Office perks you love?

[getawayfromme]

I've always worked in genuinely shit offices - leaky air con, no natural light etc.

Then today I visited the new site I'm being moved to and it's amazing - there is a free hot chocolate station, free breakfast, free electric scooter hire and it's own roof terrace. I'm quite excited for it all.

So what are your best office perks?

I genuinely think companies are going to have to start providing more perks / making the office a nicer place to go to, to get staff back into the office

Some of these comments have made me envious! I’d love a change of scene from my tiny box room but our current office is dire, cold and dated with no perks at all so I’m not at all in a rush to go back.

Some of

Massage chair.

The best perk for me is my colleagues- clever, super funny, kind and hard working people who make going to work a joy.

Yes it's easier to stay at home in my trackies and make an omelette for lunch, but once I've made the effort to put on make up and get myself to work, I am always so glad I did.

Free hot drinks, cold drinks, fruit and snacks along with lunches. Games room, sleep room and gym. Free onsite parking. The highest end chairs, desks etc.

One place I worked had a gym, pool and golf course. I miss that place.

A sleep room?? I’d love that!

Work for the NHS, don’t even get an office. Computer on the ward if you are lucky

Not allowed drinks off the drinks trolly- they are paid for by each ward and cost 60p per drink! Get free water though 😉 and free roast dinner in a polystyrene box on Christmas Day!

@Aroundtheworldin80moves oh my god how amazing! A dog sitting co-op, that’s superb.

I’ve been wfh since well before the pandemic but work in hr. Office perks I have seen / heard about include free food (breakfast and lunch), fruit, coffee etc, a weekly well-being hour, flexi time (genuine flexi which can provide you with an extra 2 days leave each month), free drinks every Friday (granted this was London in the 90s)

@Words

No perk of any kind could make up for the absolute liberation of working from home.

I've worked in offices for three decades. I hate it. I believe now it was slowly killing me.

Wfh has been life changing. My well-being has improved by several orders of magnitude.

Transformative on epic scale. I feel so lucky.

This is me too. No amount of free coffee or breakfast can compare with the freedom you feel from being able to work at your own desk, monitor and seat, etc, never mind the commute, etc. No horrible aircon or arguments about the temperature, etc, bliss.

Gosh some of these sound very fancy, I've never worked anywhere like that but have always been in public/third sector.

My work gives free tea/coffee/milk (but only crap catering teabags and instant coffee so I take my own in.)
Lovely big windows overlooking fields.

That's about it in terms of the actual office BUT I get a decent employer contribution to my pension, 29 days holiday a year plus bank holidays and they are super flexible so if I'm in late because I have to wait in for a plumber, or have to leave early to pick children up that's fine, they trust me that I'll make the time up/get my work done.

• On site chef with subsidised lunches
• Free tea and coffee (from a good coffee machine too)
• Once a week we will get either free Pret breakfast or happy hour drinks, it alternates each week
• On-site manicures, massages and yoga classes (no idea how anyone finds the time to make use of these but there you go)
• Molton Brown hand wash and hand cream in the loos (such a small thing that I don't think it would count as a perk but I love it)
• Regular paid for meals and drinks after work
• Regular presents throughout the year, sometimes big things like a £200 voucher other times things like a potted plant. They're always a surprise

I came from the public sector so it was quite an adjustment and I still feel totally spoilt

I still prefer to WFH though.

Monthly car valet woo hoo!

For those of you who have really great perks such as free food, to any of the stuff take advantage and take stuff home?

Public sector so the only perk is a locker to keep your stuff in - as we don't have our own desk

Oh and we have a kettle

I can't believe some of the perks people get.

I have a floor to ceiling window with a river view right by my desk. Free drinks, lots of food, lovely people. I enjoy being in the office and only choose to wfh occasionally.

NHS so no perks, but the people more than made up for that. Cold office, single glazing with some cracked panes, worn carpet. The people - wonderful. Supportive, kind, funny, clever. Better than any freebies.

We have been commenting this week that soon the perks of going into the office rather than wfh will be that we have heating, electricity and even a shower if we want - will help keep those home costs down (if you are near work and therefore have low commuting costs of course)

But seriously we have:
Free coffee/tea/hot chocolate
Free stationary
On site doctor including free flu jags
Subsidised gym
Subsidised dry cleaning
Free bar at Christmas party
Free face masks and hand gel

NHS so 🤔...... Scratchy pens, so bad I buy my own and plastic aprons that tear everytime you try to get them off the roll (thanks Matt Hancock 😳) oh, and first to get given covid👍

Companies occasionally leave promotional products in reception, testers of new perfumes or a new flavour of something. It was great during the pandemic as hardly anyone was in- our office was very proud of our perfectly constructed tower of pot noodles.

I work in a university and we used to get loads of perks. Subsidised trips out, film nights with free pizza and wine, subsidised beauty treatments/haircuts/chiropodists and that's just but a few. All stopped now due to cost cutting.

People that I’m not related to

One of whom is pretty easy on the eye

free heating!

love chatting with my colleagues too - like a second family

I used to love my Luncheon Vouchers and the pub right nextdoor

@Mossstitch

I like to think I had Covid before it was cool

Hospital work though- atleast it’s always warm!

Oh and we get the occasional drug rep lunch but have to listen to a speech about using their brands first- not that we choose which brands get purchased!

Hmmm I’ve had a lot of jobs. It off the top of my head:

One building I worked in was very futuristic (it was about 2003 ish) & had loos that played music as you wee’d. It also had a cat walk (for fashion shows) and other random rooms. A huge fashion studio with a hair and makeup room. A MASSIVE MASSIVE wardrobe dept where we could go and ‘shop’ for workwear (suits etc) that the nice ladies would then tailor for us. The canteen had a proper chef who was incredible and we got free foreign language lessons. Oh and we finished at 2pm house n Fridays.

Another job I got free breakfast and free dry cleaning and got to go shopping a lot as part of my job. Went to large events and got pissed on company time.

Current job. Erm. Nada.