Google Office Switzerland
Hi, Khabrovsk. I spent the New Year in the city of Zurich, where I talked with several employees of the evil corporation and walked around their office.
In my post I will try to describe more social features of working at Google in Switzerland, but I can’t hide the interior of the office from you, it’s gorgeous :)
All the information was received from the company’s employees in words, so maybe something may not be accurate or not true at all.
So, in Zurich is the central office of Google in Europe.
It employs about 1,500 employees, of which approximately 60 are Russian speakers. They are hunted both from other offices (for example, many people move from the Moscow office of Google), and directly.
UPD To my numerous requests in the comments, I made a separate topic for questions regarding working at the Google office in Zurich: habrahabr.ru/blogs/google/138980
In Zurich, locals speak Swiss (which is very similar to German), but Google communicates in English.
When moving Google pays the employee:
• renting an apartment for 1 month: you should not worry about what and where to rent. Begin to settle down, and then, if you do not like this apartment, you will find yourself something more interesting. After receiving the first wage, you really have to pay yourself.
• rent a car for 2 weeks - so that it would be convenient for you to buy all the necessary household items and furniture, as well as to see the surroundings.
• Swiss, German and English courses (optional)
• Fitness and various sports activities.
• Internet in a new apartment so you can work from home.
If I understand correctly, when transferring from another Google office 1 and 2 points are not implemented.
About salaries - this is classified information, and they asked me not to disclose it. But, when compared with the Moscow office of Google - the salary in Zurich is approximately 1.5-1.8 times more.
The cost of living in Zurich is also 1.5-2 times higher than in Moscow. For example, renting a 1-room studio not in the historical center will cost about 50-60 thousand rubles.
Food in supermarkets is slightly more expensive than Moscow, in restaurants it is more expensive than 2 times.
Traveling by public transport is more expensive, but it is well organized.
As in all countries, the concept of google offices is a focus on comfort and autonomy. Employees do not need to go to cafes / restaurants - there is an excellent dining room and a huge variety of coffee areas. All food and drinks are free of charge.
A typical day of a company employee in Zurich looks like this: a hike, small fees, a walk to the office (Zurich itself is a small city, so you can walk from any area. In extreme cases, by bicycle). Breakfast at the office, work, lunch at the office, work, dinner at the office.
Now about the interior.
Dining room:
There is an excellent vending machine that makes freshly squeezed orange juice with you:
You can choose European food (schnitzel, fried potatoes) or Japanese food.
For dessert, you can take cakes or croissants for tea ...
On each floor there are 2-3 kitchens where you can drink tea or coffee, eat snickers or cookies and talk with colleagues about work.
Presentation room. In the evenings, it is used as a movie theater.
There are local meeting rooms that are designed either for meetings with a small number of people, or for telephone conversations.
If the employee is suddenly tired - you can always lie down and sleep in the recreation area. It is not recommended to take pictures of it (the corresponding announcement hangs), so as not to interfere with vacationers.
If you suddenly become bored - you can always go into the game room and play with colleagues. In addition to the games themselves, there is an equipped stage where music groups perform.
I didn’t recommend taking photos of workplaces either, since there may be pieces of service code on the screens that will enslave the world in the future.
But in general, there is nothing special to photograph there - jobs are quite ordinary. Spacious, each has 1-2 large monitors. Usually connected to system units or MacBook Air.
If you suddenly feel tired of sitting in your place and want to change the situation - you can always move to a special room and work separately from your team on your project.
Also in the office there is a library decorated in a classic style. It's very nice to sit in such an environment and discuss startups.
The building gives the impression not of an office, but of a club. Some staff walk with children, some with dogs. Everyone chases teas and talks about life in the kitchens ... The workflow is not felt at all.
This is probably the most collaborative office I have ever seen in my life.
In my post I will try to describe more social features of working at Google in Switzerland, but I can’t hide the interior of the office from you, it’s gorgeous :)
All the information was received from the company’s employees in words, so maybe something may not be accurate or not true at all.
So, in Zurich is the central office of Google in Europe.
It employs about 1,500 employees, of which approximately 60 are Russian speakers. They are hunted both from other offices (for example, many people move from the Moscow office of Google), and directly.
UPD To my numerous requests in the comments, I made a separate topic for questions regarding working at the Google office in Zurich: habrahabr.ru/blogs/google/138980
In Zurich, locals speak Swiss (which is very similar to German), but Google communicates in English.
When moving Google pays the employee:
• renting an apartment for 1 month: you should not worry about what and where to rent. Begin to settle down, and then, if you do not like this apartment, you will find yourself something more interesting. After receiving the first wage, you really have to pay yourself.
• rent a car for 2 weeks - so that it would be convenient for you to buy all the necessary household items and furniture, as well as to see the surroundings.
• Swiss, German and English courses (optional)
• Fitness and various sports activities.
• Internet in a new apartment so you can work from home.
If I understand correctly, when transferring from another Google office 1 and 2 points are not implemented.
About salaries - this is classified information, and they asked me not to disclose it. But, when compared with the Moscow office of Google - the salary in Zurich is approximately 1.5-1.8 times more.
The cost of living in Zurich is also 1.5-2 times higher than in Moscow. For example, renting a 1-room studio not in the historical center will cost about 50-60 thousand rubles.
Food in supermarkets is slightly more expensive than Moscow, in restaurants it is more expensive than 2 times.
Traveling by public transport is more expensive, but it is well organized.
As in all countries, the concept of google offices is a focus on comfort and autonomy. Employees do not need to go to cafes / restaurants - there is an excellent dining room and a huge variety of coffee areas. All food and drinks are free of charge.
A typical day of a company employee in Zurich looks like this: a hike, small fees, a walk to the office (Zurich itself is a small city, so you can walk from any area. In extreme cases, by bicycle). Breakfast at the office, work, lunch at the office, work, dinner at the office.
Now about the interior.
Dining room:
There is an excellent vending machine that makes freshly squeezed orange juice with you:
You can choose European food (schnitzel, fried potatoes) or Japanese food.
For dessert, you can take cakes or croissants for tea ...
On each floor there are 2-3 kitchens where you can drink tea or coffee, eat snickers or cookies and talk with colleagues about work.
Presentation room. In the evenings, it is used as a movie theater.
There are local meeting rooms that are designed either for meetings with a small number of people, or for telephone conversations.
If the employee is suddenly tired - you can always lie down and sleep in the recreation area. It is not recommended to take pictures of it (the corresponding announcement hangs), so as not to interfere with vacationers.
If you suddenly become bored - you can always go into the game room and play with colleagues. In addition to the games themselves, there is an equipped stage where music groups perform.
I didn’t recommend taking photos of workplaces either, since there may be pieces of service code on the screens that will enslave the world in the future.
But in general, there is nothing special to photograph there - jobs are quite ordinary. Spacious, each has 1-2 large monitors. Usually connected to system units or MacBook Air.
If you suddenly feel tired of sitting in your place and want to change the situation - you can always move to a special room and work separately from your team on your project.
Also in the office there is a library decorated in a classic style. It's very nice to sit in such an environment and discuss startups.
The building gives the impression not of an office, but of a club. Some staff walk with children, some with dogs. Everyone chases teas and talks about life in the kitchens ... The workflow is not felt at all.
This is probably the most collaborative office I have ever seen in my life.
