After the long pandemic lockdown, large companies are desperate to tempt staff to leave home and come back to the office. And they are using a goody-bag of perks to persuade them to clock on.
The best are from the burgeoning tech companies. But consultancies like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young as well as banks are also setting the pace.
Everything from freezing female employees’ eggs to beauty treatments are on the table. Goldman Sachs even offers gender reassignment surgery. And no surprises guessing you get free holidays with Airbnb.
Have you been offered any of these:
Wellness
During the pandemic, Carman’s Kitchen started offering movement, meditation, and yoga classes every morning for staff via Zoom to help staff remain connected and improve their health and wellbeing.
Discounted travel
No matter what department you’re in at Qantas, you can enjoy up to 90 per cent discount on flights for senior executives. The flights are generally business class so you’ll get to travel in luxury at a heavily discounted price, which is excellent for anyone wanting to see the world.
Work anywhere
Australian company Atlassian is giving staff the ability to work anywhere in the world as long as they have an internet connection.
Pet insurance
Some employees want insurance for themselves, meanwhile others are more concerned about their furry friends. Deloitte is giving their staff pet insurance as a perk.
Childcare centres
Parents who want to work will have no issue with childcare as the Commonwealth Bank has four childcare centres around Sydney. Staff can also get electricity and insurance discounts.
Gym and fitness centre access
Many Australian companies such as Smartgroup, CSBP Ltd, PwC, Deloitte, Infotrack, UHG, Landgate, TAL and Epic Pharmacy plus government departments offer discounted gym memberships. In some cases they are for specific gyms, whilst in others you can choose from a number of gyms.
Chesapeake Energy, in the US, has a 72,000 square foot fitness centre with an Olympic sized swimming pool, a tennis court, rock climbing wall and 400 metre walking track. Personal trainers are also on site to help employees.
In house massages
Smartgroup and Infotrack staff can enjoy monthly in-house massages so they can de-stress from their work.
Death cover
It’s not something that people really want to think about, but Google offers the serving partner or spouse 50 per cent of the deceased employee’s salary for ten years.
Free food
The way to a workers’ heart is through their stomachs. Many companies around Australia and the world offer free food to their staff members. The food ranges from free fruit to free beer and wine on Fridays.
Additional leave
If you work for Adobe you’ll sometimes be required to take mandatory leave, as in, take the whole week off, or else. Meanwhile, Hubspot gives staff members unlimited holidays, flexible working that fits around your other responsibilities and an extra four weeks paid leave for every five years that you remain with the company. They also give you the choice to use the leave however you want.
Netflix gives staff members an unlimited amount of parental leave and then after their parental leave they can either work full time, part time or take time off throughout the year.
Nine day working fortnight
Many Australian companies such as Work180 are also offering staff a nine day working week.
Free housing
Finding suitable housing can be a hassle in certain cities around the world. Facebook offers free housing for interns so you’ll never need to worry about competing for a room in a tiny share house again.
Wear what you want
Australian company, TE Connectivity is offering staff the chance to wear whatever they want while they work.
Home office budget
With working from home becoming the norm, businesses are giving their staff a work from home office budget so they can purchase office furniture.
Baby bonus
Facebook has a generous four month parental leave policy, plus employees with a newborn will get a $4,000 baby bonus. Their campuses also have video game arcades and an on site barbers shop.
Egg freezing/Adoption assistance
Hubspot turns up again in the list. Anyone who wants to focus on their career before having children can do so. Hubspot gives employees generous paid parental leave and assistance with the costs of egg freezing. Spotify also gives staff help with the cost of egg freezing and fertility assistance.
Amazon will help staff with the adoption process.
Gender reassignment surgery
Goldman Sachs will help employees with gender reassignment surgery and has done so since 2008.
Free holidays
Airbnb will give their staff an allowance of USD$2,000 to spend anywhere that there’s an Airbnb.
Free time for charity work
Salesforce and The Body Shop both have a strong sense of social responsibility and will give their staff members five paid days of leave each year to carry out charity work.
On-site acupuncture
Social media giant, Twitter is giving staff members on site acupuncture so they can relax and de-stress.