Ask HN: What is/was the most significative perk you had at work?

9 points by gab007 7 years ago | 15 comments

Hi HN,

I see more and more employers nowadays offering "free parking", "located near public transportation" or "foosball tables" as "perks" at the workplace. No disrespect, and I know that some of these cost money too, but what happened to the real ones?

One of the best perks I had at work, was that I had the freedom to work on my own schedule - as long as I put in at least 8 hours per day. The only downside of that was that I had to "step in" if there were issues, regardless of the hour of the day. I would still start the day at 8:00am at the office - it was nice to have the option to start later if you wanted so.

bb2018 7 years ago |

Working remotely/flexible is definitely the biggest.

It definitely works from the employer side. I would have to be really excited about a new company or get paid significantly more to go back to working in a normal office with normal hours. Once you grow accustom to it nothing beats setting your own life.

doingmyting 7 years ago | |

Second this. Work remotely for big tech company. You couldnt pay me enough to go back to an office

samizdis 7 years ago |

As a news sub-editor (copy editor) on a regional UK newspaper many years ago, you had your pick of travel trips offered by PR outfits. I went to all sorts of places; all that was needed in return was a travel feature. The best trip was a 10-day, food-and-wine tour of Burgundy.

quickthrower2 7 years ago |

Being treated like an adult human bring. It makes the most difference to me than anything else. I'll maintain PHP code from 1998 for that v.s. being treated shit and working on something sexy.

gab007 7 years ago | |

Yup, absolutely, second that.

drakonka 7 years ago |

Flex hours and ability to take time off whenever I need to run personal errands (as long as my work gets done). Yearly health allowance for things like gym and other fitness activities. Free massage with qualified physiotherapists in the office every three weeks. Sponsored fun run and other fitness events. Six weeks of paid vacation in addition to public holidays and unlimited sick leave (doctor's note required for longer periods of sick leave).

johnnyRose 7 years ago |

Not hugely significant, but a company I worked for before our unit was purchased used to offer a health program that, among other things, offered 10% off "healthy" foods at Walmart stores. This is a very small perk in comparison but it made a big and lasting difference in the groceries I purchased.

Some of the other perks to this program were a gym reimbursement after a certain number of verified workouts, nearly-free health insurance, and a rewards program which allowed you to redeem points for gift cards. Too much to explain in detail but it really incentivized a healthy lifestyle and has made a lasting difference in my health.

Not affiliated, but https://www.vitalitygroup.com/ if anyone is curious.

dirktheman 7 years ago |

Basically: everything work/life balance related. Working from home, working part time (4 days instead of 5 is a game changer, totally worth the 20% pay cut), flexible hours and rarely having to work overtime are the most valuable to me.

I don't mind working my ass off during office hours, but spending time with my family is worth more to me than any job could give me. I turned down offers that would pay a magnitute of what I'm making right now, just because I'd lose the 1 day off and the expected overtime workload.

TheGrumpyBrit 7 years ago |

The one that stands out for me was my first major IT company. They gave a standard 25 day holiday allowance (about normal for UK), but they had an option right on the intranet where you could buy or sell up to 5 days in either direction for a salary adjustment - so you could increase your holidays up to 30 days for a slightly lower monthly pay, or reduce it to 20 days and get paid a little more each month. It seemed like a great idea that I haven't seen anywhere else.

lostdog 7 years ago |

Offices. Real offices with doors.

The on-site gym was pretty great too.

lsiunsuex 7 years ago |

Free health care. Personal and family coverage. Had it at 2 jobs. Nothing out of per check other then the plan rates (co-pay, etc...)

Of course, nothing is free, but I don't think we earned less cause of it.

Monthly bonuses based on company performance was also nice, but it was like a sales company, so it could be tracked monthly / paid out monthly instead of year end.

Paying for parking now and it suuuuucks.

sloaken 7 years ago |

Time is money, so for many benefits you can do a simple cost / value analysis. One benefit, that I was envious of, a couple friends got to work overseas. Now I have that benefit and love it.

Another benefit, no Overtime without compensation. Either time off or cash.

Random_Person 7 years ago |

Time off. I worked for over a decade in the automotive industry (sales, service, mechanic, etc) and most of those jobs offered 2 holidays and 1 week of vacation.

My current employer gives me 17 hoildays and 25 paid vacation days. Pretty much the best perk ever.

cimmanom 7 years ago |

Half day fridays in summer.

thiagooffm 7 years ago |

salary