‘Massages, doggy day care’: Workers reveal the wild perks they’ve wrangled

Employees are no longer just asking for pay rises during their annual reviews, with some employers set to “push back” on this new trend.

Employees are no longer just asking for pay rises, they are requesting extra perks at their annual reviews.

Michelle Battersby is a co-founder of Sunroom, a start-up platform that has raised over $14 million in capital and allows creators to monetise their content.

Ms Battersby started a big conversation online by asking, “What has your company given you that isn’t a promotion or pay rise?”

The 33-year-old said that, for instance, she once received a Jeep Wrangler from a company she used to work for.

She explained that even if you’ve been advocating for a pay rise or a promotion, the answer might be “no”, but there are many other things you can ask for.

“You’d be surprised what companies are willing to pay for,” she said.

Michelle Battersby is a co-founder of Sunroom. Picture: TikTok/michellebattersby_

She once received a Jeep Wrangler from a company she used to work for. Picture: TikTok/michellebattersby_

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The responses came rolling in, with people sharing they’d negotiated with their employer to pay for their fertility treatments, degrees, online courses, visas, doggy daycare, relocation and even spa days.

One person even told Ms Battersby they received $5000 from their employer to pay for their lawyer when they were getting divorced.

One the flip side, there were also people claiming they had never received extra benefits from their workplace, with one person saying all she had gotten was “anxiety”, and another noting they’d just obtained “trauma”.

Ms Battersby told news.com.au that, because she started her career in banking and HR, she quickly learned how people negotiated pay raises.

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“It also made me aware of how many people would advocate for non-financial benefits during performance reviews, things like training, university courses, travel to conferences and other non-pay-rise related benefits,” she said.

It taught her that there’s no harm in asking for more and that not every benefit has to be purely cash.

“I realised that in order to secure any form of benefit, financial or otherwise, you need to articulate how you have delivered towards company goals or, in the case of asking for a Jeep, how you gaining access to that will tie back into the company’s performance,” she said.

Ms Battersby told news.com.au that because she started her career in banking and HR, she quickly learned how people scored pay raises. Picture: TikTok/michellebattersby_

The co-founder also warned that, while asking for perks is always worthwhile in this climate, people need cash. Picture: TikTok/michellebattersby_

The 33-year-old scored the Jeep Wrangler by simply presenting two reasonable options to her employer at the time.

“Option one was temporary; we rented vehicles and wrapped them; option two was long term – we bought one, wrapped it and drove it around for years,” she said.

“It made sense from a business perspective to go with the latter, and I felt appreciated by the company. It felt like they’d picked an option that does the job while also rewarding me. That dialled up my loyalty and commitment.”

The co-founder also warned that, while asking for perks is always worthwhile in this climate, people still need cash.

“In the current climate, cash is much more valuable to people, but if you’re able to get your employer to invest in making you smarter and enriching your insights and experiences in your industry, then you can also use that knowledge gained to command a higher salary in your next role,” she said.

“Some material benefits and displays of appreciation are also often really appreciated by people. Everyone is motivated by different things.”

Ms Battersby added that, although many people shared the perks they were getting, it was clear that some people weren’t getting any benefits beyond their salary.

Workers have shared the other benefits they get besides money. Picture: iStock

Roxanne Calder said that bosses are getting sick of extra perks. Picture: YouTube

Recruitment expert Roxanne Calder told news.com.au that employees asking for perks when negotiating salary is a legacy from the last few years, when employers were more desperate to lure workers back to the offices after the pandemic.

“It is from when employers were throwing anything at anyone to keep them happy,” she said.

“Things like subsidised meals, childcare, travel and wellbeing packages were being thrown into salary negotiations.”

Ms Calder warned, though, that if you ask for a pay rise and get rejected, the next step shouldn’t be to see what perks you can obtain. If you do need something extra, it is important to explain clearly why.

“You’re better off going for a genuine need. Otherwise, it comes across as you’re being a taker, and that is where a pushback is coming from,” she said.

Ms Calder said that, in general, she thinks there’s going to be a “pushback” from employers over perks because there have been too many “takers” over the last few years, and companies are fed up with unreasonable demands.

Originally published as ‘Massages, doggy day care’: Workers reveal the wild perks they’ve wrangled