Surfing during the workday is just one of the perks of working for Patagonia
What's the secret to attracting and hanging on to the best employees? Making them happy. Many companies are relatively good at this, allowing employees to work from home when they need to and planning fun office activities. But some companies go above and beyond for the people that keep them going, offering employee perks that put your monthly free lunch to shame. Check out these eight cool job benefits that will make you wish you worked for the companies that offer them.
1. No official work hours – What 9 to 5? At Netflix's Los Gatos, Calif., headquarters, vacation days and work hours aren't tracked. The company only measures what people get done, so as long as employees do their work, it doesn't matter when or for how long they're in the office. There's a simple solution to those who abuse this generous policy: In the words of Donald Trump, "You're fired."
2. Focus on family – Forget standard maternity leave. Facebook offers some pretty incredible perks for parents and parents-to-be. New moms and dads get four months of paid parental leave, reimbursement for day care and adoption fees, and $4,000 in "baby cash" after their child is born. We can't be sure, but we think Facebook encourages growing families because it wants them to flood the site with adorable baby photos.
3. On-site health services – Everyone seems to want to work for Google, and for good reason: It's the king of amazing employee benefits. There are lists dedicated to all of Google perks, but the company's commitment to its workers' health is truly commendable (Google runs the Internet, after all—the Internet can't take sick days!). In addition to medical doctors, you'll also find physical therapists, chiropractors and massage therapists on the Google campus.
4. Total wellness – It may not have on-staff physicians like Google, but the Institute for Integrative Nutrition does a pretty good job of making sure its employees have what they need for physical and mental wellness. A professional chef prepares a healthy organic lunch for the staff every day (breakfast and snacks are also provided), and fresh flowers are placed on everyone's desk. If biweekly chair massages and in-house yoga classes aren't enough to de-stress you, just go on the staff yoga retreat.
5. Midday surfing – It makes sense that a company selling outdoor clothing and equipment would want its employees to stay physically fit. Based in California, Patagonia provides company bikes, volleyball courts and on-site yoga for its workers. Employees are also encouraged to catch a wave or two in the middle of the work day: The reception desk posts daily surf reports and makes company-wide announcements on especially good surf days.
6. Event tickets and transportation – Employees of Quicken Loans in Michigan don't get into all events for free — just the ones happening at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Quicken CEO Dan Gilbert owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, so workers get transportation and tickets to home games. They can also snag seats for the various concerts, comedy shows and other events happening at "The Q."
7. Game time – Quicken employees may be content to attend basketball games, but Zynga staff actually gets to play on the company's full-size courts. The San Francisco-based gaming company (perhaps unsurprisingly) also has in-house relaxation lounges with classic arcade games and Nintendo, Xbox 360 and PS3 gaming systems for its workers to enjoy.
8. Extra credit – At Weebly, every employee gets a company credit card, presumably for anything they might need during the work day (which, like at Netflix, has no set hours). As if that isn't enough, the Web hosting company also provides a $50 monthly credit to Exec, a housecleaning and errand-running service for when its workers are too busy enjoying their free meals, gym membership or bi-monthly massage.
Originally published on BusinessNewsDaily.
