After mass layoffs and a pivot to A.I., the tech industry has been scaling back on the splashy and quirky benefits it had become known for. For most,

What Is (or Was) ‘Perks Culture’?

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2024-12-13 23:30:08

After mass layoffs and a pivot to A.I., the tech industry has been scaling back on the splashy and quirky benefits it had become known for.

For most, that’s a vacation at an all-inclusive resort. For many Silicon Valley workers, it was just a typical day at the office.

Over the past two decades, the tech industry became famous (or infamous) for its “perks culture,” a custom of providing employees with fanciful and luxurious amenities. Companies like Google and Meta tried outflanking one another in offering the most extravagant extras on Skittles-colored campuses as they competed for talent.

But widespread industry layoffs and an expensive pivot to building artificial intelligence led to a decline of perks culture. Tech companies have started scaling back on the goodies that differentiated their workplaces.

Salesforce, a software maker, last year got rid of a ranch retreat for employees and nixed a monthly “well-being” day off for salespeople. Netflix has unofficially walked back its generous parental-leave policy by guiding employees to take less time off, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. A Netflix spokesman said that workers still have the flexibility to decide what’s best for them and that its policy hasn’t changed.

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