Archives for Workplace

Back in the late 90s, in the peak of the dot-com craze, Silicon Valley companies dreamed up imaginative ways to better attract, ‘engage’ and thus retain young tech workers who might otherwise bolt for the competitor’s promise of IPO riches. Perks such as onsite haircuts, gym memberships, laundry services, and sushi chefs were de rigueur.

These perks were also intended to help offset the stress of 70-hour work weeks, low pay and the lack of a social life. Yet this worker-friendly campaign never really caught on outside of high-tech companies. While notable perks such as massages-in-your-cube remain distant memories, enlightened employers still emphasize creating a fun workplace and positive corporate culture. At tech companies here you can still find juice bars, workout rooms, ping-pong tables, foosball, and espresso machines.

At Microsoft’s headquarters in the suburbs near Seattle, bad coffee is a non-starter. Starbucks coffee in single-cup packets is what’s on tap, according to the Wall Street Journal. I don’t know if having Latte’s-on-demand is considered more of a retention or recruitment item, but without it productivity would surely tumble across corporate America and much of Europe. 

Of course, caffeine isn’t everything. Some workers are more attracted to the concept of working for a ‘green’ - socially and environmentally responsible - employer. At Patagonia, the Ventura, Calif. recreation clothing brand, one of the perks includes letting employees surf when the tide is high. Patagonia is on the cover of Fortune sporting the headline, ”The Coolest Company on the Planet.” Patagonia provides its workers with “onsite daycare, both maternity and paternity leave, and flextime” among other benefits.  

Google can top that. The Big G provides onsite physician & dental visits (that sounds like a HIPAA disaster waiting to happen. Whoops, we had this room booked for a meeting …), emergency day-care coverage, and it reportedly donates up to US$5,000 toward an employee’s purchase of a hybrid-car.

If history is a guide, these new generation perks may never spread outside of Silicon Valley, but on the other  hand, with increasing global competition for talent, these may become table stakes for future employment.

Which perks do you find most appealing? What perks do you wish your company or your next employer would provide to you?