Seven Insane Employee Perks at Tech Companies

When it comes to improving productivity and enhancing the bottom line, emerging research suggests that keeping your employees happy can lead to huge boosts in both areas. Some companies, however, go beyond such life-enhancing benefits as free health insurance and the occasional motivational luncheon. For employees of leading tech companies such as Twitter, Dropbox, and Google, the perks that come with a position are as compelling as the paycheck.

Working for Google has often been likened to stepping into another world, and while it’s true that the company makes rigorous demands on its workers, perks like onsite childcare, plentiful and free meals, snacks, and booze, and free rental cars for daily errands make achieving work-life balance a little easier compared to traditional employment. Facebook gives its employees perks of convenience that includes restaurants, banks, and a candy shop, as well as more serious benefits such as IT vending machines, on-site medical service, and extended time off for new parents.

It’s not just the juggernauts who offer big-time perks. Event management company Eventbrite offers its employees a bevy of incentives, including free catered meals, a transportation stipend, and a “Zen room,” where weary or stressed employees can relax, meditate, or even take a restorative nap. Travel innovator AirBnB gives its workers a $2,000 stipend each year, and lets them bring their dogs to work every day when they’re in the office.

Wondering if it might be time to update your resume and head for perk paradise? You’ll need plenty of brainpower and luck to land a gig at Google. Getting a foot in the door at Facebook doesn’t require as much raw brain power, but does call for a heavy dose of technical prowess to pass the social media giant’s coding exams. The other tech companies offer a battery of reviews and qualifying exams (some more difficult than others), but for those who crave a challenge—and the pile of perks that comes with it—it might be worth the climb.

Transcript: 7 Insane Employee Perks at Tech Companies

Forget health insurance, tracking time off, and other “standard” benefits… tech companies are redefining what employee perks are, with things such as unlimited vacation and bring your pets to work.

Travel on Their Dime

• Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, offers free travel to the annual company meet up that brings all the work-at-home employees together.
  • They also cover all company travel expenses.
• AirBnB gives every employee $2,000 a year to travel anywhere in the world they want to.
• EventBrite provides a transportation stipend to make sure you can get to and from work.
• Zynga offers a commuter reimbursement program to repay you for getting back and forth to work.
• Google gives you a free rental car to run errands.

Take All the Time You Need

• Some companies don’t believe in tracking your vacation time.
  • They believe freedom makes their employees more productive.
    • Automattic
    • Pinterest
    • Zynga
    • Twitter

Never Worry About Forgetting Lunch Money Again

• Many companies are offering their employees free food while on the clock.
  • Dropbox offers free:
    • Breakfast, lunch, dinner, beverages, and snacks
  • Twitter’s San Francisco office offers free:
    • Catered breakfast and lunch
  • Facebook offers free:
    • Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
    • Fully stocked snack station in every building
  • Eventbrite offers free:
    • Catered lunch daily
    • Never ending supply of snacks
  • Google offers free:
    • Breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee and juice bars, and snack bars
  • AirBnB offers free:
    • Daily organic lunch
  • Zynga offers free:
    • Lunch, dinner, and snacks

Take Care of Business Without Leaving the Office

• Many companies offer a variety of on-site services.
  • Services vary by office location
• Facebook offers on-site:
  • Healthcare
  • Barber shop
• Dropbox offers an on-site barber shop.
• Google offers on-site:
  • Healthcare
  • Childcare

Bring Your Pet to Work, Every Day

• Some companies keep your pets from getting too lonely during the day while you’re at work.
  • Pinterest
  • AirBnB
  • EventBrite

Take Care of Yourself

• Companies are all about keeping their employees healthy.
  • Some companies offer on-site fitness programs.
    • LinkedIn offers participation rewards, too.
    • AirBnB offers weekly Yoga classes.
    • Pinterest offers a bi-weekly running club.
  • Some companies offer a stipend or reimbursement.
    • Twitter offers gym membership reimbursement.
    • Dropbox offers massage subsidies.
    • Eventbrite offers a wellness stipend.

Free Office Equipment

• Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and various plugins, gives all their employees a $2,000 stipend to ensure they have everything they need to work at home.
• Pinterest makes sure you have all the Apple equipment you need.

Sources

• The 22 Best Tech Companies To Work For, According To Employees – businessinsider.com
• 12 Tech Companies That Offer Their Employees the Coolest Perks – thenextweb.com
• Work With Us – automattic.com
• GREAT PLACE TO WORK: At Automattic Employees All Work From Home And Travel To Exotic Locations – businessinsider.com
• Pinterest Careers – about.pinterest.com
• Pinterest Beats Out Yahoo! Organic Traffic to Become 4th Largest Traffic Source in the World – blog.shareaholic.com
• Zynga Career Benefits – company.zynga.com
• AirBnB Jobs – airbnb.com
• Google Benefits – google.com
• Google Employees Reveal Their Favorite Perks Working For The Company – businessinsider.com
• 14 Interesting Facts About Google – hongkiat.com
• Eventbrite Jobs – eventbrite.com
• Facebook’s 12 Most Fantastic Employee Perks – bizjournals.com
• Mark Zuckerberg – twitter.com
• 9 Creativity-Boosting Perks LinkedIn Employees Get That Every Company Should Steal – businessinsider.com
• Somewhat Interesting Facts About LinkedIn, A Site Which Exists – tucsonweekly.com
• 50 Twitter Fun Facts – mediabistro.com
• Dropbox Jobs – dropbox.com
• 5 More Interesting Ways You Can Make Use of Dropbox – maketecheasier.com