Current Events > Google rolls out pay cuts to work from home

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://nypost.com/2021/08/10/google-slashing-pay-for-work-from-home-
employees-by-up-to-25/

Google has rolled out a new internal calculator to explain potential pay cuts to employees who choose to work remotely and the early results suggests it will penalize its suburban staffers.
Screenshots obtained by Reuters show that Google employees who previously commuted an hour to Googles Manhattan offices from nearby Stamford, Conn., for example, would see their salaries slashed by 15 percent if they choose to continue working from home.

I visited google in college and determined they were not a good company to work for in that, they only wanted candidates from certain colleges and had couches everywhere and kitchens stocked with cereal.
That meant they had a culture that expected you to work late all the time and enjoy the couch and kitchen.

They did have a volleyball net in the middle and bikes to use, so that was cool.

So, this is no surprise to me. Honestly, of all the companies that wfh is most viable google is one. A tech company.

Google employees who move even farther away from the companys offices have been warned they could face even harsher pay cuts. A worker who left San Francisco for Lake Tahoe, another expensive area of California, would have their pay cut by a whopping 25 percent.
That would mean an employee with a $150,000 salary would suddenly make less than $112,000 per year.

News of the Google tool comes amid a broader debate at tech companies about remote work and compensation.
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have all warned employees who plan to leave expensive cities like New York and San Francisco that their pay will be slashed while smaller tech companies like Reddit and Zillow say theyll pay the same regardless of where employees live.
Jake Rosenfeld, a sociology professor at Washington University in St. Louis who researches pay determination, said Googles pay structure raises alarms about who will feel the impacts most acutely, including families.

"Whats clear is that Google doesnt have to do this, Rosenfeld told Reuters. Google has paid these workers at 100 percent of their prior wage, by definition. So its not like they cant afford to pay their workers who choose to work remotely the same that they are used to receiving.

Thank god I don't live in Cali

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Good. The more evil shit they do the better for everyone to see

Veggeta_MAX posted...

Thank god I don't live in Cali

The irony is it seems all the big tech companies do this FB, Twitter....

When they are the ones who least need an office.

Fuck the collaborator style work environment.
It is not efficient. They have a stick up their butt.

Also scrum meetings can go to hell.

Don't be evil

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In other words, fuck covid right?

the 9-5 five days a week office space mentality is dead. it's not needed anymore. the only reason companies force people back is so they have justification to continue paying for their massive 30 year office space unbreakable leases.

essential on-site employees aside, there is zero reason to force return to office for a majority of white collar corporate jobs.

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Companies with a bunch of couches, slides, cereal, etc... are a major red flag for the reason you mentioned. Also, I hate companies that treat you like you are a god damn child. I swear to god all this new age company "culture" shite is just about humiliating you as a form of exerting control.

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WingsOfGood posted...

Fuck the collaborator style work environment.
It is not efficient. They have a stick up their butt.

I'm not sure what this means, but I know Valve says they have "no bosses" and anyone can work on whatever project they want and they are their own boss, and all the desks have wheels so they can move wherever they want........

...except if your project is not what they want they fire you, and no one has to be held accountable because "they're not your boss".

Is it something like that

There's nothing wrong with this? The entire reason the salaries are so high to begin with is because of the cost of living in places like SF. The government literally has the same kind of pay scale for federal workers.

Shadow Don posted...

Companies with a bunch of couches, slides, cereal, etc... are a major red flag for the reason you mentioned. Also, I hate companies that treat you like you are a god damn child. I swear to god all this new age company "culture" shite is just about humiliating you as a form of exerting control.

Yep. My cousin worked for some data company where he got paid over triple my salary and his work had basketball hoops, videogames, a kitchen, etc. It sounded dope until he told me he regularly spent more than 12 hours at work. Eventually he ended up quitting and has been way happier.

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Broseph_Stalin posted...

There's nothing wrong with this? The entire reason the salaries are so high to begin with is because of the cost of living in places like SF.

So... move the company HQ to nowhere Wyoming?

JimmyFraska posted...

