Top 10 Weird and Wonderful Employee Benefits

Modern businesses are always striving to think outside of the box with employee motivation - the suggestion of a foosball table or personalised beanbags has definitely been thrown around our office a couple of times - but when it comes to unique benefits, which business tops the charts?

10. Office wine bar

Have you ever thought you might drop by the supermarket to pick up a bottle of wine at the end of a long work day? Well the employees of DPR Construction have cut out the middle man by installing a wine bar in their office.

9. High top Converse

Sweetgreen, a developing lifestyle brand, combines benefits and employee culture with their offer of free Converse trainers – in the company colour of course – to anyone who has worked with them for over a year. The longer you have been with the company, the darker the colour of your shoes!

8. Lunch time surfing

As an outdoor equipment company, Patagonia understands the benefits of exercise in an office environment so every lunch time they encourage employees to head down to the nearby beach and go surfing.

7. In-office scooters

In the world of unique employee benefits, Google is up there with the best. They might have everything from slides to bring your dog to work day, but our favourite has to be the in-office scooters (because who doesn’t want to relive their childhood and cut your travel time to the copy machine in half at the same time?)

6. In-office Helter Skelter

Who needs stairs? Sheffield based WANdisco have installed a Helter Skelter in their office to help shake up their workforce.

5. Golden bobble-head cow

It might not be the biggest, but it’s undeniably unique. Advertising company RockYou hold an award ceremony to recognise the unknown stars of their workforce but winners don’t just receive praise from their peers – they also get a golden bobble-head cow for their desktop. I don’t know about you, but my desk is definitely feeling a little empty right now.

4. Botox

It’s employee motivation – but not for the faint of heart. Chesapeake Energy might not win the award for the strangest, but it’s up there for the most extreme with its offer of employee Botox injections (as well as a plethora of other medical services).

3. A lunch chat with Stephen Fry

To keep lunchtimes interesting, SwiftKey invite celebrities to come to the office and speak to their employees – most recently Stephen Fry!

2. A Castle

No, you didn’t misread that. Money.co.uk have moved their office staff to a genuine castle, complete with a Star Wars themed cinema (I can’t be the Obi-wan who’s a little jealous).

1. Cryopreservation

Hedge fund Numerai tops our list for the most unique employee benefit with their offer to cryofreeze their staff after death. This chilly offer takes “a job for life” to a new level.

Happy employees are often the most motivated, so maybe it is worth bringing scooters into the office or installing a Helter Skelter - will your business give it a try?