Google has a 20 percent rule for their job positions. Their site describes this rule, “We offer our engineers 20 percent time so that they are free to work on what they’re really passionate about.” What this means is that their engineers are able to take one day out of the work week like a Friday to pursue a project that is interesting to them rather than something Google states they must work on. The idea is to encourage their employees to keep interactive in their jobs and enjoy the position.
However, is the idea Google created that successful? Could it be used in other businesses? We all dream about doing what we want in our jobs. It is how we typically choose our positions, but we do not always get to work on projects we like. Unfortunately the concept of having one day out of the work week to do what one wants is inefficient for most companies. While Google can use the 20 percent rule most projects being worked on will not come to fruition and they may not be helpful to Google at all. So they are in effect wasting money by allowing random projects to be worked on. Other companies do not have the cash flow to make this work.
The other question that must be asked is can Google keep up this 20 percent rule? In tough economic times it could easily cause a break of the 20 percent rule with funds becoming limited in the next year.