The weirdest employee benefits from around the world

With many companies benchmarking their employee benefits and providing similar perks, companies really need to go the extra mile to make their offering unique. As some of the more bizarre employee benefits on offer around the world reveal.

TAKING DRESS DOWN FRIDAYS TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL

When a Newcastle marketing firm was struggling with staff morale, they brought in a psychologist who recommended Naked Fridays as a means of building trust. All the employees went along with the scheme which broke down barriers and helped the team to be more open with one another.

Although this is a bit of a one-off (and an old story), removing clothing around colleagues is commonplace in Finland, the land of the sauna. A central part of Finnish culture, many buildings – including businesses and Parliament House – have saunas that are fired up at the end of the week. Employees are happy to have a chat with colleagues and wind down before showering and heading home.

Is this benefit coming to UK companies near you? We don’t think the UK is quite ready for that!

EGG FREEZING

Since 2010, there’s been a 460% increase in the number of UK women freezing their eggs. This expensive procedure is beyond the means of many but it’s clearly one that women feel the need to embrace.

Where employee need exists, benefits follow with Facebook and Apple offering egg freezing up to a value of $20,000. And now British companies are talking to clinics about providing the same perk.

INSURANCE BENEFITS FOR PETS

Anyone with a pet will know that they’re as much a part of the family as your partner or kids. Which is why some firms are expanding their insurance benefits to include pet insurance too.

With more offices allowing dogs to accompany their owners to work, we think this could become a standard part of employee benefit packages.

FANCY A PINT?

Going for a drink at a local pub after work is one thing, but brewers MillerCoors have brought the pub to work by building bars at many of their sites. Perhaps this isn’t surprising given the beery nature of their business. But it would be interesting to know how this perk fits in with any wider wellbeing agendas.

BENEFITS THAT FIT COMPANY CULTURE

Other standout benefits include those that fit with the employer’s offering. For example:

• AirBnB – gives employees $2,000 to stay in any AirBnB listing anywhere in the world each year
• Reebok – offers fitness perks to its staff with on-site gyms and Crossfit classes
• Buffer – this digital platform provider ships free books and a Kindle to new hires before they even start work as well as $50 per month to spend on ebooks.

Aligning benefits to company culture in this way is a great idea because these benefits will attract people who are a brilliant fit for each business. And they also tick the personal development box too helping staff to improve themselves and contribute even more to the workplace.

Making your benefit package stand out in a crowded recruitment market can be a challenge. It’s not always necessary to do something wild unless it works well for your organisation. Instead, ask your employees which benefits they want access to. Then do your homework and source a great provider to help you launch and run your scheme successfully.