Before the Great Recession hit, many employees were used to job perks like lavish holiday parties, yearly pay raises and generous 401K plans. Now, most people are happy to have a job, let alone company-subsidized health insurance, bagel Fridays and on-site child care.
Yet, while most workers -- and their employers -- are getting used to downsized company perks, some companies refuse to lose the employee extras. We asked employees about their best job perks, and here's what we found out:
1. At the Birmingham, Ala. accounting firm of Barfield, Murphy, Shank & Smith, employees are provided with on-site laundry and dry cleaning services, door prizes at firm meetings, free snacks and soda, and birthday presents. During tax season the firm ups the ante, and throws in free massage therapy, on-site child care and catered meals.
2. Employees of Infusionsoft, an Arizona-based marketing software company, work in a converted warehouse that touts an indoor football field, basketball court, library and gym. The company also offers a daily, free cereal bar to all employees.
3. Summit Fiscal Agency has lots of young women on staff, so new mothers are allowed to bring babies up to nine-months old to the office.
4. Austin, Texas-based SpringBox, an interactive agency, lets employees bring their dogs to work on Fridays. The company also offers in-office showers and a creative room with shuffleboard and pool tables.
5. Sometimes, perks are just part of the business. Take employees of Ludus tours, for example. Because the company plans getaways for travelers to events like Germany's Oktoberfest and the Olympics, Ludus employees get free passes to amazing events around the world.
6. Rackspace, a webhosting company, has a "no dress code" policy -- every day.
7. Door Number 3, anadvertising agency, encourages a culture of "spontaneous fun," which includes spur-of-the-moment mariachi parties, where employees are treated to Mexican beer served from the office kegerator. The company also has annual "Talk like a pirate day," which is exactly what it sounds like.
8. Love music? Employees of New York City's Global Point Agency get free concert tickets.
9. If you're more of a comic-buff than a music-lover, a job at ComiXology -- a distributor of digital comics -- comes complete with new, free comic books every week.
10. Employees of Virginia-based Odis Technology get complimentary snacks like bagels and yogurt -- perfect fuel for the company-wide ski trip to Vail this January.
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By Kaitlin Madden,
