric scooters. And if pool isn’t your thing, there’s assorted video games, ping pong, Foosball, pinball machines, even a baby grand piano to practice a bit of Mozart on. Other perks include free haircuts, dry cleaning and laundry, child care, car services and five onsite doctors available for employee check-ups; all free of charge.
The company is also very pro-environment, and encourages its workers to ride their bicycles to work whenever possible. Bike racks are everywhere, and electric cars and motorized scooters join peddlers in transport options. And in the car lots, pregnant Googlers get their own parking spots closest to the doors. But perhaps the most unusual bonus of all…employees can bring their dogs to work with them and keep the four-legged canine in their offices.
Today, the $150 billion company employs 10,000 people around the world, and with its reputation as the best place to work for techno-geeks, it receives a resume every 25 seconds from eager job-seekers ready to come in from the cyberspace cold and join the team. Google had its beginning in a garage in Silicon Valley only ten years ago, a start-up founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
