We visited Google which blew me away. As we walked towards the building I couldn’t tell which building or door to walk into. Their company was operating in three main buildings and they added later that there were many more and plan to continue to expand. I knew prior to that Google was a big company but I didn’t think the building was the same in comparison!

The tour of the buildings was beautiful, they had so much to offer and it seems the employees never had to leave the office…they were really only missing a bed for their employees to sleep in! However, with all the amenities our tour guides emphasized that they really felt the work was quite flexible in terms of their hours in the office. In comparison to Microsoft, I felt that Google was much more employee focused in terms of their day to day well being. Microsoft still cared for their employees, however, they didn’t have as many amenities like a gym, pool, games, and restaurants on every floor for their workers to relax and take a break from their work. Both companies made flexibility an importance for their workers. They understand that many workers need that time to their self and have other responsibilities during the day. In terms of the companies’ business cultures they felt very similar. Both were very diverse and they emphasized the importance of making that known and celebrating that. Google had a welcome week where they celebrated the move for the new employees coming to the Dublin office.

What I found really interesting was the backgrounds of the employees we met in Google versus the ones we met at Microsoft. Although we can’t directly compare them because they didn’t have the same job titles, I still found it thought provoking. Microsoft’s workers had a direct background and college experience to the job that they held in present day. Google on the other hand, hired employees that didn’t have a business background. They explained that Google hired workers not for a specific job title, but more so as a good fit and the versatility they could offer in different jobs depending on the week. The Google employees seemed to learn their jobs while working in the office whereas Microsoft employees had prior knowledge and experience to implement into their job. Google recognized the need for their employees to keep learning which I thought was great. They wanted their workers to learn something new and invite them to take classes that may or may not be specific to their job. In my opinion, I would love to work in that environment because I have so many interests and I love to learn about new things and new learn skills that I could potentially implement into my job to make me a better person and employee.