Best Employee Benefits: Catered Meals, Ski Passes Among Top Perks For US Workers

Ask any overworked, underpaid employee whose only respite is dreaming of vacationing on a sunny beach: Employee benefits are important. In fact, 57 percent of workers ranked benefits to be among their top considerations when searching for a position, according to a poll conducted by Glassdoor.

That, perhaps, shouldn’t come as a surprise, as benefits keep workers happy, motivated, rested and healthy. Some companies go beyond the normal package involving overtime pay, health insurance and vacation days, and they’ve come up with other perks that make them all the more enticing for job seekers.

Read: 5 Rights Of Employees: Are You Being Treated Fairly In The Workplace?

Here’s a roundup of some of the best benefits that companies have to offer:

1. REI, the outdoor clothing and gear retailer, practices what it preaches. The company gives their employees two days a year to go outside and play — and those workers still get paid on their "Yay Days," as they’re called. It’s a benefit with a cutesy name, sure. But "Yay Days" encourage employees to get active and stay healthy.

Read: Which States Pay The Most For Jobs? Minimum Wages Rates Compared

2. Airbnb allows people to travel without high hotel costs. It also makes it a lot easier for its own employees to travel on their vacation time, as Airbnb offers its workers a $2,000 annual stipend to stay in any of its listings around the world.

3. Twitter has received rave reviews from its employees when it comes to benefits. Breakfast and lunch have been catered at Twitter HQ, and employees can participate in office yoga and Pilates classes.

4. More and more companies have been giving their employees increased time allowances for paid parental leave. Netflix made some especially loud noise in 2015 when it announced it would offer 12 months of maternal — and paternal — leave after employees became parents.

5. Appropriately enough, Burton Snowboards gives its employees snow days, just like they got in their elementary school days. But unlike those school snow days, Burton workers also get ski passes so they can hit the slopes.

6. Accenture, a business management consulting firm, described itself as a “corporate leader in supporting the LGBT community” on its website. And the company put its money where its mouth is — Accenture pays for its transgender employees’ gender reassignment surgeries.

Plus, Accenture has hosted bring-your-dog to work day.