By Kirstie McDermott
When Mark Zuckerberg announced his "year of efficiency" in March, detailing the forward path Meta will follow in its slimmed-down future, it followed news of thousands of layoffs across the company.
In addition to those redundancies, last year Meta also introduced a number of cost-saving measures across its much-vaunted perks program. There are no more free laundry services or a Lyft subsidy, and the company has also rolled back free meals to help it save nearly $76 million a year.
Deep cuts have also been implemented at Twitter, where Elon Musk has slashed a fertility benefit by 50%, as well as scrapping commuting perks and the ability to expense meals.
It is a similar picture at Google, where CFO Ruth Porat sent a company-wide email titled "Our company-wide OKR on durable savings", detailing the company's plan to slash costs. "These are big, multi-year efforts," she said. Cuts are expected to come to fitness classes and the frequency of laptop replacements. Stationery too, is taking a hit: staplers and tape will no longer be available on print stations.
Welcome to the perkcession.
Benefits and nice-to-have perks are being cut across the board. Salesforce has removed a monthly paid day off for workers' well-being, as well as access to a 75-acre wellness retreat. Twilo has rolled back an allowance to spend on wellness and books, and Goldman Sachs has done away with free breakfast and lunch.
Perks 2.0
In this new perk-light environment, many of the corporate perks companies had been offering now appear to have been nice-to-haves, rather than benefits that truly added to your bottom line or career progression.
Most workers can probably live without ping-pong tables, pizza parties and rock climbing walls, but there are certain things employees do want, according to Forbes Advisor. Its study found that 40% of employers believe workers leave their role to find a job with better benefits.
Health care is the most important benefit in 2023, the report says, followed by life insurance, pension and retirement plans, mandatory paid time off and mental health assistance.
Meaningful benefits are what workers want now, in an uncertain economic climate where recession looms and the cost of living is ever-increasing. PTO buyback is a perk many employees would benefit from, allowing them to increase their vacation time.
Flexible working is another area where employees will vote with their feet: a recent McKinsey survey found that 87% of employees would take the opportunity to work remotely if it was offered. The recent success of four day week trials is another example of how workers can be meaningfully accommodated, without loss of productivity or pay.
Career progression and learning and development support is another aspect of a benefits program that is of tangible value to employees. Either through in-house training and support or via free education options, there are many ways workplaces can offer this support.
It is clear that pay is not the sole driver for employees, so if you'd like to move to a company where the whole package adds for you, then there are plenty of options to discover on the Employee Benefit News Jobs Board. Discover three companies with great benefits below.
Airbnb
In addition to being one of the first companies offering employees remote working early in the pandemic, Airbnb offers its employees stock options, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts, and your computer equipment will be provided. Want to work here? You can check out all its open roles here.
Microsoft
The company has scaled back on specific benefits––new employees now get two weeks of vacation instead of three, and it has cut a prescription-drug benefit for those who want brand-name drugs when a generic exists. Regardless, Microsoft still offers a large range of benefits such as health care coverage, flexible working, childcare and stock options. See all jobs at Microsoft here.
Netflix
Netflix has had staff cuts, but as of yet, hasn't announced any reductions to its benefits program. Employees here receive a host of useful add-ons, including paid internships, a matching 401k contribution, health and wellness benefits that include non-primary caregiver leave, fertility and adoption assistance. It also offers unlimited vacation, and the chance to work outside of the U.S. Discover a job for you at Netflix.
Find jobs with perks that work for you on the Employee Benefit News Jobs Board
