One less radical new benefit being offered by some companies is an instant retirement plan in which employees become vested on Day 1, rather than waiting three to five years. But employees whose industries are in decline or flux are unlikely to enjoy new perks, whether radical or not, Challenger said. Travel agents, stock brokers and retailers are among the fields likely to suffer because the World Wide Web has allowed consumers to begin to reduce their use of such services, he suggested. While they break new ground in technology, companies in talent-hungry Silicon Valley are also on the cutting edge of perquisite research and development. Employees at Sun Microsystems, for example, can have their company concierge help arrange for a pet sitter or set up a bridal shower.
Massage therapists visit every few days to take the knots out of workers' shoulders.
Debs herself was slowed a bit by knee surgery and took advantage of the physical therapy program in her corporate campus' gym in Palo Alto. At software developer SAS Associates in Cary, N.C., about 500 of the 3,000 headquarters workers drop their children off at an onsite Montessori School. Employees and their families visit a free family practice clinic and improve their strokes on company tennis courts and a putting green. Contractors are putting the finishing touches on an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The two company founders also donated land and money to start a private prep school that gives scholarships to employees' children who meet admission requirements.