For the vast majority of us, happiness at the workplace boils down to having a nice place to work at with proper lighting, a pantry, fresh and clean washrooms, and maybe a fridge and a microwave.

Of course, there are the mandated perks like healthcare and social security.

But otherwise, we don’t expect much from where we work as long as we’re paid.

Many of us are also pretty cool with sick leave and even vacation time as added benefits.

But did you know there are companies that are happy to give new parents a year off? One whole year off and it’s fully paid too. If that weren’t enough to get you thinking, we’ve found 9 companies that give the best perks in the world (all of these are based on Glassdoor surveys.)

1. Spotify

As one of the most popular and famous music streaming services, this company really knows how to treat its employees. New parents get six months of paid parental leave, as well as lots of flexibility when they come back to work. This allows parents to ease back into the workforce. They even cover fertility assistance (if necessary).

2. World Wildlife Fund

When working for a non-profit, you don’t expect much in the way of perks given that these organisations rely on external funding to keep them going. WWF is, in a way, no exception. To compensate, they give employees every other Friday off. These “Panda Fridays” might not seem like much, but ask anyone who has had to endure a week’s worth of stress and they’ll tell you that long weekends twice a month are a pretty amazing perk.

3. Netflix

Netflix received a pretty high rating on Glassdoor. That’s because the TV-streaming company offers one year paid leave to all new mums and dads. They still have the option to work part-time or full-time within that year, but they’d still be able to take time out and away should they need it.

4. AirBnb

They say that the most effective way to work for a company is to fully understand how it works. AirBnb employees get to experience first-hand the way their company operates. AirBnb gives their people USD $2,000 annually to let them travel anywhere in the world. The only condition is that they stay at a place listed on Airbnb—a small trade-off, really, all things considered.

5. Salesforce

While they’re not a non-profit organisation, this software giant is all heart. Its employees get six days out of a year that they can spend volunteering for the charity of their choice—all of that being fully paid for by the company. This, in turn, passes on the spirit of giving to their employees. If that wasn’t cool enough, Salesforce also gives their employees over USD $1,000 to pass on to their charity of choice.

6. PwC

Here we have a financial company that deals with auditing, assurance, tax services, and all types of consulting. Anyone who works for PwC gets $1200 to put towards their student loan. This makes PwC a company you would consider working for from the moment you enrol into university.

7. The Walt Disney Company

The famous and magical Disney Company gives it’s all to be as magical to its employees. If you get a job working for Disney, you’ll get discounts on all Disney merchandise and heavily discounted rates for hotel accommodation. You’ll also get free entry in to Disneyland, free tickets as well as special secret perks. If you want, you can spend every day at the happiest place on earth.

8. Twitter

First of all, if you work for Twitter, you get free meals every single day. Imagine how much you could save! Also, you get on-site acupuncture sessions, improv classes, or whatever else you feel would help you deal with stress. Or, you can just go back to the free buffet and chow down!

9. Facebook

Just like Spotify, Facebook cares about their families by giving new parents $4000. This can really relieve a tonne of headaches when you become a parent. Four thousand dollars is nothing to scoff at, and can really get you a lot of nappies and pacifiers.

 

If you’re a company looking to up the ante when it comes to employee perks—but can’t quite go too far like these 9 —then give Alsco a call.

Alsco can make your workplace greener, healthier and safer. Those are not perks that people take lightly, especially if they spend a big portion of their day at their office.

Photo Courtesy of unsplash Images by Austin Li