I'm not sure what this means, but I know Valve says they have "no bosses" and anyone can work on whatever project they want and they are their own boss, and all the desks have wheels so they can move wherever they want........

...except if your project is not what they want they fire you, and no one has to be held accountable because "they're not your boss".

Is it something like that

It is a style the big tech company offices had where you don't have a cubicle.
They want you to move around and collaborate with others.

Broseph_Stalin posted...

There's nothing wrong with this? The entire reason the salaries are so high to begin with is because of the cost of living in places like SF. The government literally has the same kind of pay scale for federal workers.

Thought they were high because google selects the best from the best colleges! Oh was that a lie?

screw that paycut. 15% is better than 25%.
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Google is all about being progressive except when it comes to paying their employees. I wonder what the google union that formed earlier this year will have to say about this?

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Buncha dirty bastards

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Shadow Don posted...

Companies with a bunch of couches, slides, cereal, etc... are a major red flag for the reason you mentioned. Also, I hate companies that treat you like you are a god damn child. I swear to god all this new age company "culture" shite is just about humiliating you as a form of exerting control.

Yep.
Collaborative work environment is basically modeled after elementary school style seating.

i wonder how many people in this thread realize how much google engineers make

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like say you're a successful person, working a good job at a fortune 100 company...

google pays 2-3x

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Broseph_Stalin posted...

There's nothing wrong with this? The entire reason the salaries are so high to begin with is because of the cost of living in places like SF. The government literally has the same kind of pay scale for federal workers.

But the pay is dependent on whether they WFH not the location (if I'm reading it correctly)?

IllegalAlien posted...

i wonder how many people in this thread realize how much google engineers make

They pay alot, but you are expected to be their property is my point.

Then again, their HQ is also in a super expensive area so that is relative anyways (which is supposedly the reason for this).

hockeybub89 posted...

Don't be evil

that motto got thrown right out of the window once they went public

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Wonderful how instead of paying people more for their commute (which is how workers should be compensated) companies are trying to reframe it as if they already had been paying people for their commute the whole time. I dont think so!

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Yikes. I used to REALLY want to work at Google, too. I'm glad they never called me now.

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CableZL posted...

Yikes. I used to REALLY want to work at Google, too. I'm glad they never called me now.

I think you made out like a bandit based on your work threads. Living in low cost areas.

MrToothHasYou posted...

Wonderful how instead of paying people more for their commute (which is how workers should be compensated) companies are trying to reframe it as if they already had been paying people for their commute the whole time. I dont think so!

Exactly.

If you paying for that 1 hour commute then they can go home 1 hour ealier.
(2 actually)
Or they get another hour in pay.
(Or 2)

You know what's funny is that I just had an interview with Google like 2 days ago and now I see this article, fuck lmao

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Ruvan22 posted...

But the pay is dependent on whether they WFH not the location (if I'm reading it correctly)?

The pay appears to scale depending on where home is

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NightMarishPie posted...

You know what's funny is that I just had an interview with Google like 2 days ago and now I see this article, fuck lmao

I mean, if it is your best choice of what you got lined up.

You were really wanting wfh?

you guys are 100% delusional. i make 135k remote, if i moved lower cost of living (which i plan to) I can buy a fucking mansion.

google would pay me 200k+ remote, and you have the highest tier prestige on your resume for life (in tech).

the calculus works for me, and then i don't have to move back to NYC or to the west coast

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IllegalAlien posted...

you guys are 100% delusional. i make 135k remote, if i moved lower cost of living (which i plan to) I can buy a fucking mansion.

google would pay me 200k+ remote, and you have the highest tier prestige on your resume for life (in tech).

the calculus works for me, and then i don't have to move back to NYC or to the west coast

That only works if you like/want to live in low cost of living areas

I work remotely but live downtown still
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IllegalAlien posted...

you guys are 100% delusional. i make 135k remote, if i moved lower cost of living (which i plan to) I can buy a fucking mansion.

google would pay me 200k+ remote, and you have the highest tier prestige on your resume for life (in tech).

the calculus works for me, and then i don't have to move back to NYC or to the west coast

?
You make 135k at google and plan to go remote and now make 200k?

