Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The 10 best & most unusal employee perks..........

From @Time via twitter:

Google: The search giant comes in first on Fortune’s list of the best places to work, and its legendary perks helped put it there. Among the more outlandish are a boccie-ball court and bowling lanes at the company’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters — and for a nominal fee you can get your eyebrows shaped at its New York City office.

SAS Institute: Three weeks into the new year, let’s hope you’re not running low on sick days just yet. But if you’re lucky enough to work for this software maker based in Cary, N.C., you’d never have to worry because its employees get unlimited sick days. It also subsidizes Montessori child care and boasts a free health care center at its headquarters.

JM Family Enterprises: You’d think that benefits like a child-care center at the company’s headquarters, or free haircuts would be enough to keep workers happy. But this automotive distributor based in Deerfield Beach, Fla., keeps a fleet of yachts handy for employee use too. You know, just in case.

Whole Foods: The organic-food giant doesn’t so much lavish its employees with perks as give them the assurance that their bosses won’t be. The company caps executive pay at 19 times the average full-time salary.

Autodesk: Do your two weeks of vacation never seem enough? This Mill Valley, Calif., company takes a positively European stance on the matter. Employees can take a six-week paid sabbatical every four years. And when you are in the office, feel free to bring your dog along too.

Scottrade: CDs are yielding a paltry 1% these days, but employees of this discount brokerage get 5% interest on their checking accounts if they use the firm’s bank, which launched this year. A perk, indeed, in this no-interest world.

Atlantic Health: Based in Morristown, N.J., this firm owns several hospitals in the New York metropolitan area. But it doesn’t fail to overlook the health of its employees: stressed workers can get acupressure services at its on-site “mind-body centers.”

FactSet: This financial research firm lays it on thick with the foodie perks. Employees there get free lunches, and there’s also an on-site pie truck, Chinese truck and cupcake truck. Of course, there’s an on-site gym, too, to help burn off all those free calories.

Microsoft: Tech firms are known for their perks, and the original tech giant will not be outdone. Its Redmond, Wash., campus offers Microsoft’s many well-paid software engineers an organic spa for letting off steam.

Mattel: The world’s largest toymaker helps its employees find their inner child by shuttering its offices at 1 p.m. every Friday. Is there a greater work perk than not having to work?

Click here for more of Times Best & Worst list.

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