You mention religion, and I think not by accident. I find Google's founders' involvement with the Burning Man festival to be a guiding principle of how they perceive work and society. Burning Man adopts many religious ideas and practices, most of all the power of religious ecstatic experiences. Max Weber tried to tie the rise of protestant christianity to the rise of capitalism. He postulated that the ascetic ideals of protestant christianity urged people to adopt hard work as a central tenant of life. I think that Burning Man helps take this idea further. It turns work from an ascetic endeavor to an ecstatic one. Burning Man is the religion that underlies Google's view of work.