Are the days of custom lattes, massages and catered gourmet meals over at tech companies?
Some tech bros are worried that this might be the case.
Just this year, Meta announced that it could be cutting out its free laundry and dry-cleaning services, while Google revealed it would be shedding options to expense lunch deliveries and fitness classes.
“They’re just picking away bit by bit. I think of it like death by a thousand cuts,” said one Meta insider. “Cutting perks affects morale, it affects how you feel about the company as a whole and how much the execs care about you.”
Companies are likely scaling back their efforts in order to keep afloat during the pandemic, but these cost-cutting measures could echo long into the future.
“When you’re at a company like [Meta], when they love you it’s amazing, but when they turn on you, it’s awful. It feels very robotic,” the Meta insider said.
“It puts everyone on edge. I wonder if this is the [tech bro] peak and then there will be a dramatic downfall.”
While it may seem drastic to call taking away Hibachi Fridays a shift in work culture, it could mean that the days of pampering in tech offices are over. Instead of wining and dining new and current talent, Big Tech is simply focused on one goal: getting through the recession.
“Perks are definitely in the top five most important things to consider [before accepting a job]. If you’re trying to weigh between different companies, the perks can be the deciding factor,” the Meta insider said. “[Losing perks] may be the deciding factor that makes them want to leave.”
