The Crazy, Quirky Perks Major Employers Offer Today

Most organizations offer employee benefits to remain competitive in the labor market: two-thirds of businesses cite difficulty in recruiting as a reason for increasing benefit offerings, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s 2018 Employee Benefits Report.

You’re probably already familiar with the usual suspects (retirement plans, health insurance coverage, etc.). Well, some employers regard those benefits as a starting point and extend their benefit offerings into some genuinely unusual options that many employers would never even think of. Here are five such examples from well-known organizations.

Evernote: House cleaning

Evernote, an online note-taking and personal productivity tool, will send cleaners to employees’ homes twice a month. Evernote Director of Communications Ronda Scott says, “The benefits package at Evernote is designed to address the small stresses and inefficiencies of everyday life for our employees.”

Netflix: Unlimited vacation

Netflix famously doesn’t track employee hours. Rather than tying productivity to hours, they monitor work completed. As long as that gets done, employees can take as much vacation time as they wish, or they can work, within reason, whatever hours they prefer.

Patagonia: Midday surfing

Outdoor gear vendor Patagonia believes in personal well-being and fitness and tries to encourage its employees to stay active. It provides all kinds of fitness amenities – bikes, on-site yoga, volleyball, etc. The California-based company also encourages employees to hit the waves, even in the middle of the workday, with the reception desk keeping employees updated on daily surf conditions.

Grant Thornton: Free Breast-Milk Delivery

Grant Thornton, which provides audit, tax, and advisory services, recognizes the thorny challenges of being a new mother in a demanding job. Some of their benefits try to address those issues. One benefit allows new moms to pump breast milk while on business trips and have the milk overnighted back to their babies.

Spotify: Egg freezing

Of course, many younger workers opt to delay pregnancy in favor of furthering their careers, while others may need extra assistance starting a family. To help employees, music streaming giant Spotify covers the cost of egg freezing, as well as fertility assistance, for employees.

While these options may be out of the box, companies should evaluate their benefit offerings annually to remain competitive in the labor market.

CoAdvantage, one of the nation’s largest Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs), helps small to mid-sized companies with HR administration, benefits, payroll, and compliance. To learn more about our ability to create a strategic HR function in your business that drives business growth potential, contact us today.