凱文·基普羅斯基有一個十分光鮮的頭銜,“探險助理”,還有一份有趣的工作——向年輕學生們演示谷歌的虛擬現實設備。他去學校時,會穿一件印有卡通鯨魚和谷歌標志的灰色T恤衫。但有時公司的聲譽會讓事情變得尷尬。有一次,一位老師質問基普羅斯基:“‘你走進來展示設備的時候有什么感覺?要知道,你比我們所有人掙的都多。’”他回憶起那位老師這樣問他。 “我不得不告訴她,”他說,“‘我一年只賺4萬美元。’”他還透露了另一個細節:基普羅斯基實際上并不是正牌的谷歌員工。 他曾經在Vaco Nashville LLC工作,這是谷歌使用的幾家人才服務公司和承包公司之一。去年10月,基普羅斯基辭職,發了一封言辭激烈的內部郵件,批評谷歌兩級員工之間的不平等。雖然谷歌使用合同工的做法在過去一年里受到了更多關注,但該公司仍然在繼續這類行為,把合同工“排除在能夠影響我們生活的對話之外”,基普羅斯基寫道。他的電子郵件在谷歌內部流傳甚廣,而這家公司現在陷入了內部混亂,原因是勞工問題以及廣大員工群體對公司發展方向有多大發言權的問題。 谷歌員工中超過一半是臨時工、供應商或合同工,他們被統稱為TVC。這些影子員工無法享受谷歌許多美名遠揚的福利和津貼,正是這些福利津貼提升了這家互聯網巨頭作為全球最佳工作場所之一的美譽。去年,一群TVC要求得到更好的福利,9月,匹茲堡擔任數據分析師的TVC投票支持成立工會,這在科技行業十分罕見。 基普羅斯基的辭職凸顯了許多TVC面臨的困境:他們在工作中需要代表谷歌,但他們實際上并沒有為這家公司工作。 2018年年初,基普羅斯基以谷歌TVC的身份加入了公司的一個團隊,工作任務是將谷歌的業務拓展到學校。他最初對這份工作的期待很快就破滅了。他的部門人員流動率很高,工作時間也很不靈活。他的責任增加了,報酬卻沒有增加。他說:“我升職了四次,工資和福利卻幾乎沒有提高。” 他覺得自己在其他方面也受到了限制。谷歌使用大量的內部文檔進行項目規劃、存儲信息。今年夏天,該公司以安全考慮為由,切斷了TVC對這些文件的訪問權限。谷歌還不允許合同工參加公司內部的很多線上社交群組。基普羅斯基說,工作人員稱之為“TVC封鎖”,來得毫無征兆。這得到了谷歌及其承包公司多名員工的證實。 谷歌的一位發言人說,這些決定是采用標準客戶數據安全措施的一部分,臨時工已經收到了通知,而且他們仍然可以使用開展工作所需的工具。她補充說,TVC的晉升政策與正式員工不同。 谷歌有成千上萬的TVC是幕后白領,例如產品營銷或審查YouTube視頻。不過,基普羅斯基的工作——在學校里推廣谷歌服務——需要在外界代表公司。 也有其他一些TVC從事這樣的工作,盡管他們不由谷歌直接發工資,卻需要尷尬地在公眾面前代表谷歌形象。在一些辦公區,合同工會帶著谷歌的求職者去參加面試,或是帶著新員工逛園區,一邊走一邊回答他們閑聊中提出的問題。應聘者經常會問:“你最喜歡的谷歌員工福利是什么?”一名做過這種引領工作的人說。然后這位領路人必須解釋:他實際上不是谷歌人。 合同工真實的就業狀況十分隱蔽,有時近乎荒謬。另一位來自承包公司的TVC表示,他曾經為谷歌項目工作,去年他被派往紐約的一所學校,向學生推銷谷歌的工作工具G Suite。這位合同工主持了一個名為“與谷歌人共進午餐”的座談會,討論如何在這家搜索巨頭找到一份工作。 基普羅斯基說,他在谷歌的經理們經常暗示,應該掩蓋自己并非為谷歌工作的事實。完成了推廣虛擬現實的工作后,基普羅斯基開始在大學推廣G Suite。當他的一位TVC同事詢問管理層,合同工是否應該明確他們的雇傭狀況時,得到了不一樣的答案。“誠實為上策”是谷歌和Vaco的官方口徑。“但他們還會說,”基普羅斯基無意中聽到了他們的對話,“‘不過你為什么要告訴他們這些?’” 另一位同屬Vaco公司、在谷歌從事類似工作的合同工表示,其他方面的界限也十分模糊。Vaco合同工和谷歌的全職員工在同一棟辦公大樓甚至同一層辦公。這位員工說,在與公眾交流時,關于如何回答有關他們就業的問題,合同工“從未得到過正式指示”。 “通常我只說我在谷歌工作。”這名合同工說,“我盡量在保證不越線的情況下保持誠實,我不會明確說我到底是否在為谷歌工作,因為我不知道他們想要我們怎么說……如果他們不想讓我們告訴公眾我們的存在,那說明了什么?他們也承認這看起來不太好看?” Vaco沒有回應筆者的評論請求,但該公司在官網上表示,他們的服務幫助員工在工作中找到有意義的自由。“我們幫助人們找到自由。”該聲明寫道,“遠離沒有靈魂的工作的自由……在混亂中找到清晰的自由。” 谷歌表示,他們的政策是,臨時工應該在社交媒體和電子郵件簽名中表明,他們為Vaco這樣的承包公司工作,同時可以加上“代表谷歌”或“支持谷歌”等字樣。該發言人還表示,相關政策還包括,TVC不得代表谷歌在對外演講中發言。 對基普羅斯基來說,壓垮他的最后一根稻草是谷歌職業晉升階梯的變化。他為谷歌工作時,公司里有好幾個人都告訴他,現在的崗位可能會讓他有機會在這家科技巨頭里得到一個固定位置。基普羅斯基希望,如果他能夠成為一名全職員工,他和他的伴侶可以利用谷歌非常慷慨的福利制度進行代孕或領養。“這實際上是我待了這么久的原因之一。”他說,“我想成為谷歌的正式員工,為我建立家庭提供支持。” 然后他讀了艾琳·諾頓對國會的回復。谷歌人力資源主管諾頓在今年8月寫信給一群美國參議員,他們曾經要求谷歌將臨時員工招至公司內部。諾頓吹噓了谷歌最近為TVC提高工資和福利的舉措,但指出,該公司需要足夠的靈活性,能夠在專業化不足的領域雇傭員工。她寫道:“在谷歌,做臨時工并不是成為公司正式員工的路徑。” 基普羅斯基認為這是政策逆轉的明確跡象。他說:“谷歌這么說是兩邊討好,自相矛盾。”谷歌的一位發言人說,招聘政策沒有改變。她還說,公司要求承包公司提供“全面醫保”,但把關于基普羅斯基的問題轉給了Vaco,后者沒有回應。 基普羅斯基決定辭職,并準備給他的同事們發郵件——合同工和全職員工——發表他對TVC遭受不公平待遇的看法。他還向公眾小小地表達了一下抗議:在離開前幾周,他改了自己的電子郵件簽名,不再提到谷歌,而是寫上了他真正的雇主“Vaco”。“但我認為沒有人留意。”他說。(財富中文網) 譯者:Agatha |
Kevin Kiprovski had a lofty title, “Expeditions Associate,” and a fun job — he got to demo Google virtual reality gear to young students. When visiting schools, he wore a gray t-shirt with a cartoon whale and a Google logo. But sometimes the company’s reputation made things awkward. Once, a teacher confronted Kiprovski. “‘How do you feel walking in here, showing stuff, when you know you’re making so much more than all of us?’” he recalled the teacher asking. “I had to tell her,” he said, “‘I only make $40,000 a year.” He left out another revealing detail: Kiprovski didn't actually work for Google. He worked for Vaco Nashville LLC, one of several staffing and contract firms Google uses. Kiprovski resigned in October and sent a blistering internal email criticizing the disparities of Google’s two-tiered