Google Employees Paid Well, Even After They Die

Google employees are treated to free food from the company’s five-star cafeteria, up to 18 weeks off for maternity leave, and even on-site daycare (although not free). However, the perk getting the most attention right now is not for the living but rather the dead.

It turns out Google death benefits are among some of the most generous in any industry, leaving the spouse and children with money to spend as they deal with the immediate loss of a loved one.

Under Google policies, if any one of the company’s 34,0000 workers die while employed by Google, their partner will continue to receive 50 percent of their salary for 10 years. Google has also agreed to immediately vest the deceased employees stock options.

Taking care of an employee’s children also tops Google’s list of concerns. Children receive $1,000 per year until they are 19, or, if they are involved in full-time education, the payout continues until they are 23.

The death benefits apply to anyone at the company, which means you can work at Google for one minute or one decade and still receive the same death benefits.

Google started offering big perks to employees in order to achieve a certain level of happiness and employee retention at the search giant; this new program of course won’t help productivity or creativity, but it is a great way to give back to your employees as they put in often long hours while dealing in the ultra stressful and competitive world of technology.

As Google’s chief people officer told Forbes:

“Obviously there’s no benefit to Google. But it turns out that the reason we’re doing these things for employees is not because it’s important to the business, but simply because it’s the right thing to do.”

Would you choose one employer over another because of available death benefits?