Six-hour working days and paid holidays among the best work perks around the world

YOU’RE getting a long weekend but is the boss paying? Check out these seriously good work perks around the world. Warning: May make you dissatisfied.

You might be stoked getting an Easter break, but who is paying for it?

YOU might be heading away for a long weekend, but is your boss picking up the bill?

In light of having a full four days off over Easter (and potentially more if you played your cards right) we looked at some of the best places to work when it comes to perks.

Check them out here, but be warned: It may make you seriously dissatisfied.

Full Contact, Moz

Tech companies are renowned for their quirky perks but digital address book company Full Contact and marketing business Moz take the cake, offering holidays where accommodation and activities are paid for by the boss. ALL of them.

Full Contact’s policy provides staff with 15 days leave a year (considered generous in the US) and pays them $7500 which can be used on hotels and flights to anywhere in the world. The only catch is that it has to be used on holiday, and employees must completely switch off on their break. Sounds good to us!

Thanks, boss!

The idea inspired marketing company Moz to do the same, offering $3000 to its staff — still double what the average American spends on holiday.

Founder Rand Fishkin said the company considers it in everyone’s interest to have happy, well-rested employees. The company also has a cereal bar. You can apply for a job here.

Sweden

Not only is it ridiculously picturesque, workers in the Gothenberg, Sweden are about to get an amazing perk in the form of a six-hour working day the city will trial in a bid to increase efficiency.

The city of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Mayor Mats Pilhem said the move is designed to create more jobs and make people more rested and productive.

“We are still trying to work out all the specifics but the aim is to get the staff members taking fewer sick days and feeling better mentally and physically after they’ve worked shorter days,” he said.

Sweden also has some of the world’s most generous entitlements for parents with 480 days leave for each child at 80 per cent salary, according to Salon.

Google

No list of perks would be complete without a mention of the company that runs the world. Google uses some of its squillions of dollars to treat staff like thoroughbreds, catering to their every whim so they’re able to get on with programming, engineering or whatever their job might be.

Stephanie Borgman is a talent scout for Google who visits universities to get talented techies to apply for the Google internship.

In addition to the campus bikes, quirky office spaces, free dry-cleaning, doctors and gyms, the company provides every employee three meals a day.

It’s not standard buffet fare either, but made from top quality, seasonal, locally grown ingredients. Thrillist estimates Google’s menus change about 50,000 times a year and it employs talented chefs from some of the hottest restaurants.

Countless other Silicon Valley companies are in on the free food trend, offering everything from guacamole contests at Pinterest to burger bars at Facebook. Luckily they have gyms as well.

Amazon

They’re not necessarily a standout in every respect, but one perk at one of the world’s biggest online retailers recently caught our eye.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will pay any member of staff $5000 to quit their job, no strings attached.

Amazon’s Pay to Quit scheme leaves employees with a parting gift of $5000.

It’s a policy he recently outlined in an annual letter as part of a plan to ensure the company only has staff that really want to be there.

“In the long-run, an employee staying somewhere they don’t want to be isn’t healthy for the employee or the company,” he said.

France and Germany

France and Germany are already home to some of the world’s most famous cities, landmarks and food, but working in both countries is about to get a whole lot better as governments move to restore work-life balance for their citizens.

Union representatives in France are currently working on an ‘obligation to disconnect’ that would strictly limit after-hours phone calls and emails for about 250,000 consultants. It’s part of a plan to ensure employees have 11 hours of consecutive rest from their job each day.

You won’t be getting after-hours emails from your boss in Germany.

Germany’s employment ministry has also banned managers from emailing and calling staff after work to prevent burnout.

The move takes the lead from companies like BMW, Volkswagen and Puma who have already introduced similar measures, the Telegraph reports.

“Technology should not be allowed to control us and dominate our lives. We should control technology,” Germany’s employment minister said.

What is your most coveted work perk? Continue the conversation on Twitter @newscomauHQ | @Victoria_Craw