Employees desire office food and a bar at work over benefits such as onsite childcare, new research has revealed.
The survey by office search company Sketch Labs found these options took the top two spots in the list of most in-demand perks for 2023, followed by a cinema and an onsite gym in third and fourth places respectively.
Announced to coincide with this year’s International Week of Happiness at Work, which runs from 25 to 29 September, the study reviewed client research and Google search trends statistics. It found that office plants came in sixth place on the list, followed by access to an onsite doctor, nursery, yoga classes and a swimming pool. Completing the top 10 was the desire for a dog-friendly workplace.
The research found that searches for “office perks” this year have been higher than in the previous three years, highlighting a 87.5% rise from September 2022 to September 2023 and a 200% increase in the month from August 2023 to September 2023.
According to Sketch Labs, the upsurge could have been due to large employers such as Zoom requesting that employees return to the workplace over the summer months.
The analysis further showed that in July, when the Oppenheimer and Barbie films were in cinemas across the country, searches for “office cinema” soared by 87.5%.
Mark Knops, CEO of Sketch Labs, said: “Businesses are seeking to introduce more office perks to encourage employees to feel happier while they’re spending more time in the office. By providing unique office features our clients find that more of their staff want to spend more of their time in the office.
Workplace benefits important to 86% of employees
“Companies are coming up with unusual requests to try and entice workers to want to spend longer in the office. Some of the most unusual office requests include jacuzzis, game rooms, treadmill desks, swimming pools, cinema rooms and even bullet-proof glass. We’ve also seen a rise in more people looking for more inviting environments with items like living plant walls.”
