Google employees who work, eat - and sleep - at the California campus

Some Googlers have found a unique way to take advantage of the 24-hour staff benefits

(Getty)

When it comes to the perks of the job, Google is certainly in the running for being one of the best companies to work for.

Employees at the Silicon Valley giant enjoy extensive gym facilities, a hairdressers and the services of a campus doctor.

And for some individuals the on-site benefits are so good that they don’t leave for weeks.

According to a Quora thread identified by Business Insider, it is not unheard of for Google employees to temporarily live at the business’ headquarters, with one unidentified man reportedly setting up camp for two to three years.

One user posted: “There was this one guy that had a camper parked in the parking lot near Crittenden and the story was that he slept in the camper and then did everything else in the office.

“The guy lived in the camper for 2-3 years. Showered at the gym. Did his laundry on campus. Ate every meal on campus he could. After the 2-3 years, he had saved up enough money to buy a house. It was simply brilliant!”

Technically, Google employees are not supposed to live at the office, but there are apparently ways of getting around the rule.

Former Googler Brandon Oxendine said he lived on-site for three months in 2012, sleeping on an IKEA mattress in the back of his blacked-out Volvo station wagon.

And Ben Discoe said his 13 month residency between 2012 and 2013 was overlooked by security personnel. “It is very likely technically in violation of some obscure code or city ordinance," he said.

"Google Security came by very early on, but once they determined that the guy in the mysteriously parked white van was just an eccentric Googler, they never came by again."

It is unclear how many people have followed in the footsteps of Oxendine and Discoe but, tellingly, one anonymous user wrote this week: “I've been living on the Google campus since December 2011. Still live and work there today.”

It’s certainly an original take on work-life balance.