Work Quirks: 5 companies with unusual work perks

By February 7, 2018For Talent

From the wacky to the wonderful to the downright weird. Unusual work perks are becoming more and more common in the race for talent and the battle to hire the best employees.

In our brand new weekly feature, we will be sharing some of the most envy-inducing and unusual work perks from companies around the world. Complimentary tea and coffee have got nothing on these amazing benefits.

Pawternity leave- BitSol Systems

Yes, you read that correctly. BitSol Systems is an IT support business based in Manchester. For the last four years, they have offered their staff members pawternity leave. When an employee gets a new furry friend they can take a full week of paid leave to help their new pet get settled in.

Greg Buchannan, Director at BitSol believes that their pawternity leave is a reflection of their company values as a whole.

”It’s hard for anybody to have a pet and a working life so balancing this by providing time off and allowing staff to bring their dogs into work creates a healthy work-life balance.

This is an important part of the BitSol culture because every staff member has a pet of some sort. Both directors love their dogs and won’t take advantage of a senior position where staff don’t have the same perks. Each member of staff from management to engineers are viewed at the same level and even socialise together.”

Surf updates-Patagonia

Do you want to catch some gnarly waves at lunchtime? Outdoor store Patagonia encourages all their staff to get active by providing a daily wave report. Staff are also offered flexi-time dependant on weather conditions which means they never miss a good swell. Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard even published a memoir, Let My People Go Surfing, that reveals his reason for encouraging employees to spend time focused on a passion, like surfing, outside of work. Hang ten dude!

Panda Fridays- WWF

Every other Friday the busy offices of WWF close down completely. The organisation shuts down for one day every two weeks as part of its Panda Fridays programme. By closing down their office the organisation has said that it is reducing it’s electricity, heat and air conditioning use. It’s also promoting a good work-life balance. We think we could get on board with that.

Massages- Wonderbly

A Monday afternoon massage sounds pretty dreamy. If you work at Wonderbly that could be a reality. The award-winning independent technology and publishing business offer their staff a whole host of work perks including a weekly massage completely free of charge.

Jessica Hayes, Head of Talent and People at Wonderbly believes that these benefits are now part of their culture.

”They have emerged as funny parts of our culture, like the ‘massage face’ people have when they come out of Anna’s massage chair, or team lunches cooked by a Masterchef in our in-house kitchen. It’s pretty great to see these organic cultural experiences unfolding, and they’re things we encourage sharing in our #behind-the-scenes slack channel and Wonderbly Culture Yearbook!”

IMPACT Day- Deloitte

Volunteering is an unusual work perk offered by one of the biggest accounting organisations in the world, Deloitte. Every year the company has an annual day of service where employees devote a working day to volunteer on a project that has a direct and positive impact on society. IMPACT Day is a longstanding tradition within the company and is a huge part of their corporate social responsibility strategy.

Speaking about the initiative Managing Partner Brendan Jennings said;

”The Deloitte network takes time to reflect on our purpose – to make an Impact that matters. This purpose defines who we are. It endures – transcending the everyday and binding us together.”


Learn more about workplace perks.


Author Alice Murray

Alice Murray is a Content Creator at Jobbio with a passion for Employer Branding and Graduate Culture. She's a keen traveller and a self-proclaimed lazy runner.

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