|
| Just another company (Read 416 times) |
|
| view log |
posted: 7/5/2008 at 1:25 PM |
| I do not have children in school but everyone should read this article. |
Run until the trail runs out
2008 TARGET 150 MONTH
2009 TARGET 40/40 |
|
|
| view log 'tis feeding time |
posted: 7/5/2008 at 2:40 PM |
| Wow. Just, wow. |
| Run like hell. |
|
|
| view log |
posted: 7/5/2008 at 4:56 PM |
| Quote from PowerOfQ on 7/5/2008 at 2:40 PM: Wow. Just, wow.
 exactly
|
| Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?
Peter Maher
|
|
|
|
posted: 7/6/2008 at 2:01 AM |
Can I ask what part of this people have a problem with? I honestly don't see it. I'm a fellow software engineer so I completely see the logic behind Google's actions. Health care and day care is not a valid comparison since day care applies to less then 5% of Google's employees (based on the numbers provided in the article). If you un-skew the numbers the writer is using Google is still paying $25,000 per kid after the price increase which is twice the average. I'm pretty sure the parents would be even more upset if Google reduced the quality of the care so that they could take care of more kids. Sounds like these 5% of people think they are somehow entitled to $37,000 bonuses that the other 95% of the company isn't.
|
| Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose; it's how drunk you get. -- Homer Simpson |
|
|
| view log Funky Monkey |
posted: 7/6/2008 at 2:13 AM
modified: 7/6/2008 at 2:43 AM |
Here is the problem:
1. google made the only onsite childcare available impossibly expensive.
2. google then removed all financial assistance for those who could not afford it
3. google did this based on a cult of personality rather than based on what science tells us about raising kids
google could have kept the less expensive option available and asked folks to pay their share and/or they could have found ways to make the more expensive option less expensive. But they did not. And what they did runs completely counter to their standard modus operandi. They see fit to cook all employees gourmet meals three meals a day, 7 days a week (when less fancy meals would suffice), but do not see fit to meet the more fundamental needs many employees have.
And while 5% of their employees may need childcare right now, over the course of a career, nearly all employees will need this. The logic that only 5% need it now, so it is fringe and something we should not provide is exactly the same argument that we as a society could make against public high schools, subsidizing healthcare for the elderly (i.e., Medicare) or building greenways for runners and bikers. And perhaps we should take away maternity leave too. And sick time, since not all employees get sick. And on and on and on... |
| It's all fun and games until the flying monkeys attack. |
|
|
| view log Funky Monkey |
posted: 7/6/2008 at 2:34 AM
modified: 7/6/2008 at 2:44 AM |
I would add that raising children is the responsibility of the entire community. Whether kids are yours or somebody else's, they are all the bricks and mortar that make up OUR future. Who do you think is going to pay for your healthcare when you get old? Who is going to pay taxes to keep the streets paved and policed after you retire? We do what we do today to support them in the years to come, so that they can carry on what we have worked all our lives to build.
The responsibility to raise children falls to us all. It falls to those of us in the public and private sectors. google, one of the world's most successful companies, should be willing to recognize this.
Instead, they have asked parents to pay the entire bill, and have increased the bill to some 150-200% the going market rate. It will cost up to $37k per year per child to care for those kids; it costs me ~$7k per year for my kiddo at one of Nashville's best childcare facilities (which the employer, who does not do as well as google, subsidizes). If unsubsidized, it would cost me ~$13k per kiddo. That is about 1/3 what google charges. Disgusting. |
| It's all fun and games until the flying monkeys attack. |
|
|
|
posted: 7/6/2008 at 3:19 AM |
Thanks for the opinions. If you think everyone is responsible for raising kids why should Google or other corporations be the ones that provide this service. The government should provide the service and then fund it through taxes so that everyone pays equally. You are asking corporations to take on a disproportionally large percentage of the cost. Not to mention the widely varying quality of service that different corporations provide.
I'd argue against that entirely but I'm a capitalist at heart so I have a much more survival of the fittest viewpoint on life. 
As for the 5% thing... If everyone had the same number of kids and worked at Google during the years they were born I'd agree that it averages out. I doubt it comes even close in reality. |
| Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose; it's how drunk you get. -- Homer Simpson |
|
|
|
posted: 7/6/2008 at 3:36 AM |
| Quote from Trent on 7/6/2008 at 2:34 AM: Instead, they have asked parents to pay the entire bill, and have increased the bill to some 150-200% the going market rate. It will cost up to $37k per year per child to care for those kids; it costs me ~$7k per year for my kiddo at one of Nashville's best childcare facilities (which the employer, who does not do as well as google, subsidizes). If unsubsidized, it would cost me ~$13k per kiddo. That is about 1/3 what google charges. Disgusting.
