Time Magazine had a great article about employee perks at some of the top companies around the country.
For instance, at Mattel, the World’s largest toy maker helps its employees find their inner child by shutting its offices at 1 p.m. every Friday.
Microsoft offers their software engineers an organic spa for letting off steam.
If you work at Factset, a financial research firm, you get free lunches, but there’s also an onsite Pie Truck, Chinese Truck, and Cupcake Truck.
Autodesk, a Mill Valley, California company, allows its employees to take a six week paid sabbatical every four years (you can also bring your dog into the office as well).
Google has a bocce ball court and bowling lanes at the company’s Mountain View, California, headquarters — and for a nominal fee you can get your eyebrows shaped at its New York office.
So here’s what I want to know. If you could add one perk to your place of work what would it be?
A couch to take a nap on at lunch!
Oh, yes – naptime would be AWESOME!!
I could totally be down with a little power nap.
yup Nap time would be great!
Agreed – nap time would be a major win. And a massage.
Consistent year-round climate control. It’s really hard to work when you’re either sweltering or freezing. I work in a church that doesn’t use the heating/air conditioning during the week, except in the main office, and of course I don’t work in the main office, I work in the classrooms.
Not that I’m REALLY complaining… but, ok, I’m complaining.
I’m loving the idea of a pie truck.
One of the nice things about working from home is that I can take advantage of things that aren’t at most offices…like my fireplace (wood burning not gas by the way…much better). But I think I would have to say professional chef in the kitchen.
I love a fire in the middle of the day!
If I was back in the work force (currently a stay at home mom with 2 home based businesses) I’d love my perk to be childcare. They could have a big “nursery” downstairs for all the kiddos. So on my lunch break, I could meander down and see her and then go back up to work
It’d just be built into my salary!
That’s a great one. I know a lot of places that have that these days.
Having onsite (reduced cost) childcare would be amazing! I would love to get to pop in to see my littles during the day and it would have made the transition back to work after a newborn so much easier. I also have heard of companies that have complete gyms and allow their employees extra time during the day to workout. Now that would be amazing!
A hunting lease. Had one when I worked for a construction company in Austin years ago, and it was so fun to go hunting with work mates during the various seasons…
Why give stress in the first place and then provide these peripheral placeboes?
Good point Joseph. However, I think even the most amazing of jobs will have stressful seasons.
Well, my office is my home. I am a stay at home mom with 3 kids. I think that my one perk would be for a message therapist to come every Friday and give me a message.
A foot and body masseuse, that would be wonderful!!!
I get to bring Molls to the office. And our fridge is always stocked with frozen lunches so we don’t have to get it. Really the small things make a huge difference!
make that get out.
That’s cool.
Awesome teaching and worship every morning.
I can dream, can’t I?
We have Corn Hole…enough said.
I have boards also and can get my hands on some more, we should have a corn hole tournament at Bellevue.
Best perk EVER!
The one in the picture. Neck massage…
Company paid time off so anyone could leave to go on mission trips or VBS or even summer church camps and it not take away from your normal vacation time you would have with your family.
Love that! I know a couple places here in Nashville that give their employees two weeks a year to volunteer for different organizations. Dave Ramsey is one of them.
The company I work for gives us half of the time we are on a mission trip (up to 5 days) that doesn’t count against vacation. It’s a great perk.
A napping couch, pets in the office so I could get a dog, and health benefits!
Health insurance would be awesome. I wouldn’t mind even paying a portion of it! And the option to get my hubby on it too!
Oh, man. I don’t even have an office job but assuming I did, I’d be all about bringing my dog to work. Either way, or having the option to work on couches with blankets, instead of office chairs and desks. I do all my best work when I’m cozy, not when I’m forced to sit properly and not cross my legs.
The dog thing seems to be a real theme here today.
Working for my state, I have very good benefits, praise God! As for perks, I’d love a daily siesta, neck/back massages, & free hot cocoa in the winter!
A dark room with reclining chairs. Studies say a nap increases productivity.
Aside from that, a gym/workout room
Naptime! I love the powernap.
A lounge with comfy chairs and a sofa with wifi so I could work in the lounge with my laptop and a yummy cup of coffee.
And chair massage once a week (this actually happened at one place I worked at. It was nice)
I can dream!!!
I picked my current job based solely on the perks and I love it! We can wear jeans everyday, bring our dogs to work, play cornhole, pay $1 for 1 min of onsite massages, and shoot hoops on arcade-style basketball goals, which is how I choose to let off my own stress-induced steam
If I could add one thing, it’d definitely be the extra vacay time to go on mission trips.
I’m going to come work with you!
To be able to work 40-45hours max, not 50, and have a consistent schedule so I could spend more quality time with my family.
Basketball courts and a chinese buffet!
We’d have to wait at least 30 minutes after we eat before we play though.
A chinese buffet. I didn’t see that one coming.
Flexitime is a good perk if you’re single, childless and use public transport to get to work. I kind of use flexitime right now, from the comfort of my own home.
Same perk that I need for my doubt-myself-retreats….
Chocolate.
Seriously.
I work with elementary school children all day….need I say more?
We have a full gym with 2 personal trainers. Hard to ask for more than that, but if I had to…
A chocolate fountain would be nice. Can’t decide if it should be on the way in or the way out of the gym though.
Showers and lockers, so I could run at lunch, then shower and go back to work.
The cupcake truck is a fabulous idea! We have a great perk: where we live. If the weather is just too awesome, we’ll have some of our team meetings at the beach. I heart Destin! If I had a dog, I’d probably be able to bring him/her with me. The perk I’d add is a 15-minute massage on Mondays (one in the morning and one in the afternoon), when I spend the longest periods of time hunched over the keyboard.