Two years ago, Erika Burghardt got into an MRI machine.

Recently, the company added preventive scans as a benefit for its 19-person team and their spouses.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

A decade ago, trendy perks were everywhere.

Dropcam offered employees helicopter rides, piloted by the company’s CEO.

ButBig Tech bosseshave stopped caring about your feelings.

Layoffs have been rampant.

Companies are also enacting return-to-office mandates, and workers are rebelling in manners both quiet and loud.

People aren’t likely to pick a job for a one-off benefit.

“Employers are trying to make benefits more unique to their employees to gain top talent.”

The benefits, added late last year, signal that Pipedrive isn’t catering only to traditional family structures.

And just 1% gave employees subsidies for elder care, while 3% handed out childcare subsidies.

For some companies, holding on to benefits is a way to signal their values.

Amanda Litman, Run for Something’s cofounder, sees the company’s benefits as central to its mission.

“It is fundamental to the way that we operate,” Litman told me.

A flashy benefit can catch the eyes of prospective workers.

It was the “cherry on top” of an already appealing role, he said.

With the bonus, “we can get the people that want to be there,” she added.

Since 2020 the cloud-based web accessibility company AudioEye has offered employees a $20-a-family-member weekly meal credit.

Now, that can backfire.

“The market and the employees are smarter than that,” she added.

Flexibility in benefits is the future, Spurling said.

If you offer pet grooming, that’s attractive to pet owners only.

As costs for workers pile up, fun perks won’t be the whole answer.

Ultimately, people want to work jobs they like for equitable pay and work-life balance.

The real benefit comes when a company’s perks can speak to and influence its culture overall.

Amanda Hooveris a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry.

She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.

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