How the Googleplex Functions

Nestled in Mountain View, California, just south of the San Francisco Bay, lies a sprawling complex that serves as the headquarters for one of the tech industry's most influential companies. This is the home of Google, the powerhouse behind the Internet search engine. Picture a blend of a cutting-edge tech company's headquarters, an intellectual think tank, and a dash of Willy Wonka's whimsical chocolate factory, and you've got the Google campus.

Google's campus is known as the Googleplex, a clever mix of 'Google' and 'complex.' The name is also a nod to the term 'googolplex.' A googolplex is a tremendously large number, but let's start small with a 'googol.' A googol is 10, followed by 100 zeroes. A googolplex, on the other hand, is 10 raised to the power of googol, meaning a 1 followed by a googol of zeroes.

Google acquired the main campus grounds from a tech company named Silicon Graphics (SGI), the same company that brought the digital dinosaurs to life in the film "Jurassic Park." A statue of a Tyrannosaurus Rex now stands at the campus entrance, possibly as a tribute to the area's former tenants.

The workspaces within the Googleplex were designed by architect Clive Wilkinson, founder of Clive Wilkinson Architects. Known for his creative and playful designs, Wilkinson focused on creating buildings at the Googleplex that encourage collaboration and innovation.

By 2008, Google employed over 19,000 people [source: Google Finance]. With offices worldwide, not all of them are based at the Googleplex — only around 8,000 work in Mountain View. The campus boasts over 2 million square feet of office space, with an additional 1 million square feet expected to be added soon with the acquisition of a 42-acre plot next door [source: Helft].

While the Googleplex doesn't have rivers of chocolate or Oompa Loompas roaming the halls, it does offer a variety of perks and amenities that attract potential employees. Hungry? Enjoy a free meal at one of the campus cafeterias. Need to burn off those snacks? Hit the gym for a quick treadmill session. Everything you need is right there — there's no reason to leave the campus.

Curious about the buildings and grounds at the Googleplex? Keep reading to discover more.

Googleplex Facilities

With over 20 buildings in its Mountain View headquarters, navigating the Googleplex can feel a bit daunting. Many employees at Google are recent college graduates, adding to the campus-like vibe. The heart of the campus is a cluster of four buildings: Buildings 40 through 43.

When you step into a Google lobby, it’s immediately clear that you're not in a typical office space. Lava lamps set a laid-back mood, and in some lobbies, a piano invites talented musicians. Large computer screens in most lobbies display real-time search terms as people globally search Google. The display is filtered to prevent any inappropriate searches from appearing unexpectedly.

The Google offices feature a variety of intriguing decorations, including massive whiteboards filled with clever ideas and playful jokes, as well as a model of SpaceShipOne. There are even unique items displayed in the hallways. Google encourages a green-conscious and healthy lifestyle, so it's not uncommon to see bicycles parked throughout the campus.

The Google offices break away from the typical corporate layout. Workstations are organized so groups of three to four employees who frequently collaborate sit near one another. Architect Clive Wilkinson was faced with a challenge during the design phase: how to group employees without creating distractions, all while avoiding the usual maze of cubicles.

To tackle this, Wilkinson used glass walls to partition the office into clusters. This design helps reduce noise levels while allowing natural light to flow throughout the workspace. Each glass enclosure is topped with a tent-like roof made from acrylic-coated polyester, which houses the lighting and sprinkler systems.

Google's executives want employees to easily share ideas with one another. The company hopes that fostering collaboration will boost job satisfaction and potentially lead to the next major Google innovation. Employees have the freedom to personalize their workstations, and they can even bring dogs (but not cats) to work if they'd like.

While the workspaces at Google are enticing, they’re just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to perks at the Googleplex. However, some of these perks come with unintended consequences. One such issue is the Google 15, a weight gain phenomenon that many new employees experience. Find out more about this issue and its cause in the next section.

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Google Food for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

A standout benefit of working at Google is the food. Employees at the Googleplex enjoy free breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Multiple cafés are scattered across the campus, and workers are free to dine at any of them. The central café, Charlie's Place, is named after Google's first head chef, Charlie Ayers. Before preparing meals for Google staff, Ayers was the chef for the Grateful Dead.

Although Ayers departed Google in 2005, his name still graces the café. The café features multiple stations, each offering a unique style of cuisine. There’s a variety of options, from vegetarian meals and sushi to ethnic dishes from across the globe. Google's culture encourages fresh, organic, and healthy meals. However, with everything available for free and the ability to eat at any time, it's easy to indulge. This is where the 'Google 15' comes into play, referring to the 15 pounds many new employees gain once they start enjoying all the free meals and snacks.

