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18 Of the Best Employee Perks and Why

12 Feb 2016 by

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Google is famous for their amazing employee perks: an on-site bowling alley, bocce courts, unlimited free gourmet food, free rides to and from work, and up to 18 weeks maternity leave, just to name a few. Why do they treat their employees so well? CEO Larry Page explained,

“When you treat people [well] … you get better productivity. Rather than really caring what hours you worked, you care about output. We should continue to innovate in our relationship with our employees and figure out the best things we can do for them … Our people have also been a lot happier and more productive, which is much more important.”

Even before an employee is hired, perks are taken into consideration. Surveys by Glassdoor show that 57 % of people report benefits and perks are among their top considerations before accepting a job.

Do you want happy and productive employees? Treat them well. Improve your relationships with your employees by offering some of these awesome perks:

Health

1. Gym Membership or onsite gym: People that exercise regularly are healthier, and healthy employees cost you less. Generally, healthy people are also happier, more motivated, they have more energy, and they work harder.

2. Sponsor yoga, pilates, or CrossFit: Many people (especially women) are more likely to exercise on a regular basis if they can do classes, rather than going to the gym. Classes are more attractive to people who like variety, like working out in groups, and that don’t really know what to do at the gym. A variety of classes helps avoid monotony and keep up the motivation to exercise.

3. Fitbit: Provide your employees with a Fitbit tracking device to help motivate them to stay healthy. Encourage health and elevate morale by using these devices for competitions (e.g. who walked the most steps this month, etc.).

4. Running club: Excuse interested employees from their work for an hour/week to go on an organized group run in the business’s neighborhood. This costs little to implement and shows that your company prioritizes health. Activities like this also encourage employees to get to know each other, which strengthens your team.

5. Subsidize enrollment fees in races: Help pay for 5Ks, marathons, triathlons, etc. This may be the extra push your employees need to train and exercise in their free time.

Food

6. Free food at the office: Your employees will not work as well if they are hungry. Providing free food ensures that even on the days when someone forgets to bring a lunch, everyone will have enough food in their stomachs to produce their best work. Your employees will appreciate not having to leave the office for food.

7. Food traditions: Start something like a Pizza Friday, where you bring in different kinds of pizza each week. Free breakfast every Monday could help lessen the Monday blues. You could try a potluck lunch at the end of each month. These are simple ideas, but they will bring your company together and cheer people up. These are events to look forward to and to break up the monotony of work.

Fun

8. Game room: You could put a ping-pong table, a game system, a TV, a foosball table, etc. Game rooms help employees get to know each other and relax when needed. Games are one-time buys that don’t require a continual cost for you. Show your employees that you know that work and down-time are both important.

9. Off-site events: Build team unity through a work BBQ, day of skiing, a Halloween party, bowling, or something similar. Not only will your staff work better together after getting to know each other more, but they will post pictures of the events on social media and tell their friends how great their company is, making the off-site events a recruiting tool.

10. Season sports pass:  Build camaraderie among your employees by giving them season passes to the local baseball or basketball team. Perks like this really show you know employees have a life outside of work and make them feel appreciated.

11. Birthday cake: Make your employees’ birthdays special with cake. It’s a simple and cheap way to show you care, and to bring employees together.

Family

12. Maternity/Paternity leave that goes beyond the legal requirement: It takes about 6 weeks minimum for a woman’s body to heal after having a baby, and can take months to feel in control of one’s life again. Requiring your employees to return to work before they are really ready will cause a lot of stress in the employees’ lives, and will probably affect their quality of work too. Make the work-life balance a high priority at your work. Give your employees ample time off, and then welcome a rejuvenated, ready-to-work employee back to your company.

13. Onsite childcare: If you have the space, this is a way to take strain off your employees that have little kids. Many working parents, especially moms, feel they are abandoning their kids by sending them to daycare all day. However, if daycare is right downstairs, employees can see their kids during their lunch or break, making them a lot happier at work.

14. “Baby Cash”: Facebook provides $4000 to employees with a newborn. That might not fit in your company’s budget, but even a smaller amount of money would make your employees and their families feel the support of your company.

15. Flexible Schedules: This is one of the perks employees appreciate the most, and it is completely free to you. Show your respect and trust by letting your employees determine which hours work best for them. Some people might prefer a 6-2 schedule so they can be home when their kids get back from school. Others might feel they need to sleep in and exercise before coming to work to work more effectively, and would therefore prefer to work from 10-6. Some jobs cannot be quite this flexible, but there are others options to consider like working longer days Monday-Thursday to then get off a little early on Friday. Brainstorm ideas that would work at your company.

Relaxation

16. Extra time off around the holidays: Many businesses slow down around the holidays anyway, so give your employees as much time as you can to enjoy the season. Then they will come back to work refreshed and ready to hit the ground running in the new year.

17. Paid Vacation: Numbers 17 and 18 are perks that more and more companies are offering their employees. Productivity decreases when employees are overworked. Prevent burnout by offering a once/year vacation stipend that employees are required to use for a trip away.

18. Unlimited vacation: You could also offer unlimited vacation like Netflix, as long as employees’ work is completed on time and at the expected level of quality.

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