Incentive

Forbes currently has a very interesting article about the Google culture and its employee perks. One especially stands out. It is how they handle the death of one of its employees:

Should a Googler pass away while under the employ of the 14-year old search giant, their surviving spouse or domestic partner will receive a check for 50% of their salary every year for the next decade. […] In addition to the 10-year pay package, surviving spouses will see all stocks vested immediately and any children will receive a $1,000 monthly payment from the company until they reach the age of 19 (or 23 if the child is a full-time student).

It is very interesting as this is a perk which is a no-win for Google. However, there is an underlying – very impressive – philosophy behind it:

“But it turns out that the reason we’re doing these things for  employees is not because it’s important to the business, but simply because it’s the right thing to do. When it comes down to it, it’s better to work for a company who cares about you than a company who doesn’t. And from a company standpoint, that makes it better to care than not to care.”