Edible flowers in Mountain View campus garden

It looks like a place geared toward the 16 hour work-day to me.

I skipped a lot of classes playing foosball. The hours I put in should have been worth a credit, especially since it could have prepared me for a career as an ad model for Google promos.

There's a scene in Rise of the Planet of the Apes when Cesare is taken to his new facility after attacking his neighbour. He is received into this stimulating environment with things to climb on and everything is wonderful...until later when he's shuffled down into a cage.

These pictures at Google are wonderful, but who's to say that those pictured aren't the execs, and the working stiffs are in cubicle farms all facing the same way so the supervisor can see if they're on Facebook during work hours.

I speak in jest - I am a Google fan. However, as is so oft the case, the all-encompassing pursuit of maximizing shareholder value will eventually win out and all these comforts will be trimmed off. I've worked for a few of the most profitable companies on earth and it's incredible the hoops you've got to jump through to get a pencil from the supply cabinet...if they have any. How did I document justification for the pencil? I had to tick my name off the "one memo for all department members, sign when you've read it and pass it along", a memo that trumpeted "Great news, our stock is up again."

If you want to fuel creativity and high energy, those work areas really seem like the way to help all that (or are they an expression of the energy already there?)

Certainly the atmosphere Google promotes wouldn't work in much more sober (somber?) businesses, but if you're going to put out the products Google does then that kind of atmosphere would be great!