What

Ruvan22 posted...

But the pay is dependent on whether they WFH not the location (if I'm reading it correctly)?

Youre reading it correctly. The thing to understand about Broseph is that, when given a choice between adding misery and removing misery from the world, he will always be in favor of the former.

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WingsOfGood posted...

I mean, if it is your best choice of what you got lined up.

You were really wanting wfh?

I like it as an option. I don't believe I need to be in the office every single day (as evident by the past 1.5 years) so having the flexibility to have some days remote would be nice for sure. Work from home is pretty great.

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Broseph_Stalin posted...

There's nothing wrong with this? The entire reason the salaries are so high to begin with is because of the cost of living in places like SF. The government literally has the same kind of pay scale for federal workers.

Salary grades based on location is normal for big companies, getting massive demotions for moving is not something I've dealt with. At my work, if you move to an area with a lower standard of living, you would expect to no longer receive the yearly standard of living adjustment until your salary matched your new location.

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Shablagoo posted...

The thing to understand about Broseph is that, when given a choice between adding misery and removing misery from the world, he will always be in favor of the former.

you support literal genocide

My brother in-law used to work for Google making great money. He loved his job until the work environment got toxic. Even with all the money, he still couldn't convince himself to stay because of how bad it had gotten.

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No_U_L7 posted...

That only works if you like/want to live in low cost of living areas

I work remotely but live downtown still

then you would be paid sf bay area wages

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Son Of Spam posted...

My brother in-law used to work for Google making great money. He loved his job until the work environment got toxic. Even with all the money, he still couldn't convince himself to stay because of how bad it had gotten.

About what year did this occur?

WingsOfGood posted...

?
You make 135k at google and plan to go remote and now make 200k?

What

your reading comprehension tells me that u don't have to worry about working at a prestigious tech company

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IllegalAlien posted...

your reading comprehension tells me that u don't have to worry about working at a prestigious tech company

Huh, so where am I working atm?

Broseph_Stalin posted...

There's nothing wrong with this? The entire reason the salaries are so high to begin with is because of the cost of living in places like SF. The government literally has the same kind of pay scale for federal workers.

This is an unnegotiated, unilateral, sudden, and fundamental change to payment practices to lower the pay of employees, while also offloading all utility/work infrastructure costs onto them. All while they do the same level of work they've been doing during and before the pandemic.

Of course you support such a thing.

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Facebook did the same thing, right? It's pretty clear the official response to "I'd like to work from home in a lower cost of living area" is "then your pay will be adjusted to compensate."

Functionally you're still making the same relative to expenses. You just can't apply to the most expensive campus available and then bail to effectively double your salary elsewhere. Given that salary has always been highly dependent on the cost of living in an area, this seems like an extension of that.

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Another problem is how companies like Google will hire based on culture fit. They say they aren't just looking for the most qualified person (as if being extremely qualified is a bad thing) but also if you can fit in with their whole "collaborative environment." What happens in reality though is that diversity takes a big hit and they just end up hiring drones who already look, speak, and think like everyone else who already works there.

I've really been studying this issue since Covid started. The whole open-office floor plan, campus type workspace is incredibly fake and toxic. I'm tired of companies where everyone has the same damn taste for craft beer, tired of ping pong and Nerf gun battles. Someone compared it to an elementary school mentality and that's right on the money. There are millions of people who just want to put their contribution in and not be a part of some Instagram lifestyle at their job.

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legendary_zell posted...

This is an unnegotiated, unilateral, sudden, and fundamental change to payment practices to lower the pay of employees, while also offloading all utility/work infrastructure costs onto them. All while they do the same level of work they've been doing during and before the pandemic.

Of course you support such a thing.

WingsOfGood posted...

Huh, so where am I working atm?

probably mcdonalds?

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Turtlemayor333 posted...

Another problem is how companies like Google will hire based on culture fit

Right on the money.

IllegalAlien posted...

probably mcdonalds?

Holy shit I am making bank flipping burgers! Easy job, easy life!

legendary_zell posted...

unnegotiated, unilateral, sudden, and fundamental change

but enough about them deciding to work from home,