(I am not talking here about Google but more like general)
A company (especially a big one) needs to have an excuse to let people go.
The argument here is two-fold:
1. There is a power imbalance between a company and an employee.
Just as a short example: letting go of 1 employee usually means nothing for the company life, but for the employee is biggest/impactful event happening that month or maybe that half of the year.
Thus we usually balance this with laws (in some countries/states) and, of course, with public expectations.
2. Companies are asking for your whole professional time, and they usually want exclusivity
You can see this usually written in contracts like "you dedicate all your work time", "you cannot work for other companies", "you dedicate all your business time" ...
Thus when a company is asking this from you then they need to offer something in exchange. And this exchange is they need an excuse to let you go.
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(again I don't speak here about Google as I never worked there so I don't know what they offer and what they ask for)
A company (especially a big one) needs to have an excuse to let people go.
The argument here is two-fold:
1. There is a power imbalance between a company and an employee.
Just as a short example: letting go of 1 employee usually means nothing for the company life, but for the employee is biggest/impactful event happening that month or maybe that half of the year.
Thus we usually balance this with laws (in some countries/states) and, of course, with public expectations.
2. Companies are asking for your whole professional time, and they usually want exclusivity
You can see this usually written in contracts like "you dedicate all your work time", "you cannot work for other companies", "you dedicate all your business time" ...
Thus when a company is asking this from you then they need to offer something in exchange. And this exchange is they need an excuse to let you go.
---
(again I don't speak here about Google as I never worked there so I don't know what they offer and what they ask for)