The Best Job Perks

A small number of employers offer on-site childcare for employees.Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images

A job perk is an extra payment or benefit you receive as an employee, according to the Macmillan Dictionary. Theater tickets are listed as a perk a company might offer its employees. Job perks are typically viewed as separate from common employee benefits like insurance and retirements. Sometimes known as fringe benefits, job perks are extra things companies due to boost morale and to show appreciation for employees.

Sabbaticals

In her MSN Money article "8 Work Perks You Wish You Had," Melinda Fulmer explains that many companies are offering employees opportunity for additional time off to keep them refreshed and from getting burned out. Some employers offer unpaid sabbaticals, or extended breaks, which enable employees to take summers off or get away for a long time without losing health benefits. Other employers are offering extra time off for charitable pursuits. This enables employees to help out with organizations they support, while also giving the company good public relations. In her Woman's Day article "9 Companies with the best Perks," Amanda Greene notes that California pharmaceutical company Amgen pays employees for 17 holidays, about twice the normal amount.

Some employers offer free food and snacks to boost employee morale. Google is cited by Greene as one that offers the best perks. Bucking the notion that "there is no such thing as a free lunch," the company provides free lunches, dinners and snacks to employees in 16 cafeteria locations, according to Greene. The company even provides new parents a $500 food allowance for takeout meals at home during the parent's first few months with a new baby. Free food for all employees sounds like a huge investment, but companies that offer this perk to employees understand that not only does morale improve, but employees also are encouraged to eat healthful foods and to be more productive.

Both Fulmer and Greene say that on-site childcare is a premium job perk in the early 21st century workplace. Fulmer references a Society for Human Resource Management study indicating that only 4 percent of companies surveyed provide this benefit. The expense of maintaining facilities, employing care providers, and providing liability insurance is too expensive for many employers. Some employers offer free childcare, while others simply provide on-site facilities. Benefits to employees include convenient access to childcare services in a place where they can closely monitor, and interact with, their kids. Some companies even subsidize outside childcare costs. Along with helping employees, companies believe they have access to a larger talent pool if they help working parents balance family and work responsibilities.