Earlier this year, a report went viral that one Google software engineer was able to earn a six-figure salary by coding for just one hour a day, but a new report suggests that the majority of workers are actually overworking.
An internal message seen by CNBC sees an HR representative now saying: “Most salaried Googlers already work longer than 8-hour days on the days they’re working.”
The message came in response to a request from one worker to change their working pattern to accommodate fewer working hours spread across more days.
Googlers may actually be overworked
The message from the HR worker appears to dismiss the employee’s request: “Nobody is 120% FTE [Full Time Employee] for working a normal FT job at Google, so working a compressed 100% schedule isn’t really realistic.”
When news broke of the worker who’d managed to earn a pretty penny in just an hour a day, many regular Googlers were mocked and teased by colleagues, friends, and family for their light workloads.
Confirmation that employees typically work more than the usual 9-5 has since been turned into a meme, which has been shared by numerous workers, according to CNBC, in order for them to prove a point.
It is believed that Googlers can request flexibility in terms of working hours, as with many other companies.
For some, working longer hours is a reasonable trade-off for the additional flexibility or a hybrid working pattern. But, with the company pushing back and insisting that workers now return to the office on a regular basis, workers may be less prepared to spend more time doing work.
In an email, Google implied that the scheduling options it already offers are more flexible than compressed work weeks, and that Googlers can work with their managers to get more flexible arrangements. Courtenay Mencini, a spokesperson for Google, added:
"Googlers are able to ask to work flexible schedules and requests are reviewed based on their role and team. As with any company, there are times when our employees work more than 40 hours in a week to meet deadlines, cover teammates, or deliver products and services to our users."
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