Professional growth or work-life balance? Employee compares his seniority at Google and Meta and reveals THIS

No one can tell you better about a company’s work-life balance than a former employee, and if you have eight years of work experience at the world’s top two tech giants, i.e. Google and Meta, then you’re lucky. have it a secret diary to know the work culture of the two.

Daniel McKinnon, product manager at Meta, recently shed light on work-life balance at the two tech giants based on his eight years of work experience. McKinnon, who returned to Meta in February of this year, worked as a product manager at Mark Zuckerberg’s company from 2018 to 2022 before spending two years at Google.

In a recent blog post, McKinnon said Google and Meta are “similar” at “face value,” but one offers “growth” and the other “prioritizes work-life balance.” McKinnon noted that while both companies offer excellent growth opportunities, if you are looking for rapid growth in your career field, Meta is a better fit, while for those who prioritize work-life balance, stability and job security, Google would be an ideal option.

“Metaleadership doesn’t hesitate to go all-in on new ideas, let them cook, and cut back aggressively if they don’t work. I experienced this myself with social audio. The clubhouse was up in the air and I had the right experience. Less than a year later, when it became clear that we were not meeting expectations, our team exploded. It was fun. It was exciting. But it wasn’t stress-free,” McKinnon wrote on his blog.

“Google is different. Projects can last for decades without being subject to evolutionary pressure. “The reorganizations appeared to be designed to foster the long-term career growth of key individuals rather than aggressively pursuing a new market trend,” McKinnon added.

Comparing transparency at both companies, McKinnon said that although it has decreased at both tech giants, Meta is more transparent than Google. He also said that in Meta there are frequent reviews by the elders. Mark Zuckerberg deals directly with teams. There is no place to hide, as his work is visible to leaders and colleagues.

On the other hand, Google has less transparency as it relies on emails and chats to communicate. Decision-making processes and executive expectations regarding PM teams are often unclear.

Discussing the promotion process, McKinnon told Meta that leadership roles are often filled by young vice presidents who have quickly achieved success. On the other hand, the promotion process on Google takes more time and even exceptional results that lead to promotion prospects are less frequent.