America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 113 Benefits

4 month 6 number.

Sunlight filtered through the thin mist, lazily illuminating the exterior walls of Google headquarters.

Today is a happy day for Google employees—payday.

In the United States, you can hardly hear of companies that pay monthly salaries, because such companies simply cannot find workers.

As early as the beginning of the last century, when the wave of industrialization swept across the United States, capitalists keenly realized that in order for products to sell better, consumers should not hoard too much wealth.

Thus, a massive campaign to promote the idea of ​​living for the moment was launched.

From newspaper articles to radio broadcasts, from street posters to movie plots.

The concepts of "living in the moment" and "enjoying the present" are being constantly reinforced and are gradually permeating every corner of society.

Under such cultural influence, ordinary people not only fail to save money, but many have even developed the habit of spending money in advance.

The widespread use of credit cards has further fueled this trend, making "spending tomorrow's money to fulfill today's dreams" the norm.

To further solidify this consumption pattern and prevent people from having the idea of ​​saving money after suddenly receiving a large sum of money, capitalists proactively implemented a weekly wage system.

After decades of evolution, the American salary model has now been basically fixed as weekly or bi-weekly pay.

This system not only meets the immediate consumption needs of the public but also allows businesses to adjust labor costs more flexibly, making it a brilliant design under capitalism.

At 10 a.m., the office area of ​​Google's technical department was filled with the sounds of keyboards being typed, and the air was filled with the mixed smells of coffee and printing ink.

Reed Brown sat at his desk by the window, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he debugged a piece of search engine algorithm code.

Suddenly, an email notification from Bank of America popped up in the lower right corner of his computer, causing him to stop what he was doing.

In 1997 in America, mobile phones were not yet widespread, and the Internet was still a distant dream for everyone.

Currently, banks primarily notify customers of various bills and account changes via mail. Only when customers actively link their mobile phones or email addresses will banks send instant notifications via SMS and email.

As a Google employee and internet professional, Reed Brown had registered his company email address with the bank well in advance, which is why he was able to receive the notification immediately.

"More than $4600? Why so much?" He stared at the numbers on the screen, his brows furrowed slightly, and muttered to himself.

The internet industry is currently experiencing explosive growth, and the salaries of internet engineers are naturally rising accordingly. Annual salaries are generally no less than $50,000, and they are still climbing rapidly.

Google's core engineers, like Reed Brown, typically earn around $70,000 a year, which translates to about $3100 per week based on a bi-weekly pay schedule.

The extra $1500 left him completely bewildered.

Reed swiped the mouse and opened his Gmail inbox.

In addition to the bank's notification, an internal Google email marked as unread was also prominently listed.

Clicking on the email subject line, the content on the screen instantly made him understand the reason.

"Hey, you guys, check the internal emails!" Reed jumped up, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement.

"We actually received bonuses! We're also organizing a team-building activity next Wednesday afternoon."

"bonus?"

"Team building?"

Reed's words were like a hurricane on the sea, instantly creating ripples throughout his office area.

Colleagues who were farther away stopped what they were doing and rushed to open their emails.

Those who were nearby swarmed around Reed's workstation, chattering amongst themselves.

"Wow, a $1500 bonus, that's really great."

An engineer wearing black-rimmed glasses looked at the screen and couldn't help but whistle, clearly satisfied with the amount of the bonus.

Before the rise of major internet companies, American companies generally practiced holiday bonus systems.

Many companies consider a $1500 bonus during major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas to be quite generous.

It's no wonder that Google's sudden distribution of such a large bonus outside of holidays has excited its employees.

This was in 1997. Even in America, $1500 could do quite a lot.

A cup of coffee at Starbucks costs about $1.5, a movie ticket costs about $7, and a gallon of gasoline costs less than $1.2.

If used sparingly, this money is enough for a family of three to travel for three to five days, covering all expenses for accommodation, meals, and short-distance transportation.

This bonus wasn't because Ernst had money to burn; it was something he absolutely had to give out.

Google is no longer the small player it once was. Its position in the search engine field has become increasingly solid, and its market value has continued to climb, making it a rising giant in Silicon Valley.

Large companies should have the responsibilities of large companies, and the most direct manifestation of such responsibilities is making employees' lives better.

Although Silicon Valley is full of talent, every engineer is a scarce resource, let alone Google, whose engineers are all graduates of universities.