workforce. While Google’s use of contract labor has received more attention in the past year, the company continued to take steps that meant contractors “are left out of conversations that affect our lives,” Kiprovski wrote. His email traveled widely within Google, which is reeling from internal turmoil over labor issues and how much say its gigantic staff should have over the company’s direction. More than half of Google’s workers are temporary, vendor or contract staff, known as TVCs. This shadow workforce misses out on many of the famous benefits and perks that have burnished the internet giant’s reputation as one of the world’s best places to work. Last year, a group of TVCs called for better benefits and in September, TVCs working as data analysts in Pittsburgh voted to unionize, a rarity for the tech industry. Kiprovski’s resignation highlights a predicament many TVCs face: They hold jobs that require them to act as representatives of Google, but they don’t actually work for the company. Kiprovski began as a Google TVC in early 2018, working on a team that expanded Google’s reach into schools. His early hopes for the job soon slipped away. Turnover in his division was high and the schedules were inflexible. His responsibilities grew, but his compensation didn’t. “I got promoted four times with barely any increase in pay or benefits or anything,” he said. He felt handicapped in other ways. Google uses scores of internal documents to plan projects and store information. This summer, the company cut TVC access to these documents, citing security concerns. Google also blocked contractors from many online social groups within the company. The “TVC Lockdown,” as staff named it, came without warning, Kirpovski said. Multiple employees at Google and its contracting firms confirmed these events. A Google spokeswoman said these decisions were part of standard customer data-security measures and that temporary staff were notified of the change and still have access to the tools needed to perform their work. She added that TVCs are under a different policy for promotions than direct staff. Thousands of TVCs work at Google in white-collar jobs behind the scenes -- marketing products or screening YouTube videos, for example. Kiprovski, though, had a job -- pitching Google services inside schools -- that required representing the company to the outside world. Other TVCs also have jobs that require they toe an awkward line of being the public face of Google while not being on Google’s direct payroll. At some company offices, contractors escort Google job candidates and new hires around campus, taking them to interviews and answering small-talk questions during walks. The job candidates would often ask, “What are your favorite perks of being a Googler?” said one person who had the escort job. The tour guide would then have to explain: he wasn’t actually a Googler. The hidden nature of contractors’ real employment status sometimes approached absurd levels. Another TVC, who has worked on Google projects for a contract firm, described being assigned to go on a school visit in New York last year to pitch Google’s workforce tools, G Suite, to students. The contractor hosted a panel called “Lunch with a Googler” that addressed how to get a job at the search giant. Kiprovski said his managers at Google often hinted that he should obfuscate the fact that he didn’t