What are employee perks?

Employee perks are ongoing extras beyond pay and core benefits that make work easier or better, such as flexible hours, a wellness allowance, a learning budget or regular team events. Everyone can use them, whatever their results.

What is the difference between employee perks and benefits?

Benefits are core protection like health insurance, retirement plans and paid leave. Perks are the extras on top. Incentives are different again: rewards for hitting a goal, covered in our employee incentive ideas.

What are the best perks for remote employees?

Flexible hours, an internet allowance, home office setup money, a meeting-free day and shared moments people can join from home, like a hosted game or a kit workshop with supplies shipped to every guest.

What are good low-cost employee perks?

Birthday off, summer Fridays, core hours, quiet hours, mental health days, cross-team mentoring and a volunteer day cost little or no cash. Ask your team which they would use before you start.

Do we need employee benefits software to offer perks?

Not for a few perks. A small team can run allowances through payroll and a shared doc with the rules. Larger companies with many perks across locations often use a benefits or perks platform to handle claims and eligibility.

Can team events be a perk?

Yes, when they're regular and paid by the company. A monthly or quarterly hosted event gives people shared time without anyone organizing it on top of their job. KraftyLab books hosted virtual games, tastings and kit workshops with live prices, and a free quote comes with a full plan within 24 hours.

Employee perks: 30 ideas by type and budget

Employee perks are the extras on top of pay and core benefits, like flexible hours, a wellness allowance, a learning budget or a regular team event. The best ones are perks your people will actually use, so ask first, then start with two or three you can keep up all year.

KraftyLab TeamUpdated Oct 20268 min read

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Three coworkers share coffee, fruit and muffins at an office kitchen counter while one unpacks a box of snacks

Perks, benefits and incentives

Three words people mix up. Knowing which is which keeps the budget honest.

Benefits: Core protection, often set by law, insurers or the plan year. For example: Health insurance, retirement plan, paid leave.
Perks: Ongoing extras everyone can use, whatever their results. For example: Flexible hours, wellness allowance, team events.
Incentives: Rewards earned by hitting a goal. For example: Sales bonus, quarterly prize, extra day off for a launch.

This page is about perks. For rewards tied to results, see our employee incentive ideas.

What US employers offer

Core benefits come first. In March 2026, this share of US private industry workers had access to each one, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (opens in a new tab).

Benefit	Private industry workers with access
Paid sick leave	81%
Paid vacation	80%
Retirement benefits	72%
Medical care	71%
Paid family and medical leave	49%

Perks sit on top. SHRM’s 2025 Employee Benefits Survey of 3,969 HR professionals adds this picture:

97% of employers offer health coverage.
HR leaders rated flexible working benefits very or extremely important at 68%, family care benefits at 67% and professional and career development at 65%.
In its first year asking, 16% of employers offered subscriptions to AI chatbots.

Those are employers’ views. For what workers themselves rank highest, see what employees value most.

30 employee perks by type

Each perk shows a rough cost: no cash cost (paid in time or flexibility), low cost, or a bigger budget.

Remote-friendly perks

Perks that work the same whether someone sits at a desk downtown or at a kitchen table.

1. Home office setup money. A one-time amount for a chair, monitor or desk, claimed with a receipt. (Bigger budget)
2. Internet and phone allowance. A fixed monthly amount on payroll, no receipts to chase. (Low cost)
3. Core hours. Everyone online for a shared window, with start and finish times left to each person. (No cash cost)
4. A meeting-free day. One weekday with no internal meetings, protected on every calendar. (No cash cost)
5. Coworking passes. A desk near home for people who focus better out of the house. (Bigger budget)
6. A work-from-anywhere week. One week a year to work from a parent's house or a cabin, with notice. (No cash cost)

A woman in a sweater holds a mug and talks on a video call from her home office, her dog asleep behind her

Low-cost everyday perks

Small things people notice every week, mostly paid in time or flexibility.

