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Strategy

Best Perks From The Best Places To Work

Glassdoor.com just unveiled its Best Places to Work list for 2016, and the new number one company is thriving hotel challenger Airbnb. The San Francisco-based upstart, new to this year’s list, shot right to the top on the strength of 276 employee reviews. (Glassdoor’s rankings are solely based on employee feedback).

All you need is just a few glimpses of the company’s modern office space (housed within a renovated historic warehouse) to see why. Reams of open space, judiciously lit with windows to spare? Check. A bevy of casual gathering points to chat with others or work alone? Check. Dog friendly? Check. A 1950s vintage trailer you can work in? Umm, check. The whole aesthetic is more happening urban co-op than stodgy corporate office.

Of course, to be number one, Airbnb has to offer more than just an inviting workspace. Benefits include fully-paid health care for single people (and discounted for families), free organic lunches, in-house yoga and more. The biggest perk: Quarterly travel vouchers for all its employees. If you’re going to sell it, might as well let your employees experience it.

Airbnb isn’t the only company on the list with interesting incentives.

Hubspot (#4 on Glassdoor’s list) has featured an unlimited vacation policy since 2010 – and their employees actually use it, insists Katie Burke, the company’s VP of culture and experience. “Unlimited vacation makes it significantly easier for employees to build their work around their life,” she wrote, “instead of having to squeeze their lives in around their work.

LinkedIn (#6) offers InDays: one day each month when employees take a break from their normal work to give back or learn something new. Each month has a theme (such as relationships, wellness, play) that informs the choices of employees for these special days. The company’s Speaker Series brings in compelling figures to talk about a wide-ranging set of topics.

In N Out Burger (#13) offers free food for its employees. So do a lot of companies, but when the free food comes from In N Out Burger … well, now we’re talking.