Sundar Pichai says free meals at Google foster creativity and collaboration among employees.
Pichai believes the benefits of free meals far outweigh the costs, boosting innovation.
Google’s employee-friendly perks, including meals, attract top global talent with a 90% offer acceptance rate.
Google is pretty famous for serving lavish lunches to its employees for free. During a recent appearance on “The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai was asked why Google invests so much in its employees’ meals. Pichai was quick to reply that the free meal was not a perk and rather had its own benefits.
During the discussion, Pichai revealed that free meals at the Google offices have a deeper meaning than just being a simple perk. He said that it is during these meals, when the team comes together to eat, that brilliant ideas emerge. He added that during his early days at Google, it was during these meal times at the cafes that he came up with great ideas. He said, “I can recall several times, when I was working at Google early on, being in cafes, meeting someone else, talking and getting excited about something. So it sparks creativity.”
He added that for this creativity to flow amongst its employees, it isn’t such a big cost. He said, “the benefit that comes out of it dwarfs the cost”. He further added that “it sparks creativity and builds community.”
He further added that having such employee-friendly initiatives impact the workplace dynamics positively in the long run. Pichai further added that each year Google attracts top talent across the world. He said that when Google gives out offers, approximately 90% of the candidates end up accepting it. On the show, Rubenstein highlighted that Google employs over 1,82,000 people globally.
When asked about what Google looks for while hiring an employee, he said that it varies from situation to situation. He said, “If you’re in engineering, we are looking for really good programmers, people who understand computer science well, and can adapt to new challenges.”
Beyond the free meals, Google offers extensive health insurance, covering medical, dental, and vision needs, along with access to wellness programs and on-site fitness centres for employee benefit. Further, the company has flexible options for remote work, paid time off, and parental leave which makes it an attractive place to work at.
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