The title was edited from the original submission, but the key part (that reflects the politics statement) is at the very bottom in the "Mission first" section.<p>> One final note: All of the changes referenced above will help us work with greater focus and clarity towards our mission. However, we also need to be more focused in how we work, collaborate, discuss and even disagree. We have a culture of vibrant, open discussion that enables us to create amazing products and turn great ideas into action. That's important to preserve. But ultimately we are a workplace and our policies and expectations are clear: this is a business, and not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers or makes them feel unsafe, to attempt to use the company as a personal platform, or to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics. This is too important a moment as a company for us to be distracted.
> this is a business, and not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers or makes them feel unsafe, to attempt to use the company as a personal platform, or to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics.<p>I have no doubt that if this protest is staged for some LGBTQ2S+/trans woman/PoC/BLM/racial issues - the line/paragraph above would not be included.
He’s right, but at the same time he’s reaping what they sowed.<p>They mistakenly encouraged this attitude of the company is your family and you can bring and express your peccadillos at work, mistakenly believing this would encourage innovation.<p>There is a kind of freedom of thought that’s necessary at work. Challenging assumptions, superiors, accepted doctrine, etc., but that should not imply you can bring your dirty laundry of personal politics in to the workplace. It’s disruptive and if you let everyone do it, it’s going to distract from company mission.
Google is everything. They own data on every single one of us and every move Google makes has an effect on the way most of us live our lives.<p>The company is inherently political, and there's no way to be a company that big and not be political. Expecting otherwise is wishful thinking from Google leadership. I understand that it's easier when your employees don't talk politics, but is it a reasonable expectation? I don't think so.
> We have a duty to be an objective and trusted provider of information that serves all of our users globally. When we come to work, our goal is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. That supersedes everything else and I expect us to act with a focus that reflects that.<p>Sometimes I really wonder if there is a total lack of self awareness or if these things are phrased in obligatory ways because of legal concerns.<p>Maybe the nature of working for a company is that you need to align yourself with the company's mission and methods. But I can't see how objectivity is really in play here. Surely Sundar Pichal can see that he's just putting his own truth claims over those of the employees?<p>Why not just say that Google has a certain mission and methods and that if you're going to work at Google you need to get on board instead of phrasing in a way that makes it seem like Google is completely neutral or above reproach as an entity because of their alleged stature as objective and trusted?
Except that google has carried a lot of water for political purposes, they've put themselves into the town square and censored speech. They have promoted narratives and trashed others. But now it's not ok to bring politics to work? That's breathtaking.
> this is a business, and not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers or makes them feel unsafe<p>Maybe stop doing random layoffs then, Sundar?
If one looks at the timing of AI funding and mass implementation by executives<p>It lines up with the covid me too at work as well as wfh rebellion.<p>Fundamentally AI is a weapon being used by the management classes against labor. That should be obvious. But I think there's a fundamentally deeper motivation to roll in it out as quickly as possible with the minor labor rebellion that occurred in the last 5 years.
After near a decade of policies aligned with a certain side of the political spectrum, Sundar finally realizes that you shouldn't mix politics and business (unless you're in the News business).
"But ultimately we are a workplace and our policies and expectations are clear: this is a business, and not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers or makes them feel unsafe, to attempt to use the company as a personal platform, or to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics. This is too important a moment as a company for us to be distracted."