7. Birthday off. A paid day off in the birthday month, taken whenever suits. (No cash cost)
8. Summer Fridays. Finish at lunchtime on Fridays in July and August. (No cash cost)
9. A stocked snack shelf. Fruit, coffee and a few treats people pick by vote each quarter. (Low cost) Office snack ideas
10. Commuter benefit. Transit or parking paid from pre-tax pay where your payroll supports it. (Low cost)
11. Dress for your day. Client meeting, dress up; heads-down day, wear what's comfortable. (No cash cost)
12. A late-start Monday. First meeting no earlier than 10am, once a month. (No cash cost)

Wellbeing perks

Support for body and mind that people can use without asking anyone's permission.

13. Wellness allowance. A monthly amount for a gym, a class pass, running shoes or a meditation app. (Low cost)
14. Mental health days. Paid days off, separate from sick leave, with no explanation required. (No cash cost)
15. A monthly live wellness session. Yoga, sleep or healthy eating with a live instructor on your call. (Low cost) Virtual wellness sessions
16. An employee assistance program. Confidential counseling and advice, offered through a provider. (Low cost)
17. A team step challenge. Four weeks, team totals only, so nobody is ranked. (No cash cost) Wellness challenge ideas
18. Quiet hours. Two hours a day with chat notifications off by team agreement. (No cash cost)

Growth perks

Perks that make the job a better step toward the next one.

19. A yearly learning budget. Per person, for any course, certificate or workshop tied to their work. (Bigger budget)
20. A monthly lunch and learn. A live speaker on time management, public speaking or goal setting. (Low cost) Lunch and learn workshops
21. One conference a year. Ticket and travel, with a short share-back to the team after. (Bigger budget)
22. Cross-team mentoring. Pairs from different departments meet once a month for six months. (No cash cost)
23. Book allowance. Any work-related book, ordered on the company card, no approval needed. (Low cost)
24. Project rotations. Two weeks a year on another team's project to learn how they work. (No cash cost)

Shared time that turns coworkers into a team, planned so nobody has to organize it on top of their job.

25. A monthly hosted team event. A live host runs a game, tasting or class on your call; you just send the invite. (Bigger budget) Browse virtual events
26. Kit workshops at home. Supplies shipped to every guest, then a live class together on one call. (Bigger budget) Team building kits
27. A year-round event calendar. Pick the year's events once, so a perk never depends on someone's spare time. (Bigger budget) Annual team building program
28. A company-wide event day. Several activities running at once, so every team in the company can join. (Bigger budget) Multi-event programs
29. Milestone gifts. A gift box at one, five and ten years, with a note from the manager. (Low cost) Work anniversary gifts
30. A volunteer day. One paid day a year to volunteer, alone or as a team. (No cash cost)

Hosted events teams book every month or quarter, with today’s prices:

A live host runs each one on Zoom, or Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request. Book one at a time on our virtual events page, plan the year with an annual team building program, or get a free quote with a full plan within 24 hours. For gifts on birthdays and milestones, see corporate gifts.

Perk packages by budget

Three starting mixes. Swap any item for one your team asked for.

No budget: Core hours, a meeting-free day, birthday off and cross-team mentoring.
Small budget: A snack shelf, a monthly wellness or lunch and learn session, and a book allowance.
Bigger budget: Home office setup money, a learning budget, a year-round event calendar and milestone gifts.

How to roll out a new perk

Ask before you buy. Send a three-question poll: which perks they'd use, which they wouldn't, and what's missing.
Pick two or three. Choose the ones you can afford every month of the year, not just this quarter.
Write the rules in one paragraph. Who's eligible, how much, how to claim and by when.
Check it works for everyone. Every perk should reach remote staff, shift workers and part-timers, or have an equal swap.
Launch with one message and a start date. Have leaders use it first and visibly, so nobody wonders if it's really allowed.
Review after 90 days. Look at who used it. Drop what nobody touched and put the money into what they did.

Perks that backfire

Office-only perks on a hybrid team, which tell remote staff they count less.
Dinner served after 7pm, which rewards staying late.
Unlimited time off with no minimum, which some people never take.
Perks behind a form and two approvals, which almost nobody claims.
Perks offered instead of a pay review.

Perks help most alongside good management. Our guide on how to motivate employees covers the rest.

Employee perks: 30 ideas by type and budget

Perks, benefits and incentives

What US employers offer