Aussie company gives staff $6k in response to the Great Resignation

Millions of Aussie workers are expected to quit their jobs in coming months and employers are scrambling to produce mega perks to keep them.

An Aussie company has dished out $6000 to all of its 200 employees to spend on almost anything they want as the Great Resignation looms in Australia, with millions of workers predicted to quit in the coming months.

The Great Resignation is a phenomenon that has been playing out in the US with everyone from frontline workers to senior executives quitting their jobs as people seek out flexibility, work that aligns with their values and companies that treat them as humans.

Linktree, a social media start-up that has been backed by billionaire Afterpay co-founder Nick Molnar, is offering an annual $6000 reward for staff to spend across four pillars, including wellness, personal growth, lifestyle and impact.

The company is working in a fiercely competitive space for employees with a crippling shortage in the industry, as Deloitte Access Economics estimates Australia will need to upskill an extra 200,000 tech workers over the next few years.

Hannah Douglas, who works in marketing at Linktree said, the rewards program was “mind-blowing”.

Hannah (left) with her team. Picture: Supplied

The 30-year-old has been with the company for a year and a half and describes the $6000 as a “pay rise but with more intention”.

She plans to spend some of the money on growth courses for the mind, as well as focusing on wellness with massages and a gym membership.

Based in Geelong, she is also looking to do something to help out the environment.

“I have always wanted to get solar power for the house and I will use some of this to go towards powering it,” she told news.com.au.

“It’s a big investment but the rewards program is giving me the opportunity to do it sooner.”

Ms Douglas said she had never been given an employee perk like it describing it as “pretty epic”.

“It definitely highlights how much that Linktree actually cares about its employees mental and physical health, both in and outside of work,” she said.

“One of the pillars that we could select to spend benefits on was priorities outside of work like cleaning, which I thought was really cool as people’s priorities are really different, and there’s the flexibility there.”

Carmen wants to work on her flexibility after her accident. Picture: Supplied

Carmen Chung, a senior product manager at Linktree, is another employee that was “incredibly excited” to be given the $6000, although she said she loves her job so much that the money is just a “cherry on top”.

The 34-year-old said she was in a “freak” accident a few years back, which saw her crushed by 100 kgs of glass, requiring surgery and a painful recovery.

She plans to put part of the funds towards helping her to further recover from the experience including physical therapy, personal training and fitness classes to assist in rebuilding her strength, stamina and flexibility.

The money will also help to fuel her interest in visual art and she will buy an iPad, Apple pencil and participate in some online digital art courses.

The rest of the funds are going to her much loved dog.

“I adopted her from overseas and brought her back to Australia and then she got horribly sick and I ended up spending $15,000 on trying to save her life and we managed to do it but it took an emotional toll and financial toll,” she said.

“I do feel like this is one of those very unique programs where some other companies frame it as family health care benefits and don’t necessary take into effect not everyone has children. Linktree have allowed us to spend it on pet insurance as dogs are part of our family as well.”

Carmen's dog who they spent $15,000 on saving. Picture: Supplied

The Sydney woman has been with the company for a year and said this perk differed from others in the industry.

“I have friends in the industry where they were given a budget but it was specifically required to be used, such as on a training course or for family health care, and that can feel like a one size fits all approach,” she said.

“For me, who is someone that doesn’t have children, I appreciate that Linktree has empowered us with flexibility on ways to spend the money and supports that individual needs are unique.”

Andy Li, a senior machine learning engineer, has only been working at Linktree for six months so was “surprised” when the $6000 was handed out.

He plans to use the money on health insurance, a gym membership and physiotherapy for wellness.

The 28-year-old from Melbourne also wants to take piano lessons.

“I think its fantastic with so many people like me, who personally have been re-evaluating their relationship with work, so it’s nice to see company that have dedicated program focused on wellbeing,” he said.

Andy Li, Senior Machine Learning Engineer. Picture: Supplied

Defying the ordinary was one of the values of Linktree, said its head of people operations Emily Moore, and implementing the rewards program was a nice feeling after a tough few years with Covid.

“Right now many people are re-evaluating what is really important to them and making changes in their lives they may have been putting off prior to the pandemic,” she added.

“We want our employees to be able to bring their best ‘whole selves’ to work and truly believe in creating policies and initiatives that enable them to achieve just that.”

Other employers have been scrambling to offer up mega perks to stand out from the crowd and entice newcomers or keep current employees.

It’s everything from heartbreak leave, time off for cultural celebrations, free cooking classes, shares in the company and more time out when having a child.

Andy Li's music set up. Picture: Supplied

Fintech company Finder introduced five days paid leave for life’s big events on top of its annual and sick leave entitlements.

The $56 billion Aussie design company Canva introduced a vibe and thrive allowance for all workers, which can be spent on everything from gym memberships, home office set ups, social celebrations, wellbeing and education.

Financial technology company, Iress, has introduced more leave for staff, who will be able to take six long weekends every year, with no impact on their current annual leave balance or pay.