50 Amazing Job Perks

Tech companies will go to amazing lengths to recruit talented employees – and keep them from jumping to competitors. An increasingly important part of the equation is benefits.

A recent New York Times article documented a Silicon Valley trend where the focus on benefits is shifting from traditional things everyone offers to practical ideas few do. Health, vision, stock options: Sure, sounds good. But how about we throw in some free housekeeping and fresh fish for dinner?

Of course, many of us don’t even get dental insurance or a 401(k) from work. The most recent employee benefits survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics says 57 percent of small businesses offer medical benefits, and 89 percent of large companies do. When it comes to retirement, benefits are available to half of small business workers and 86 percent of large-company employees.

But that makes it all the more fun to take a look at what some companies enjoy – to take a voyeuristic peek into the perks we can only dream of. That NYT story got me thinking about all the other fascinating employee benefits I’ve heard about over the past couple of years, everywhere from startups with half a dozen employees to behemoths like Google. So here’s a list, with categories starting with the interesting perks and moving toward the more valuable and exciting ones…

Family

1. Dog-friendly office (Airbnb)

2. Finding a last-minute babysitter (Genentech)

3. Backup senior care (Deloitte)

4. Marital counselors (Deloitte)

5. $3,000 for child care expenses (Facebook)

6. $5,000 in adoption assistance (Facebook)

7. Death benefits including five years’ salary for your spouse spread over 10 years (Google)

Food

8. A running tab at the coffee shop (Jetsetter)

9. Take-home dinners (Genentech)

10. Catered meals daily (Parse)

11. Free meals for employees and visiting family (Facebook)

12. All free meals and unlimited snacks (Google)

Fun

13. Movie gift certificates (GetGlue)

14. Green dinosaur hoodie (Exec)

15. High-tech toilets (Google)

16. Paid birthday off (Thrillist)

17. On-site ball pits (Google)

18. Access to secret tunnels reached by movable bookcase (Weebly)

19. Unlimited vacation days (Weebly)

20. Partially paying for hobbies (37signals)

21. Guest speakers ranging from President Obama to Lady Gaga (Google)

22. Free skate park, snowboard park, and ski slope (Burton)

23. Performance-based paid tropical vacations (ZocDoc)

24. Metal, wood, welding, and electronics workshop rooms (Google)

25. Free beer, vodka, tequila, whiskey (Thrillist)

Money

26. $1,000 cash for “real” vacations (Evernote)

27. $1,000 toward home energy improvements (Clif Bar)

28. $4,000 cash for new parents (Facebook)

29. $10,000 cash toward your office setup (Asana)

30. $500 weekly cash raffles (Fab)

31. Tuition reimbursement (Google)

32. Discretionary credit card (37signals)

Services

33. Free haircuts (Google)

34. Dry cleaning (Google)

35. Free housecleaning twice a month (Evernote)

36. Discounts at other startups (Coloft)

37. Automatic travel insurance (Google)

38. Free legal advice (Google)

39. Skill and life coaching (Asana)

Tech

40. Free noise-canceling Bose headphones (Weebly)

41. Free iPod Nano Touch (Sweetgreen)

42. Free iPads (GetGlue)

43. Your choice of computer (Parse)

Wellness

44. Yoga classes (Airbnb)

45. Personal trainers and nutritionists (Deloitte)

46. On-site lap pools (Google)

47. Loan bikes (Clif Bar)

48. On-site massage (Clif Bar)

49. Paid on-site gym time (Clif Bar)

50. On-site doctors and chiropractors (Google)