I Quit Google When They Denied My Request to Care for Dad

This piece is based on a conversation with Jeremy, a former Google Ads employee who resigned in August 2024. To protect his identity, only his first name is used. Business Insider has validated his employment, his request to change locations, and his resignation after the request was denied.

I recently quit my job at Google after the company refused to let me move to care for my dad, who is suffering from Parkinson’s disease. I was a senior program manager for Google Ads and joined the company in September 2021. I had been with Google for nearly three years when I made the difficult decision to leave.

Adjusting to New Remote Work Policies

When I started at Google, my experience was positive. For the first 18 months, everyone enjoyed the freedom to live in their desired locations. This flexibility became even more valuable as we navigated the aftermath of the pandemic. We still met quarterly for offsite meetings, maintaining a cohesive team atmosphere even though we worked from various places.

Our team participated in a pilot program allowing indefinite remote work. Despite being physically apart, we fostered a great sense of community and collaboration.

However, everything changed in June 2023 when Google revamped its remote work policy, requiring VP approval for fully remote work. My department adopted a stricter stance, effectively denying all new full-remote requests unless under exceptional conditions. This shift aimed to consolidate employees into the Chicago and Boulder offices.

Editor’s note: Google employees were informed in 2022 that they must be in the office at least three days a week. By June 2023, the policy stated that full-time remote work would be allowed “by exception only.” The company also offers “work from anywhere weeks.”

Denied Request: The Turning Point

Living in Chicago, I sought to move to Minneapolis to support my ailing father. My initial request in March was denied, so I provided further details, hoping for a different outcome, but it was denied again.

Desperate, I included the VP who denied it, his superior, and Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer, in my follow-up email. I stressed the imperative of moving to support my dying father. Sadly, I received only a boilerplate response from the VP.

Google’s Shifting Workplace Culture

The entire process left me feeling frustrated. Google’s rigid new policy created cognitive dissonance; it didn’t matter where I worked remotely from. The company I joined in 2021, which celebrated flexibility and a great work environment, seemed to be fading away.

Uniting at the office appears to be linked to career advancement at Google now. Even though my team understood my desire for remote work, this likely hindered my career progression.

My director’s advice echoed this sentiment: to get ahead at Google, you need to show up in the office.

This advice, though meant well, revealed a harsh reality—Google seems to be pushing out remote workers.

There’s little to no flexibility, especially on my team. During the pandemic, employees enjoyed a taste of freedom—relocating, setting up their lives, and still maintaining their jobs. Those who took advantage of this are now facing significant challenges.

Reflecting back, I remember how my original Google interview portrayed the company as exceptional, unlike any other organization. Sadly, believing a job would care about me as an individual now feels naive.

A Google spokesperson told Business Insider that promotions are based on impact and business needs, and that remote employees are still being promoted.

Do you work for Google or have information to share? Get in touch with this reporter from a non-work device at [email protected]

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