A woman earning around ₹3.40 crore per year at Google decided to quit her “pleasant” job after realising she wanted more time with loved ones. According to CNBC, Florence Poirel, a former senior programme manager at Google in Zurich, Switzerland, left the tech giant in 2024 to focus on what she describes as “a life of purpose and balance.”
Poirel, now 37, told CNBC Make It that she wasn’t burned out or unhappy at Google. “By the time I left, I was absolutely not in a position of burnout. The team was pleasant. The work was pleasant enough as well,” she said. What prompted her decision, instead, was “clarity.”
“I realised how much quality time with the people I love is the most important,” she explained. That included her partner, Jan, also a Googler, who is 17 years senior. “I could not just wait for retirement to enjoy my time with him,” she said.
From corporate success to financial independence
Having spent over a decade at Google, Poirel rose steadily through the company’s European offices, starting in Dublin before moving to Zurich. By 2024, she had reached senior leadership and was earning around $390,000 ( ₹3.40 crore) a year. But after years of diligent saving and investing, she discovered the FIRE movement, “financial independence, retire early”, which encourages people to live frugally, save aggressively, and gain the freedom to leave traditional employment early.
By January 2024, Poirel had saved about $1.5 million ( ₹12.6 crore), enough to fund what she calls a “mini-retirement.” In April that year, she and her partner quit their jobs and decided to take at least 18 months off to enjoy life.
A life beyond work
Now, Poirel spends her days swimming in Lake Zurich, travelling, and offering career coaching to women. “Saying no to this kind of income can be daunting,” she admitted, but says she doesn’t miss the corporate grind.
“I thought I would get bored very easily,” she told CNBC. “But now, it’s been a year and a half, and I still haven’t had a time of boredom.”
For Poirel, the experience has reaffirmed one simple truth: “Life is too short and beautiful to spend most of it at work when you can spend it with people and experiences that truly make you happy.”
