Adding yet another perk to its employees, Google is now providing the services of TaskRabbit which employs “runners” to perform tasks such as cleaning, cooking and general errands for its employees, at least according to Valleywag.
From the TaskRabbit site, users can:
1 – Post a Task! When you post a Task, you’ll describe it, indicate when it needs to be done & set the price you are willing to pay.
2 – Like magic, you’ll hear from a Runner who wants to help. They will bid on your job with a price they believe is appropriate.
3 – Your Runner does your task! If your runner pays for anything while doing your task (like groceries they pick up for you), you can reimburse them through our site.
4 – Once your task is complete & pay your Runner online, and then rate & review them to indicate your level of satisfaction.
It’s actually a fabulous idea. Everyone needs someone else to do things for them.
All of these things: free meals, on-campus dry cleaning, dental, childcare, massage, $1000 holiday bonuses and guaranteed 10% increases and now someone to take out the trash are all wonderful employee perks, no doubt. But it also seems that Google doesn’t want its employees to have to leave the premises. Ever. It’s an iron fist encased in a velvet glove. On the surface it all seems so wonderful, but underneath is hard, cold business. Every employer wants to make sure that they can get the full return on investment (ROI) from employees and employees, but sometimes Google goes a little too far over the line.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t particularly love picking up the dry cleaning or mopping the floor (and would love to give employees 10% raises across the board). But I don’t necessarily want my whole world handed to me by my employer either in order to keep me from going home at night.
My kitties would miss me too much.