Many great companies give much importance to succeeding while keeping their employees satisfied and have been able to do so by motivating their employees as they work hard. It has been proven that when employees are happy and satisfied, the levels of productivity escalate in a notable manner. The principles of a good work environment are related to aspects such as workplace comfort, appreciative managers and the possibility of professional growth.
Employees of large companies may be qualified to perform in various tasks at a high level of efficiency, but in some situation their efforts may seem insufficient and it’s usually due to a less than ideal work environment.
The corporate world of today knows for sure that one of the most important factors for success within a company is the human and social aspect; this is why managers nowadays worry more about having a suitable work environment for employees so that they can be effective at their jobs.
Google is a company that is characterized for providing comfort and satisfaction to their workforce. Those who work within the company are depicted as committed and consistent with their work thanks to an empowering work environment.
Googleplex
This is the headquarters of Google Inc. located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, Santa Clara, California. Its infrastructure consists of low-rise buildings covering a large area. The inside of the main building is decorated with lights and shadows cast by giant rubber balls and on the main lobby you can find a huge screen projecting the latest searches of the website. The facilities include a gym, laundry rooms, two swimming pools, a sand volleyball court and many cafes.
Activities And Entertainment For Employees.
Google allows its employees access to all facilities so that they can enjoy the spaces at their leisure. Pets are allowed at work inside the offices as well as parking bicycles in the corridors. Ping pong tables can be found in some of the floors as well as pool tables. Employees have laundry service, massages and restaurants where they can enjoy all kinds of food. In addition to everything else, there are services such as hairdressers, yoga, gym and Xbox to play video games. Employees can take their children to enjoy the facilities and services made for them in addition to childcare services with very well trained specialists.
As Far As Productivity Goes.
Google is known for being a company that meets high performance demands on their stocks. The company is careful not to exploit their workers regarding the amount of labor hours and their intensity. On the contrary they look for ways to make their personnel comfortable working there and in that manner, achieve better performance. One factor that separates Google from other companies is the efficiency of their search engine. This has been accomplished due to the hard work of their engineers ensuring proper development of strategies to optimize their connection with end-users. Google places great emphasis on the fact that fewer workers laboring intensely and with a motivated attitude in a task are far more valuable than a large number of people working long hours to attempt to reach the same results.
Image courtesy of johannes p osterhoff at Flickr.com
Employee Productivity Strategies.
One of the main strategies used by Google to keep employees working happily and with a positive attitude, is to use a “Time Program” that allocates a fifth of the work schedule every week (about one day) towards personal projects that may have nothing to do with the advancement of the company and that doesn’t have anything to do with their position or responsibilities within Google. This strategy, allows employees to use their time in the pursue of something they feel passionate about and feel rewarded and thus greatly invested in a company that cares about their personal growth without necessarily benefiting directly from it. This type of actions create commitment with their managers and corporation and a great level of well-being and a raise in moral and improvement of the work atmosphere.
Benefits to employee’s family members.
In the event of the untimely death of an employee, all their stock vests immediately, and, on top of the life insurance payout their family will receive 50% of their wages for ten years and there’s also an additional $1,000/month benefit for any of the Googler’s children. When an employee is pregnant, she receives a benefit of paid maternity leave for 18 weeks and in the event of the father, he may receive up to 6 weeks of the same benefit. Google also gives us a bonus, called ‘baby bonding bucks’ shortly after the baby is born to help with expenses like diapers, takeout, and formula during the parental leave.
Googlers can take up to one three-month leave of unpaid time off, under specific circumstances. Healthcare benefits continue for unpaid leaves of up to three months.