# Employees: Your favorite perk/benefit? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 14, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123 "2004-07-14T19:10:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/41 "2004-07-15T16:23:02Z")
My favorite perk is paid time off- just some extra floating holidays that the employee can choose. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/42 "2004-07-15T16:28:27Z")
Extra days off/go home early. Of course, some jerk’s going to complain that he can’t take off because he’s got too much to do and then try to bully everyone else into staying. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/43 "2004-07-15T16:39:35Z")
My ten-year anniversary was June 10th this year. On June 14th, a coworker handed out envelopes to everyone who’s anniversaries were anytime this summer. Inside were xeroxed certificates and a key chain, along with instructions for the employee’s immediate supervisors to ‘gather the emp’s coworkers and talk about the emp’s contributions, thank the emp for their service, etc.’ Supervisor’s can’t even be bothered with minimal lip service when instructed to do so, apparently. Feh. Anyone need a key chain? :rolleyes: I’d have leaped at any 401K matching, by far the most valuable perk suggested above IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/44 "2004-07-15T21:44:48Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > But my favorite is free digital cable and free high-speed internet (where available, of course. I’m one of the lucky few where it’s available.) Oh, that would _rock_! Do you work for a cable company or something? ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/45 "2004-07-15T22:18:21Z")
Well, perks at _my_ company suck. They have a good benefit package, but not great, and it has some holes. But as for rewarding extra effort or building morale, they don’t believe in it… But the wife, her company has some excellent ones, including many already mentioned. My favorite not mentioned so far is “Wow Bucks.” Wow bucks can be exchanged for catalog merchandise, kinda like old-fashioned Green Stamps. We’ve got two TVs, a DVD player, a vacuum cleaner and shloads of camping gear, all of it very good quality. Her employer gives away company logo pins and apparel at events like parties and picnics, and then at random occasions a management person comes around with Wow Bucks in hand, giving out 10 Wow Bucks for each item a person is wearing. They will also give out Wow Bucks in recognition for extra effort. Sometimes LOTS of WOW bucks… The wife always wears her company lapel pin, so gets at least 10 bucks every time. Not to mention that everybody keeps caps in their desks so when the word spreads like wildfire, everybody dons a company cap. And she’s really cleaned up on the recognition awards, because she’s superwoman. I did a search for Wow Bucks on Google and got NOTHING. But the best perk she gets that I don’t is an _annual bonus_, sometimes up to 30 or 40% of her base salary. If your CEO wants to recognize performance, then cut the performers in on the profits, pure and simple… ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/46 "2004-07-16T00:47:42Z")
I didn’t see this mentioned, but how about something that aids commuting? How about a perk that an outstanding employee of the month gets to park in the CEO’s parking space for a month, or how about if the company subsidizes the cost of monthly pubic commuting for it’s employees? Sure, it’s not cash in hand, but that would save a lot of noticeable cash that could be spent on something else. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/47 "2004-07-16T01:47:20Z")
Company call-girls. OW! Hey, what **OW!** What?! What did I **OOW!! STOP!** ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/48 "2004-07-16T15:48:30Z")
**bughunter** , those WOW bucks sound cool. It also sounds like your wife’s company uses a much more varied and nicer catalog of products than I’ve seen when allowing employees to redeem the bucks. **medstar** , we don’t have assigned parking here. Since we’re not a large company, the furthest parking spot from the door is maybe 30 yards. And since we’re in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, we don’t have a mass-transit system. It looks like the CEO has narrowed down the recognition items to the following: - $10 automatic company contribution for all doctor’s visits, above the insurance co-pay - birthdays off with pay - free membership to Sam’s Club or Costco (or maybe both) - two free shirts (one polo, one dress) with the company logo on them. Apparently the 401(k) match/contribution has fallen by the wayside. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/49 "2004-07-16T16:11:16Z")
I just want to point out that if I got two shirts with company logos on them as recognition for 5+ years of service, my morale would sink through the floor. That is the worst idea I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/50 "2004-07-16T17:18:22Z")
