In the age of austerity, the thought of job security, never mind a plump bonus, is a distant memory from pre-recession times. But not if you work at Google. This week the company announced a recession busting 10% pay rise effective January 1, 2011 for all of its 23,000 plus staff. In the internal email to staff, CEO Eric Schmidt also threw in a “tax-free” $1,000 Christmas bonus, Business Insider reports.
And if that still doesn’t make you jealous, it also committed to giving each Googler an additional raise equivalent to one times each employee’s target bonus for the year along with “merit increases” based on individual performance. Schmidt explained the company’s generous move is thanks to a staff survey showing that “salary was more important to employees than any other component of pay.” Yes, quite a revelation, but it could also have something to do with retention of staff. Only just weeks ago did Google chief financial officer, Patrick Pichette, tell analysts there was a “war for talent” being waged among internet companies. But if Google’s number four ranking in Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2010 is anything to go by, the search engine giant shouldn’t have too much to worry about.(See photos from Life in the Googleplex)