Meta Or Google: Which Tech Giant Offers Better Work-Life Balance? Here's What An Ex-Product Manager Who Was At Both Places Says

Daniel McKinnon, who has worked as a product manager with both Meta Platforms Inc. META and Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL GOOG Google, shared insights into the work-life balance at both companies.

What Happened: McKinnon, who worked at Meta from 2018 to 2022 and was then at Google for two years, before returning to Meta in February to work on the company’s Ray-Ban AI glasses, highlighted the differences between the two tech giants in a blog post last month.

McKinnon noted that while both companies are great for product managers, there are key differences in work-life balance and compensation. He suggested that Meta might be a better fit for those seeking growth at the expense of stress and pressure, while Google could be a great place for those prioritizing work-life balance.

“If you want to prioritize work-life balance, stability, and job security, Google could be a great place for you,” he wrote.

See Also: Sam Altman’s OpenAI And Amazon-Backed Anthropic Face Serious Competition From These Chinese Startups Backed By Alibaba, Xiaomi And More

McKinnon also highlighted differences in compensation structures, project opportunities, company transparency, “expression” in the workplace, career ladder, and the role of product managers versus software engineers at the two companies.

For instance, in terms of compensation, McKinnon stated that Meta distributes its Restricted Stock Unit or RSU evenly across four years, whereas Google allocates its grants differently by concentrating 70% of the stock within the initial two years of employment.

“Refreshers at Google are significantly smaller than Meta for the same level and role and performance multipliers are much scarcer,” he wrote. However, a representative from Google contested McKinnon’s claim that employees receive lower compensation annually due in part to the absence of additional bonuses or stock refreshers for those with a “significant impact” rating, reported Business Insider.

According to McKinnon, Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s responses to employees lacked the same level of openness as those of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He noted that compensation at Google is also less predictable, and obtaining feedback from leadership is more challenging compared to the situation at Facebook.

He also stated that career advancement appears to occur more rapidly at Meta compared to Google, where progression frequently relies on seniority.

Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.

Why It Matters: Meta’s first-quarter revenue of $36.45 billion, up 27% year-over-year, beat the Street consensus estimate of $36.16 billion. However, the company’s guidance and higher costs impacted its stock.

On the other hand, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, reported a 15% year-over-year increase in its first-quarter revenue to $80.539 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $78.594 billion. The company also reported quarterly earnings of $1.89 per share, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.51 per share.

Check out more of Benzinga’s Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Read Next: ‘Have You Used Siri Lately?’ Elon Musk Answers MKBHD After Tim Cook Teases ‘Exciting’ AI Developments From Apple This Year

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo via Shutterstock

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: NewsSocial MediaTop StoriesTechMediabenzinga neuroConsumer TechMark ZuckerbergPeople In TechStories That MatterSundar Pichaiwork-life balance
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!