What makes these top talents so loyal to Google?

The answer is simple—money.

This is typical American thinking: all value can be quantified, and loyalty needs to be maintained with money.

Everyone in a startup wants to work together as a team, not just coast along.

The goal is simple: as the company grows, their compensation will improve, including bonuses and even stock options, which is what these talented individuals hope to receive.

This is also an important means of attracting talent.

Social networks are extremely prevalent in American workplace culture.

After-get off work bar parties and weekend family parties are excellent opportunities for employees to meet colleagues from other companies.

If a company doesn't offer good benefits, its employees may be poached during a casual conversation.

Conversely, if the compensation and benefits are generous, the company will naturally attract talented individuals from all walks of life to apply when it posts job openings.

Secondly, this bonus is also intended to retain talent.

As Google grows stronger and its market value continues to rise, the company is also facing increasingly fierce competition from rivals poaching its employees.

Sergey Brin had previously raised this issue with Ernst, noting that several core engineers had received high-salary offers from competitors, and there had even been instances of employees leaving the company.

Google employees have indeed been working very hard during this period, with many even living and working at the company for several weeks in a row.

Now that the company has successfully raised funds and made a lot of money, the boss must show some appreciation and let the employees see a tangible future.

Americans are always very pragmatic. Occasional busyness is fine, but you must show enough sincerity.

Now, Google can satisfy its employees with a $1500 bonus and a team-building activity, which Ernst feels is well worth the money.

"Hey, stop focusing on the bonuses all the time," an engineer with a thick beard said, pushing up his glasses and pointing to the bottom of the email. "Didn't you see the team building announcement? This time it's a company-wide team building event, and family members can bring their families."

In the United States, especially in large companies, team building activities take a very different form than many people generally believe.

Typically, companies divide themselves into many teams based on departments, and each team receives a dedicated team-building fund every quarter.

How to spend this money, how many times to spend it, and when to spend it are all decided by the group members together.

For example, if everyone finds the weather is exceptionally nice when they arrive at work in the morning and decides to skip work in the afternoon for a hike in the suburbs, such a suggestion is perfectly acceptable as long as there are no urgent tasks at the company and it does not affect the work progress.

If the team building funds are not used up this time, the remaining money can be saved for the next time, making it highly flexible.

In addition to these small-group team building activities, there are also company holidays and happy hours.

Company holidays are usually only held by large companies, such as the company's founding anniversary.

If the company is doing well, it will organize a large-scale event to celebrate the company's birthday. The format is similar to team building, such as camping, playing golf, going to the beach, and having a barbecue party in the evening to make it lively.

Happy Hour, on the other hand, is different; many companies hold it once a week.

Simply put, the company pays for colleagues in the same group to go to a bar after get off work for a few drinks, chat, and catch up on each other's company.

Of course, all these benefits come with one prerequisite: the company is doing well and the boss is making a lot of money.

Those companies on the verge of bankruptcy simply don't have the time or the resources to do these things.

"Team building?" A slightly chubby engineer leaned over and rested his body on Reed's desk. After reading the contents of the email, his mouth instantly lit up with a smile. "The company has made a wise decision this time."

"I bet you're eyeing those female colleagues in other departments, aren't you?" someone immediately joked.

The other person rolled their eyes at him, annoyed. "Nonsense! You're the kind of person who doesn't know the hunger of the starving. Every time the department has a team-building event, I hang out with you guys, or you're showing off your love with your partners. I go there to have fun, not to be fed dog food."

As soon as he said this, a burst of laughter erupted from the surrounding crowd.

Indeed, there is a severe gender imbalance in Google's technology department.

In an engineering team like Reed's, with dozens of people, having two or three women is considered a good balance, far less than departments like graphic design and marketing, where women make up the vast majority.

I glanced down at the location of the team building event; it was being held on a private beach in the bay area.

It boasts fine sand, clear water, a dedicated barbecue area, and entertainment facilities, making it a truly relaxing place.

"I've made up my mind. Starting today, I'm going to work out hard and use my perfect physique to conquer them!" The slightly chubby engineer patted his chest and said confidently.

Reed checked the team-building time and confirmed it was Wednesday three days later. Then he reached out and gently pinched the other person's big belly, jokingly saying with a smile.

"I advise you not to waste this money."