GOOGLERS are relaxed at work.
When I visited Googleplex, Google's headquarters in California - about a 50 minute train ride from San Francisco - people walked around in sweatshirts and bermudas.
Much as been written about the free food there - it's good too - and the free flow of soft drinks, beverages and water. But did you know that there's free laundry too?
I was perplexed. I mean who would want to drag their dirty clothes to the office? Yes the provision is free, but underwear and all?
The Google engineers appreciate it though. They say the office self-service laundry saves them trips to the commercial laundry shops.
No need for their own detergent either. There's even free detergent, special wash for sensitive clothes, plastic baskets for collecting the dry clothes and tables for folding t-shirts, bermudas, jeans and others.
Googlers work out at work too. There's a gym which is mighty useful since many commute to Mountain View from San Francisco or other suburbs. For those who want to swim, there's a swimming pool. Volleyball? Sure, join the mid-afternoon game.
What's unusual, though, is that for the tired and stressed, there're massage services available. There's even a hair salon but this is a paid service.
According to Google's PR lady, these free services are for the employees' convenience so that they don't have to worry about rushing off to do these errands or paying for such basic amenities, all of which frees them to focus on work.
Because Googleplex is a sprawling complex - there're 20 buildings in Mountain View - communal bicycles are provided. In the lobby of each building are bikes and a basket of blue helmets. Anyone can hop on a to a bike, put on a helmet and cycle to his meeting in a building further down the road.
The uniqueness of Google-town is not restricted to just the physical environment either.
Building 43, where the co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are located, is a designated "green building" with recycled carpets, sustainable wood and recycled blue jeans used for sound-proofing. Offices are also built in such a way that the sunlight cuts straight into the building. No lights are needed, thus saving electricity.
Next door in building 42, where CEO Eric Schmidt sits, is Charlie's Cafe named after ex-Google chef Charles Ayer who used to cook for the band, Grateful Dead. Every Friday, Schimdt, Page and Brin hold a townhall meeting here to take questions from staff. Important meetings are broadcast live to global offices via the Internet.
Apart from being known as the company that dominates the search industry, Google also screens potential employees rigorously. Interviews can number as many as 20 and can take a whole day - and the questions are famously not typical.
Singaporean Lim Yew Jin, who's a software engineer and who joined Google about a year ago, had to go through two phone interviews after he submitted his application form. He was flown from Singapore - where he was working at NUS - to the US where he was interviewed from 9am to 2pm non-stop. Interviewers tested his expertise and problem solving capabilities. He was encouraged to write his answers - usually equations and mathematical formulae - on a white board.
Any engineer who wants to be a recruiter must inform HR and what area of expertise they have. HR will then call them up when necessary. I read about it in a message on the back of the toilet door.
In just one visit, I could tell Googlers behaved, worked, played and interacted with each other in a culture all their own. It's why so many talented people have been attracted to work there.
It's quirky and not for everyone, but there must be a lesson in here for other companies!