Now to be completely transparent, this article is tinged with optimism (and maybe an underlying sales pitch) from someone very tied to the workplace perk industry.
The global average for salary in the tech industry is $135,000 per year. Now I know that the tech sector is big and positions (and salaries) are varied, but let’s use that number as a starting point. An initiative is put in place to create more happiness amongst the entire workplace. Two competing plans are finalists for this initiative.
Plan A will give everyone at the company a $1 per hour raise. $2,080 per person, per year. At an average tax rate of 32%, that means everyone will take home an additional $50 per week. $1,765 per week would become $1,815, and everyone would be very happy, but for how long? A week, two weeks, maybe a month; but at some point, that additional $50 per week becomes normal and is forgotten about by the employee.
Plan B will take that same $1 per hour and invest it in a new workplace perk, a snack and beverage program for example. That is a budget of $8 per person, per day for free healthy snacks and beverages for everyone at the office; and $8 per person, per day, is a pretty healthy budget (pun definitely intended). That’s “unlimited” free snacks and beverages for everyone in the office, all the time. A fresh cup of craft coffee when someone needs a pick-me-up, a KIND Bar when there wasn’t time for breakfast or even something with extra electrolytes for the day after that IPO filing party; always there when someone needs it.
This is why some perks work so well and are most definitely here to stay. If you look at an annual price tag, the cost may look high, but looking at it on a per employee level, these types of programs do make sense from a workplace culture and financial standpoint.
What’s your take on this? We’d love to hear it!
