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Google’s “20% time,” which brought you Gmail and AdSense, is now as good as dead

(qz.com)
581 points antr | 1 comments | 16 Aug 13 12:09 UTC | HN request time: 0.313s | source
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throwawaykf02 ◴[16 Aug 13 12:52 UTC] No.6223644[source]▶
A Google recruiter, while doing his spiel, told me in a light-hearted, offhand manner that some engineers call it "120% time". Having lurked here long enough and read similar sentiments from ex- and current google employees, it wasn't really news to me, but I was pleasantly surprised at his candor.

But do any of the other companies listed do 20% time? AFAIK, they only have infrequent "hack days".

replies(2): >>6223777 #>>6226432 #
1. api ◴[16 Aug 13 13:18 UTC] No.6223777[source]▶
Yeah, Google still strikes me as probably a great place to work. 20% time is not common in the industry, and trust me-- if you work for Google you work in a much better place than your typical "enterprise software" hell-hole.

But this might affect their ability to attract absolutely top-tier talent.