It’s Time to Be Honest About What Tech Perks Really Were
Startups and big tech wanted you to think they cared about your quality of life. What they wanted was to keep you onsite.
Rose on tap. Fridges full of snacks. Ping Pong tables. Open concept workspaces with cozy chairs. Nap stations. Gyms and even free massages.
These so-called perks made working overtime for a tech startup or even a big company worth it. They were the cool jobs. Who cared if you had to work until 10pm when you could play ping pong on a break?
[ID: a trendy office with floor cushions arouind a table. A large velvet couch is alongside one wall]
Since 2021, these benefits have been dwindling, with 2023 seeing a sharp decline in their offerings. This seemed logical at first, as more people worked from home due to Covid. But recent layoffs and record setting profits, plus return-to-office requirements, revealed these benefits for what they are: Manipulation.
These perks were the Gen-X and MIllennial version of the Boomer “we’re a family, not a company” line.
Companies didn’t offer you free IPAs because they cared about your niche hipster interests. They did it because it kept you onsite. These perks were about creating an ecosystem similar to a company town.
We know big tech companies are not shy about outright building company towns. Amazon is doing it in Arlington, VA, which is just a couple of towns away from where I live. Most tech companies, often startups, don’t have the luxury of being so open. Offering you in-office happy hour lets them be insidious about things.
[ID: A neon sign, placed high on a wall, says “hello hustler.” Below the sign are two tables with rattan chairs around them.]
You could spend an entire 18 hours at your job and not even notice it. Breakfast, lunch, a workout, dinner, drinks, maybe even some gaming. You go home to sleep, but the rest of your life is onsite. This was awesome. You were a hustler. You got shit done. Doing everything onsite at your job meant you got shit done faster. If it meant that you spent more of your time under your company’s roof, so what? You probably quite literally got a pat on the back and a “good hustle! See you tomorrow!”
I’m not saying that these things didn’t make workers happy. Having spent some time in one of these environments, I can tell you that they were fun. What was clear immediately was what they were designed for.
At 5pm, it was happy hour. Everyone gathered in the kitchen area for drinks. If you didn’t, you got the side-eye.
While I have really liked or loved the majority of jobs I have had, and even genuinely loved some of my coworkers, I have never wanted my work environment to the be the ecosystem of my life.
When I worked for nonprofit in NYC over 15 years ago, upper management often chastised me because I did not go to lunch with my coworkers, have drinks with them after 5, or spend time with them on the weekends. I wasn’t being “a team player.” Many people, older millennial and above, have had this experience. This kind of behavior from upper management stopped being acceptable quite some time ago - around the time these in-office perks started popping up.
This was not a coincidence. As terms like “work-life balance” became the darlings of Ted Talk topics, businesses needed to pivot.
Enter kegs in the office.
“Look! I already poured you your drink. Stay for just one!”
“While we’re drinking, we could just brainstorm for the next quarter.”
“Hey, since you’re here, can I grab you for a second?”
“Ohhh, get your snacks and come hang out on the bean bags with me for five. I want to run something by you.”
Again, it’s not that companies shouldn’t offer these benefits. What we, as employees, need to consider is that they are not offered altruistically. Right now, businesses seemingly have the upper hand. Onsite perks are disappearing. This will change, though. When it does, I want us all to remember onsite benefits do exactly what they are designed to do - keep us onsite and under corporate control for as much of our lives as possible.
