Google likes to think it's still a fast moving tech company, but in reality it is political and bloated. The net effect of that is that it has all of the worst of both worlds: working at a start up (custom tools, lack of process, lack of testing) and working at a huge company (bureaucracy). The worst part of Google, though, is the way that it "motivates" employees. The Perf system encourages individual contributions to the point that its hard to be efficient and collaborate. Everyone is doing things just to put it on their Perf. Work life balance is also a joke, no matter how many wellness bonuses they give us. Even though you technically don't need to kill yourself, they use promo to push you to work ridiculous hours. If you're not looking to get promoted (anytime soon), leadership doesn't know how to motivate you otherwise. People who push back on only working 100% of the time are seen as "not a team player". Don't be fooled - free lunches, remote work setups, and massages are just ways to keep you overworking.
