A few months ago, my friend shared some very exciting news with me. Through his professor’s wife, he and a few friends would be able to get a tour of the Google offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We were invited to take advantage of this incredible opportunity; we booked our bus tickets and our hotel rooms, and we were off!
After traveling for more than six hours to get to our hotel in Boston, a few bumps along the way, and some adventure (see Tyra Gwalthney’s article about what we did for fun in Boston), we made it to the Google offices in Cambridge.
We were greeted by Yves Fernandez, President of Cumberland County College, and Steve Vinter, the CEO of the Cambridge site. We walked through a vast cafeteria of greenery, five star food, and happy googlers, to a conference-type room where the CEO sat on a wooden stool and told us all about the “Google Culture.” It was astounding to hear him speak of the casual workplace environment, interview process, and advancements all surrounding the Google name.
Steve Vinter led us back to the cafeteria to eat. All employees receive access to this free cafeteria every single day. There were fruits, steaks, pizzas, sandwiches, salads, soft-serve, and warm chocolate chip cookies.
After lunch we walked around to explore the endless amounts of creative workspaces. One room was created to look like an airport, one room was inspired by a library, one was modeled after a nearby prison… and so much more. These work spaces also had nap pods, treadmills attached to desktops, and micro kitchens that offered an array of healthy options. Anything an employee could possibly need throughout the work day to enhance their productivity is always only ever a few steps away!
This is a micro kitchen which serves as a nice place for employees to fix themselves a snack during the work day.
These are computer desktops attached to treadmills so that employees can workout while they innovate!
This is a nap pod… need I say more?
We were then given a taste of Google’s coffee stand overlooking a rooftop garden. I can imagine it was even more beautiful during the spring and summer seasons. (After coffee Steve Vinter allowed us to slide down the fire pole connecting two of the floors; could Google get any better?!?!)
The Google coffee spot.
Part of the view of rooftop garden in the coffee shop.
After a video conference, a tour of CIC (a company built for start ups nearby), and dinner, our insider tour was complete, and I cannot imagine a cooler place to visit (and work)! Well done, Google.
From left to right: Tyra Gwalthney, Yves Fernandez, Neeve Kadosh, Me, Steve Vinter, Mitchell Soobryan, Tim Carpenter (behind Mitchell).