Google employees reveal the hidden costs of speaking out
Google has free food and nap pods—but several employees say it also has hostile managers.
Meredith Whittaker and Claire Stapleton were both organizers of the Walkout for Real Change in November, during which 200,000 employees "walked out" to protest sexual misconduct, "golden parachutes" for the accused, and other forms of discrimination at Google.
On Monday, the two Google employees sent out an internal letter detailing the ways management has allegedly retaliated against multiple employee organizers, Wired reported.
The walkout was a watershed moment for employees that resulted in progressive changes to some Google policies. However, in the months since, both organizers have felt their work environments change drastically for the worse, and they report that "several" organizers have had similar experiences.
Google refuted the claims, stating that "there has been no retaliation here," according to a spokesperson. But the organizers' stories — of getting demoted, sidelined, and isolated by management — paint a picture of the divisions within Google around employee activism, and what it feels like to speak out for change at one of the most powerful companies in the world.
"Retaliation isn’t always obvious," Whittaker and Stapleton wrote. "It’s often confusing and drawn out, consisting of icy conversations, gaslighting, project cancellations, transition rejections, or demotions. Behavior that tells someone the problem isn’t that they stood up to the company, it’s that they’re not good enough and don’t belong."
They also invited employees to attend a "Retaliation Town Hall" Friday, where people can share their own stories and organize against retaliation.
"If we want to stop discrimination, harassment, and unethical decision making, we need to end retaliation against the people who speak honestly about these problems," the organizers wrote.
"Retaliation isn't always obvious."
Google is refuting Whittaker and Stapleton's claims, and standing by the actions of management, while maintaining that it investigates all allegations of retaliation.
“We prohibit retaliation in the workplace, and investigate all allegations," a Google spokeswoman said. "Employees and teams are regularly and commonly given new assignments, or reorganized, to keep pace with evolving business needs. There has been no retaliation here.”
Whittaker and Stapleton see it differently; both felt that their work as employee organizers impacted their treatment by management. Supervisors recently informed Whittaker that she would have to abandon her work on AI ethics both inside and outside of Google if she wanted to keep her job. Stapleton was demoted and told to go on medical leave, even though she was not sick. She re-gained her position after bringing on a personal attorney to investigate the issue.
In addition to the personal blowback the two faced, the organizers said that retaliation is a part of the culture at Google — a strong statement that contradicts the company's former reputation as a hub for honest and open employee feedback. The two write that the 350+ testimonials gathered during the Walkout show that "a sad pattern emerges: people who stand up and report discrimination, abuse, and unethical conduct are punished, sidelined, and pushed out. Perpetrators often go unimpeded, or are even rewarded."
Google employees may not be unionized, but their internal organizing follows a broader trend of tech employees mobilizing to make changes in their work place, and an increase in unionization in knowledge industries, like media and academia. Google says that it has a policy against retaliation. Retaliation for engaging in "protected activities," such as reporting workplace discrimination, is prohibited by national labor law.
In tech, employees don’t seem to regard the Bosses as untouchable celebrities anymore. And if these reports about retaliation at Google are true, that's probably for the better.