The Googleplex is home to several other cafés, including the Pacific Café, Charleston Café, Café 150, and the aptly named No Name Café. Each of these cafés offers employees a variety of meal options. Every day, Google serves more than 200 different recipes across these cafés [source: Wu].

If your stomach starts growling in the afternoon but you’re not in the mood for a trek to the cafeteria, Google has you covered. Snack rooms are located in most of the buildings, offering a variety of treats such as candy, granola, chocolate-coated pretzels, juices, coffee, and other snacks—all free for employees. Google even takes snack bins on the road, like during the 2008 Google I/O event at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, where they provided snacks to attendees.

Although Google doesn't publicly reveal its food budget, that hasn't stopped people from making estimates. Blogger Vasanth Sridharan took a shot at calculating it in April 2008. By making some educated assumptions about the number of employees at the Googleplex, the number of meals they consume daily, and how much Google might spend per employee, he arrived at an annual food budget of over $72 million. But again, this is purely speculative [source: Sridharan].

Google provides its employees with extraordinary workspaces and an abundance of food. But in the familiar words of countless television ads, "that's not all!" Curious about what other luxuries Google employees enjoy? Keep reading to find out in the next section.

Want to know more about the perks for Google employees? Check out the following section.

Many tech companies in Silicon Valley provide a variety of perks and benefits to attract and retain top talent. These often include on-site services, which have the added benefit of encouraging employees to stay at the office longer. By offering plenty of reasons to stick around, companies often see a boost in productivity. Why leave when everything you need is available at work?

To give you a glimpse into the life of a Google employee, here's a brief list of some of the perks they enjoy at the Googleplex:

While many of Google's perks are tailored to fresh college graduates, the Googleplex offers a smooth transition from academia to the corporate world. However, not all benefits have aged as well for employees who have outgrown the campus lifestyle.

In 2008, one of Google's employee perks underwent a significant change. This shift affected hundreds of workers, many of whom were dissatisfied. What could cause such an emotional response from Google employees? Keep reading to find out in the next section.

Google Benefits and Day Care

In 2004, rumors started circulating about a potential Google day care. Shortly after, Google confirmed its partnership with the Children's Creative Learning Centers, Inc. (CCLC), and a day care facility, located just two miles from the Googleplex, was established. In true Google fashion, the day care was named 'Kinderplex.'

The CCLC manages several child care programs and follows a play-based philosophy for early childhood education. At Kinderplex, children engaged in various play activities, and yoga was incorporated as part of their physical development routine.

Although the service was never free, Google subsidized the day care to make it more accessible to employees. A portion of the subsidy went toward providing meals for the children, offering free breakfast, lunch, and snacks at the center. The Kinderplex became a key component of Google's benefits package, helping attract prospective employees.

A year after launching the Kinderplex, Google introduced a second child care program called the Woods. Unlike the Kinderplex, Google managed the Woods program directly. This new program followed a different approach to child care, and it was also more costly to operate.

In 2008, Google made changes to its day care services, transforming the entire program to resemble the structure of the Woods. As a result, the new program's cost for employees more than doubled compared to the previous one. Many employees were reportedly emotional upon hearing about the price increase. Why the sudden jump in fees?

One factor contributing to the price hike is the shift in educational philosophy. The Kinderplex emphasized play-based learning, while the new program adopted the Reggio Emilia approach, developed by Loris Malaguzzi. This approach is child-centered, with the program adapting to each child's specific interests. It emphasizes communication, interaction, and aesthetic elements such as the physical environment and artwork in the classroom.

Class sizes are kept small, and the educators are compensated with relatively high salaries. The waitlist for Google's day care program is long, with hundreds of names. Google is now charging parents simply to remain on the waiting list. As a result of the increased day care fees, the list's length has gradually shortened. Some within the company argue that, with these new prices, only top-level executives can afford access to the in-house day care service.

Debates surrounding Google's day care program are expected to persist. Google's initiatives typically receive a balanced mix of admiration and praise, but the day care service is one of the few internal programs that has faced its fair share of criticism.

Despite the challenges with the day care program, many of the Googleplex's other facilities and offerings continue to attract prospective employees. While the day care initiative may have encountered a setback, other aspects of Google's operations still receive considerable attention. In 2008, the Googleplex's programs helped land Google a spot on Fortune magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For [source: Fortune]. There's no shortage of individuals eager to work for Google, and once they do, they often find themselves reluctant to leave — a sentiment that Google encourages.