work for Google. After the virtual-reality job, Kiprovski moved to promoting G Suite at universities. When one of his fellow TVCs asked management if the contractors should identify their employment status, there was a mixed response. “Honesty is the best policy” was the official line from Google and Vaco. “But they would add,” said Kiprovski, who overheard the exchange, “‘Why do you have to tell them anyway?’” Another former Vaco-employed Google contractor with a similar role said the lines could be blurred in other ways. Vaco contractors worked in the same office and even on the same floor as full-time Googlers. When interacting with the public, the contractors were “never given a formal directive” about how to answer questions about their employment, the worker said. “Usually I just say I work at Google,” the contractor said. “I try to be as honest as I can without potentially crossing the line of actually saying I do or do not work for Google because I don’t know which one they want us to do … If they don’t want us to tell people, what does that say about the fact that we exist? Are they acknowledging it kind of looks bad?” Vaco didn’t respond to a request for comment, but the company says on its website that its service helps workers find meaningful liberty in their work. “We help people find freedom,” it says. “Freedom from a soulless job … Freedom to find clarity in chaos.” Google said its policy is that temporary staff should say on social media and in email signatures that they work for a contract firm such as Vaco and can add “on behalf of Google” or “supporting Google.” The policy also says that TVCs should not speak on behalf of Google at external speaking engagements, the spokeswoman said. For Kiprovski, the final straw was a change he saw in Google’s career ladder. While he worked at Google’s offices, several people at the company told him his role could lead to a permanent position at the technology giant. Kiprovski hoped that if he became a full-time employee, he and his partner could use Google’s generous coverage for surrogacy or adoption. “That’s actually one of the reasons I stayed so long,” he said. “I wanted to get a job at Google to help have a family.” Then he read Eileen Naughton’s response to Congress. Naughton, Google’s human resources chief, wrote in August to a group of U.S. Senators who had asked Google to bring its temporary workers in-house. Naughton touted Google’s recent move to improve wages and benefits for TVCs, but noted the company needed flexibility to hire staff for areas where it lacked specialization. “Being a temporary worker is not intended to be a path to employment at Google,” she wrote. Kiprovski read that a sure sign of a policy reversal. “Google is talking out of two sides of its mouth on this,” he said. A Google spokeswoman said that the hiring policies have not changed. She added that the company requires contracting firms to provide “comprehensive healthcare,” but directed the question about Kiprovski to Vaco, which did not respond. Kiprovski decided to resign and prepared to email coworkers — contract and full time — to share his thoughts about unfair treatment of TVCs. He also made a small protest to the public: A few weeks before he left, he changed his email signature to no longer mention Google and instead to say “Vaco,” his real employer. “But I don’t think anyone read it,” he said. |