Personally, my stomach churns at the idea of having your entire life and identity tied up in a job.
I thought Google ended free meals and laundry.
Who else wants all their home internet traffic routing through their employer? At least workers won't be stuck with a long apartment lease at the next Google layoff. They can conveniently collect their box of belongings on the sidewalk when they lose their job.
I might do something like that if I got Fridays off or something like that. Otherwise, I want to get as far away from work as possible during my free time.
Each week I spent the three days in the office working very long hours, and then had a nice relaxing couple of days at home, working a bit but also being a very active dad, since my wife did everything with the kids whilst I was away.
This worked really well for us. Now my wife is doing the same and working in London 3 days a week. Still working well.
Free time when you’re at work just gets shifted to when you’re at home.
Funnily enough, Google offices provide these to employees.
The core problem with a company town is them having control over the entire town.
Except that you can sell whatever stock you get. It's also real money with essentially zero barrier to conversion. Not including it is weird.
No need for a car or an apartment. Food, gymn, and laundry are free, so only expense left is clothing.
That's an amazing deal given the network effects of other perks, especially considering no need to commute. If you're young and single it's really a no-brainer.