Goodbye to the good life: The cushy perks, unlimited snacks and office play toys are rapidly becoming a thing of the past
As has been the case for most of the last eight to ten months, we may ― or may not ― be in a technical recession right now, depending on how you’re looking at the data. The indicators are conflicting on that one – we’ve got layoffs, but low unemployment; companies cutting costs, but recording profits. Like I said, conflicting trends.
But we are in a “perk-cession,” stated the Wall Street Journal.
“The ping-pong tables have turned,” writes Anne Marie Chakar. “Companies are cutting back on prized employee perks from fancy coffee to free cab rides, as they vow to trim costs and prioritize efficiency.”
This development has even hit some of the most notoriously perk-y workplaces. Meta was among the first to cut off the perk faucet, ending free laundry and dry cleaning as well as the free evening meal. At Salesforce, the free specialty coffee baristas are gone.
“This is me, playing the world’s tiniest little violin,” you might say to yourself as you pop open your Tupperware lunch. Fair! But as a point of economic data, experts see some interesting things going on here. Perks are never just perks ― they are part of the overall way workers are compensated and rewarded.
In the post-2008, low-interest-rate economy, tech companies were notorious for their perks, in part because having investor cash to burn on perks helped them attract and retain some of the most skilled talent. But now that capital isn’t so cheap and accessible, the perks can’t flow so freely.
While the bottom line may benefit from cutting perks, HR departments are shouldering the challenge of offering attractive benefits and packages to employees. “Just because companies can’t ― or don’t want to ― offer employees over-the-top perks, doesn’t mean you have to stop making your organization a great place to work,” writes Michele McGovern at HR Morning.
“This continuing tussle, about where and when and how we work, is an enduring symptom of the post-Covid economy,” writes Stefan Stern in The Guardian. “The real challenge here, as usual, is for managers themselves. What sort of work environment are you creating? If you were a twenty- or thirtysomething employee, paying high rent, still dealing with a student loan and having to travel in for an hour or more to reach the sacred office, would you really bother leaving the flat if you could do the job from home? It will take more than a free croissant to get people to show up.”
Content written by Kieran Delamont for Worklife, a partnership between Ahria Consulting and London Inc. To view this content in newsletter form, click here.