Originally posted by: Martin
There's a few things to like...
-pretty flexible working hours (though they prefer you be there at least half the normal working day)
-posh office with concierge service
-free in office massages
-free lunches
-nap room
-wii in the lunch room
-free drinks on fridays
-its really tech-focused - about half the company is made up of software developers, so there's no idiot suits running the show.
All those things have costs associated with them, whether they be a high stress working environment, the expectation of longer hours, or simply money. Ask yourself, what percentage salary increase would get me to drop the perks and just take extra money? Now, imagine the reverse scenario... you are making what you are now, but with no perks at the company. What percentage of your salary would you sacrifice for those perks? If you ask the two questions independently, you will get two very different answers.
I am on a 9/80 schedule, and someone asked me what they company would have to pay me to voluntarily go on a normal 10/80 schedule. I thought about it and responded 10%-15%. Later, I was asked a similar question on what percentage of my salary I would give up to get/keep a 9/80 were I not on one. I responded less than 5%.
There are always trade-offs with perks, whether management tells you about them or not. The employee is sacrificing some money along the way for a perk, but they don't general miss the money because they never see it. Also, they are a way to spread the cost of specific perks, like on-site daycare, that only some employees will use amongst the entire site.
I'm not saying perks are bad, just keep in mind that you are trading something for them. In some cases, the perk can be a great trade relative to salary because your time is literally worth money. For example, if you don't have to worry about dry cleaning because you can drop it off and pick it up at work, then it saves you time and effort outside of work. This has some intrinsic value that is likely greater than the small amount of pay that you are sacrificing.
R