I don't know the numbers but silicon valley is significantly more expensive then Nashville so I don't think the numbers compare on an absolute scale. Percentage-wise Google seems in-line with you though.
"Under the new plan, parents with two kids in Google day care would most likely see their annual day care bill grow to more than $57,000 from around $33,000."
"Meanwhile, someone at Google woke up one day and realized that the company was subsidizing each child to the tune of $37,000 a year"
My calculations put the total per kid cost at $53,500 with a current subsidy of about 70% and a 53% after the increase. You have a 54% subsidy now. |
| Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose; it's how drunk you get. -- Homer Simpson |
|
|
| view log Funky Monkey |
posted: 7/6/2008 at 3:44 AM
modified: 7/6/2008 at 3:50 AM |
When I say everybody is responsible, I mean both the government and the corporations. I also mean you and me. I am neither a communist or a socialist, and it makes good business sense to keep your employees happy and their children cared for; this will increase their productivity. A parent who has to commute an extra hour+ to get the kids to some distant school will be more tired, less productive and less focused at work. google understands this basic premise, which is exactly why they do offer gourmet food for free. Their childcare (fumble?) does not parallel their typical approach to employee wellness.
But Joe, all this discussion about susidy distracts from the primary point. The primary point is this: google eliminated the standard, affordable and beloved childcare option and replaced it with an exclusive and incredibly expensive option that most cannot afford. So even those who are fully willing and happy to pay for their kids' care are now forced to shell out for the premium option, a choice that is out of reach for most.
The employees all essentially live in google-ville, without access to other options for child care. If they have a kid, they must either stop working for google, get a nanny or pay for the premium childcare package that may be far more than they want, need or can afford. It sounds like just about all the employees were delighted with the less expensive option for childcare, and the only one who was not was the multi-millionaire woman who had it eliminated.
Quote from protoplasm72 on 7/6/2008 at 3:36 AM:I don't know the numbers but silicon valley is significantly more expensive then Nashville
Yes, but this is overcome by the relatively higher salary google employees receive. COL is lower in Nashville, so many jobs pay less. I know this to be the case in healthcare and in IT. |
| It's all fun and games until the flying monkeys attack. |
|
|
| view log Bif! Bam! Pow! |
posted: 7/6/2008 at 5:16 AM |
yeah...I dont care that silicon valley is high COL. You can argue companies offering daycare or not, but that "cost" is extremely high, even for silicon valley. Crap I could send my kids to top private schools for less than that. If companies have daycare it should be in line with what is available in the community or what is the point? All this looks like now is a blatant attempt to give exec's perks and still try to suck up to the people who evaluate corporate family friendliness by claiming "on site daycare".
Google was for a time recruiting with the "day care perk" and has now pulled a bait and switch during a tough tough market both for jobs and housing. That is just showing a very high level of disdain for the people who make the company. Not part of googles spouted culture. You cant have it both ways. If you want to claim to be a people first company than your actions have to follow. I worked for a company that made it clear during the interview that they were a profit first company and then..hey you are right, no griping, because we were not misled in anyway. But google tries to build their image and their stock on being a people first company. |
Beware the Pink Boxing Gloves of DOOM!
"It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds" - Captain Hammer
2008 Goals New PR's in 5K 10K HM, M What now?
Faster than a speeding toddler..... |
|
|
|
posted: 7/6/2008 at 5:45 AM |
| Well let Google scratch that off their list of perks. The list is still longer then any company I can think of. I'm not going to start doubting they are a people first company because they are only twice as good as the next best company instead of 3 times. I doubt anyone is quitting their job over this. The stock options every employee gets probably more then makes up for it. |
| Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose; it's how drunk you get. -- Homer Simpson |
|
|
|
| view log Funky Monkey |
posted: 7/6/2008 at 12:03 PM |
So Joe, google is still good because they give out free M&Ms (unhealthy) and bottled water (environmentally suspect) while withholding affordable childcare? That must be the 2 out of 3 perks they still offer. Got it. 
What does the most expensive childcare in Willamette cost? The COL there is at least as high as at google-ville. |
| It's all fun and games until the flying monkeys attack. |
|
|
| view log |
posted: 7/6/2008 at 5:54 PM |
Ouch.. those numbers hurt. I'm thinking full-time care for one child at work is under $200 per week. Granted, we're not Google or in a high cost of living area.
However, it'd be a shame to lose good talent due to prohibitively expensive childcare.
|
| No more monkeys jumping on the bed! |
|
|
|
|
