20 Absurd Things Were Offered As ‘Job Benefits’ To Employees
It’s very common for modern companies to lure employees by offering certain benefits. But what if the benefits they give are not beneficial at all?
Some companies offer things that are actually profitable to them instead of the employee, while some just label a basic necessity as a ‘benefit’. When someone asked on Reddit, “What’s the most insulting ‘benefit’ a job has offered you?”, people spilled out various answers that probably made others think “Are their ‘benefits’ really benefits?”
More info: Reddit
#1
“Weekend events, xmas parties. Like I want to spend my personal time with work people…?”
#2
“Free uniform.”
#3
“I had an employer that offered discounted tickets (theme parks, sporting events, concerts, etc) through a third-party website. The website charged a service fee that made the tickets the same price or sometimes more expensive than if you bought them through traditional methods.”
#4
“Food stamp eligibility. They paid so little that they listed government assistance as a BENEFIT.”
#5
“Windows. (The kind you look through, not the OS.)”
#6
“Free Parking at my workplace. My thinking is that if it’s something that only helps me access my workplace (which I wouldn’t need but for the job), it’s a “benefit” to my employer, not me.
It’s kind of like allowing the custodian access to an elevator of the high-rise building where he works, and calling it a “benefit.” I think not.”
#7
“Retail worker. As a reward for working through the Pandemic, the toilet paper crisis, not getting our pay for another 4 weeks and having one of our colleagues die of covid unexpectedly… A box of 6 capri sun. There are 8 of us.”
#8
“Pretending pizza is a 10k salary increase or anything significant.”
#9
“Overtime. Yes it was listed in the job description as a benefit.”
#10
“Casual Fridays. We’re a tech business with no customer visits, why can’t every day be casual?”
#11
“Free lunch every day. Sounds great but let me explain.
I started a job some years ago and one of the benefits they sold us on was that they bought us lunch everyday. Each day, they would take our orders in the late morning to have lunch delivered by lunchtime. We only ever ordered from like 2 or 3 places but hey, it was free. Cool. Great. But the problem was when I tried to do anything other than sit at my desk and eat. After a couple weeks, I started leaving my place of work for lunch here and there just to run errands, have a phone convo with family/friends/gf, or just eat by myself at a restaurant (the food they ordered wasn’t bad but it got old quick).
After having done this a few times, my manager stopped me one day and asked where I was going and why I sometimes leave. I replied “I’m Going on lunch.” He told me that the whole point of them ordering lunch for us was so we could eat at our desks while we continued to work. I was shocked lol. I asked him if he understood how lunch breaks worked in relation to the law and that he can’t keep me hostage, especially since I’m not being paid for being there during that hour. He then passively aggressively said “okay do what you want I guess”.”
#12
“JEANS DAY”
#13
“Free personal protective equipment. Literally required to be provided by the employer too.”
#14
“A ‘wobble room’. Basically a room where it was okay to go and have a little cry/freak out/meltdown if you got overwhelmed at work. Instead of, you know, attempting to address the reasons why people were crying/freaking out/melting down at work…and then you were expected back front and centre for the rest of your shift.”
#15
“The 45 minute commute each way as a “great way to prepare for the day and de-stress when you go home.”
What the f**k man.”
#16
“Silly socks day. To make up for the increase in abuse from patients (start of COVID). Thanks, my mental health is… great.”
#17
“Company listed “withholding taxes” as a benefit. You know, the thing that they’re legally obligated to do as an employer. Still laugh at that one.”
#18
“A pinball machine and pool table for use on breaks that people got shamed for using.”
#19
“I have no maternity leave and hr told me that’s the benefit of working remote – I can just watch my baby while I work.”
#20
“Contact stated “flexible hours”, but I was pulled aside and rinsed by a colleague and one of the company directors when I turned up at 9.30am on my second day.
It turned out that their interpretation of “flexible” went the other direction – you had to be in the office 9-5 plus at least 2 hours a day to “show your commitment”.”
Saumya Ratan
Saumya is an explorer of all things beautiful, quirky, and heartwarming. With her knack for art, design, photography, fun trivia, and internet humor, she takes you on a journey through the lighter side of pop culture.
