A GOO-GOO GOOD PLACE TO WORK
Fortune has published its annual “The 100 Best Companies To Work For” (Milton Moskowitz and Robert Levering, March 15, 2015, pp. 97–154). The top position went to none other than Google. This is likely getting old for Google given its previous number-one ranking on the same list five times in the past eight years, not including this one. Fortune emphasized some family-friendly fringes that added to Google’s special appeal:
“ New parents, regardless of gender can now get up to 12 weeks of fully paid baby-bonding time. Google also provides $500 in ‘bonding bucks’ to all new parents to use during the first three months of their new child’s life. ” (p. 143)
From a fiscal standpoint, it could be easy to criticize Google for these very generous benefits. However, these happen to be benefits that touch people’s lives at their most crucial life seasons. These are things people do not forget. Those memories directly and indirectly accrue back to Google’s benefit:
“ Google’s leaders explicitly attribute the company’s financial performance to its benevolent people practices. ” (p. 142)
People are important to Google. Families are important to people. Google has figured out the family formula.
The family formula can work everywhere else too.