I must agree: the shirt idea is terrible. I can practically guarantee that every employee is going to say, “Why didn’t they save the $22.50 each for these embroidered-logo shirts and give me the money instead – even half the money? Like I really want to wear a WORK shirt when I’m not working – free advertising for them, right?” Maybe I am just too cynical. The other ideas sound good though. Nothing to sneeze at. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/51 "2004-07-16T19:25:04Z")
Yeah, I’ve gotten pretty much the same reaction to the shirts here, too. Our CEO has a real blind spot when it comes to company loyalty – he honestly can’t conceive of somebody NOT wanting to work here. I’ve pointed out to my boss, the president of the company, that if this program goes into effect before any raises do, employees are likely to be quite upset (“You’re spending money on this crap when you could’ve given me a raise?”). He has indicated that raises are set for the very near future, assuming we can get the Board of Directors to all gee instead of hawing. He tends to have a more realistic view of things than the CEO does. Gonna be an interesting few weeks around here. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/52 "2004-07-16T19:44:04Z")
I work for a very small manufacturing company. Our benefits: Health insurance plus vision Life insurance 401(k) with a 3% safe harbor contribution (you get 3% of your salary matched whether you contribute yourself or not) Free hats Free shirts Attendance bonuses Charitable contributions (basically, we try to contribute to any community charity brought to us) Flexible sick/leave (as flexible as we can, considering we’re a 24/7 operation) Profit sharing Weekend bonuses ($300 for salaried people to, ostensibly, “go away for the weekend”) Hmm. I think that’s it. Cash awards are expensive for us because of the taxes on them, so we tend to try to get creative with rewards. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/53 "2004-07-16T21:29:36Z")
The raises should happen before the non-cash perks. Do most of the people at your work have kids at home? CostCo’s only a savings if you are feeding more than four people, IMHO. \Why on earth do companies give shirts away? I’ve got a drawer-full from various failed startups and contract positions. I know very few people who wear them, to the point that I have to do a “logo check” before I buy a shirt at the local thrift store. \ **Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/54 "2004-07-16T23:13:45Z") > [@The Devil's Grandmother](#): > > The raises should happen before the non-cash perks. Raises cost so much more than non-cash perks, though. It really depends on what the company can afford. ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/55 "2004-07-17T03:38:30Z")
Sauron: I just took my kid for his 10th or 11th dr visit this year. My single young co worker with jsut as much time and gumption as me has not gone to the doctor once. My visits are going to cost ya a lot, my co worker is just giong to be annoyed at another useless incentive. ---
**Author:** ![Pablito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@Pablito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pablito)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/56 "2004-07-17T13:17:24Z")
none of this is going to help with your questions, but I’ve just got to brag about my own perks– free house to live in, with all utilities paid family health insurance paid in full employer pays an amount equal to 9% of my income into pension plan vehicle (and gas) with unrestricted use free meals several times a week Now, if only I actually liked the job. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/57 "2004-07-18T05:16:25Z")
Well, believe it or not, I’m an hourly at W **M** \* & I’m happy for these benefits- the company-added 15% to our stock purchases, kick-ass dental insurance, four weeks of paid vacation (granted, I had to stay 15 yrs to make it!) & the 10% discount on purchases. ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/58 "2004-07-18T07:39:04Z")
What I wanted, back when I was working outside the house (but had an infant child) was on-site daycare provided at all, let alone with a subsidised rate. As a breastfeeding mother, it would have been a lot better for my productivity to have me pop over to the daycare room and let my daughter nurse every 3 hours or so for 10 minutes, rather than having to retreat to the handicapped stall in the women’s room to pump for 20 minutes, twice a day. Plus I wouldn’t have had to muck with carrying milk back and forth, etc, and cleanliness issues. But my employer did not provide this. It’s not why I quit, but it made it harder to stay. ---
**Author:** ![factorial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed8c4c/32.png) [@factorial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/factorial)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123/59 "2004-07-18T07:58:25Z")
401k contributions, gym club membership, one-time bonus, or raise. Everything else mentioned, some people will just be kind of like: “WTF? I can’t use/don’t need/don’t want that!” Even the gym club membership would have some nay-sayers but I think the rationale that it could lower insurance premiums in the long run would be sufficient to silence those. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employees-your-favorite-perk-benefit/255123.md?page=2)