Headhunter dishes on why people leave Google

We all know the story about why people work at Google. Innovative technology, market power, one day in five to noodle around with your pet project, lavish benefits, blah blah blah. But why do they leave?

The commute sucks.

Well, at least that's one of the five reasons headhunter firm Binc included in a list of five common gripes listed by departing Google employees Binc has interviewed.

If you're an engineer who wants to stay in Silicon Valley, leaving Google might not fix your commute, and it's pretty likely your new boss won't provide you with free Wi-Fi-equipped buses. So take that with a grain of salt.

Here are the other reasons for leaving:

• The stock options aren't looking so spiffy these days. Google's share price has dropped significantly since 2007.

• Google isn't a hot start-up anymore.

• It's bogged down by corporate culture. "The environment in which engineers were able to create their own products and services is decreasing since it has to go through a full review process that can take months before the product is released to market. Although engineers enjoy being creative, they might as well create a product/service that they can monetize on their own."

• Google is "not a dream job anymore...When Google was the revolution, it was the most amazing thing on the market, but it's not that anymore."