For several years, workers had the upper hand in job negotiations. The labor shortage spurred employers to increase pay, beef up bonuses, and expand their benefits packages to compete for talent.
Even in a slowing job market, bigger benefits packages aren’t likely to disappear. Talent retention is now a top operational priority, higher even than revenue and lowering operational costs, according to a 2023 survey by consulting firm Gallagher. But as they boost their work perks, companies are adding some unconventional offerings.
Employers often see novel benefits as a good way to recruit—many are attention-grabbing—and retain workers, too. Many consider them a way to signal their commitment to company values and their investment in employee well-being. Here are some of the most out-of-the-ordinary employee benefits currently on the market.
Out of office
🗓 Pre-PTO
Hospitality company SevenRooms gives all new hires a vacation before they walk through the door. The first two weeks of every new employee’s tenure, regardless of seniority, is paid time off.
“We want our new team members to be excited about joining SevenRooms and mentally refreshed coming into their new role,” a representative for the company told Quartz. In addition, SevenRooms requires that workers take five consecutive days of PTO in the first half and the second half of the year. Long-tenured employees are expected to take 10 consecutive days twice a year.
🏝 Island escapes
Last year, the UK-based Yolk Recruiting took all 55 of its employees to an all-inclusive resort on the Spanish island of Tenerife for a long weekend. No one was expected to work—they set up voicemails to collect calls while the team was away, and everyone put up an out-of-office message.
“Our staff had gone through a lot of ups and downs and different work structures from fully remote through to hybrid and back, but their hard work didn’t falter,” says the company’s group head of marketing James Cheetham. “The trip to Tenerife was a big thank-you for the previous two years and everything [we] achieved post-pandemic.”
All in the family
💍 Marriage bonuses
Employee engagement platform Reward Gateway offers $1,500 to employees who get legally hitched. They call it the marriage bonus.
🐣 Baby bonuses
For workers at women’s health app Flo, a new addition to the family means a cash bonus. To incentivize parents to stick with the company, companies offer “baby bonuses,” or cash payments upon return from parental leave. Employees at Flo get $5,000 if they return from parental leave within 12 months of the child’s arrival.
At Medela, a company that manufactures breast pumps, workers get $500, and at telematics company Geotab, workers get $2,000.
👴🏽 Grandparent leave
Companies including Fannie Mae, Booking.com, and SentinelOne are expanding their family leave programs to include grandparents. Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne gives employees five days of paid “grandternity” leave to take care of a new grandchild.
Furry family, too
🐾 Pawternity leave and bonuses
Pet friendly workplaces are growing in popularity, and it’s about more than just letting workers bring their pets to the office. In 2023, Nationwide Insurance partnered with WUF, a community of dog lovers, to form the Best Pet Workplaces. The partnership launched with a day-long conference to further pet-friendly workplace practices; the organization reports that 100 executives attended.
When employees adopt a new pet, robotic litter box company Whisker employees get one day to welcome their new buddy home. Meanwhile, Reward Gateway offers $250 to employees who adopt a pet from a shelter, and workers can request the benefit up to twice per year.
🐶 Pet bereavement leave
Whisker also offers a day of paid bereavement leave to mourn the death of a pet. “We treat pets as important members of the family,” says CEO and president Jacob Zuppke.
For well-being, for work-life balance, or just for kicks
🧘♀️ Ketamine therapy
As part of its mental wellness benefits, soap maker Dr. Bronner’s now gives its employees access to ketamine-assisted therapy through its healthcare program. Ketamine is a psychedelic drug sometimes used in the treatment of depression and anxiety, sometimes in tandem with substance use recovery programs.
🏄♀️ Surf lessons and paddleboarding sessions
If it wasn’t nice enough to live and work at the beach, employees at fintech company nCino, located in the beach town of Wilmington, NC, can take surfing lessons and try out paddleboarding on the company.
Zedrick Applin, the company’s head of DEI, says it’s in the service of keeping employees happy and healthy. “Given nCino’s proximity to Wrightsville Beach, it’s easy for employees to participate in these activities and then come into work. We also offer showers at [the office].”
🎧 DJ for a day
At video marketing platform Wistia, employees can play DJ for the day on the company’s internal radio station. Just sign up for a time slot and play whatever you like. Some workers, like Wistia head of social media Frank Emanuele, talk on air, too: “Fridays with Frank” is a popular segment.
✍️ Free tattoos, with a company catch
At Texas-based pizza chain ZaLat Pizza, workers can get inked free of charge—if it’s a ZaLat tattoo.
A signal, not a strategy
Sure, it isn’t likely that out-of-the-ordinary perks like pet parental leave and all-staff vacations are the best way to hold on to great employees. According to Gallup, while pay and benefits was the most common reason workers left their jobs in 2022, respondents said it wasn’t the primary reason they left. Ultimately, engagement, company culture, and work-life balance mattered more. But offbeat benefits are a means for employers to signal their priorities—and their quirks.