The Danger of Free

People Love Perks

With the COVID-19 pandemic raging in 2020, there was a seismic power shift to employees as employers became more desperate for great talent. This transition caused employers to attempt to one-up another regarding overall compensation — specifically, perks.  

Who doesn’t love perks? Paying for home internet, your cell phone bill covered, unlimited coffee, a gym membership, free snacks, free lunches, free transportation to and from work – the list goes on. And who wouldn’t want all of those perks? I, for one, do not enjoy packing my lunch every morning.

The Googleplex Campus

Though Google did not originate the idea of extreme perks, they certainly are a poster child for ultra perks. Some examples of their key perks:

• Employee assistance programs focused on mental health
• Workplace accommodations for physical or mental health concerns
• Onsite wellness centers
• Access to mental health apps
• Second medical opinion for you and your loved ones
• Medical advocacy program for transgender employees
• Student loan reimbursement
• 1-on-1 financial coaching
• Fertility and growing family support
• Backup childcare
• At-home fitness, well being, and cooking classes
• Art programs, Talks @ Google, legal services… and of course, Dooglers

Fadell points out that Google provided snack counters close to everyone’s work environment, buses to and from campus, massages, and much more.

These all sound like valuable perks that are meant to provide a more holistic work environment, but there is a dark side to these perks.

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Stay here forever

The concept of the Google Campus centers around an architect, Clive Wilkinson, a master designer. Microsoft, Disney, and Intuit are just 3 additional campuses that Wilkinson has worked on alongside the Googolplex. The campus may be Wilkinson’s most famous architectural piece, and he considers it “dangerous.”

The concept of having all the amenities you could ever need, or even want for that matter, creates the expectation that you never need to leave. Thinking of Marshall McLuhan – the medium is the message. The message from an amenity-full workplace is “stay here forever.”

Another cultural shift Covid-19 has seemed to spur on is the desire for better work/home balance. The debate is still hot as people attempt to determine what role work should play in each person’s life. However, a key theme that continues to remain is that people should have a rich home life.

Tony Fadell believes that if a company is going to spend exorbitant amounts on perks, they should at least be things that create meaningful change in an employee’s life.

This shift can look like replacing complimentary lunch for your employees daily, offering reimbursement for a date night for each employee. Or take the money and offer employees the best possible health care.

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The dark side of free

Fadell points out that free perks have a dark side that shouldn’t be ignored. People who get consistently free perks, such as daily lunch, will expect the perk. One major issue is that many perks are not scalable or sustainable.

Take the free lunch example.

Perhaps you can provide free lunch for 20 employees, 50, or even 200. However, most companies hope to create a large successful company. So what happens when your staff grows to 1,000? 3,000? Can you still afford free lunch for everyone?

According to Fadell, Google has realized it cannot afford and sustain all of its perks. In the example of lunch, Google has offered smaller plates and even shrunk the size of their scoops to reduce consumption. Though they will knock it up to reducing waste, Fadell’s critique of Google tells a different story.

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My brand of yogurt

Fadell brought up one specific story about an employee at an all-staff meeting – meaning all 100,000+ employees were invited. During the talk, an employee asked the CEO why they removed his favorite yogurt brand from the snack center.

As Fadell points out, what type of culture promotes employees complaining about the brand of free snack yogurt? Instead of focusing on taking the hill, some Googlers are so caught up on perks that the brand of yogurt is a top priority of them.

I do want to note that I don’t actually blame the yogurt guy. Though I think asking the CEO at an all-hands meeting is inappropriate, his concern about the yogurt is fueled by an unkept company promise. He was told he would have everything at Google, and Google came up short.

Is unlimited PTO unlimited?

If you haven’t heard, Verizon is now offering yet another unlimited plan to their mobile lineup. Verizon now offers four plans that all have the name “unlimited” in them. This news brings up the important question, does the marketing staff at Verizon understand what the term “unlimited” means?

A common perk that has made its way through HRs across the nation, particularly in startups, is the idea of an unlimited vacation policy. The sentiment isn’t lost on me – hire great workers and let them take a break when needed. But the reality is that unlimited PTO doesn’t actually mean unlimited (Verizon, please take note).

If I join a startup that offers unlimited PTO, work 2 weeks, then take 6 months off, I bought I would continue to have a job. I would love to know how far someone was able to push this policy. 30 days? 90? 200?

Research has shown that when you offer employees unlimited PTO, they actually end up taking less time off overall because of the concern of taking advantage of the policy.

I recently saw a company that recognized that offering “unlimited” PTO wasn’t feasible, so instead, they focused on a user-centric approach. They offer a generous 30 days off, no questions asked. That is 1/12 of the year. Further, the company encourages those who are efficient at their job, so they offer unlimited ½ days on Fridays when the work is complete for the week.

This generosity seems much more realistic in setting expectations that are well defined and allowing the employee the freedom to use the policy as they see fit without fear of overstepping.

Meaningful, sustainable perks

Instead of trying to find every possible perk you can cover at a company, the focus should be on substantially improving the employees’ lives. Things like:

• Excellent pay – a good rule of thumb is to look up the cost of living where employees live
• More generous PTO amount of days
• Amazing health insurance
• Funds for a club or community group
• Giving employees the right tools as a gift
• Money for a date night with childcare provided

There are plenty of ways to appear competitive in the marketplace to attract top talent. One key aspect is taking the time to look at the long-term effect. Are your practices and policies sustainable? Will your perks attract the right kind of talent and allow them to stay for a long time? What is keeping your employees from fully investing at work?

If companies can think through the long-term effects, it is possible to offer great perks that improve people’s lives.