Will Office Perks Bring More Employees to North Texas?

Gyms, in-office bars, and food truck access are just a few extra benefits companies are offering to their employees.

By Michael MarksJanuary 5, 2017 9:41 am

Employment, at its core, is a transaction – at least, that’s the dominant theory in the U.S. The worker provides labor, the employee pays a salary. But sometimes the employer provides a bit more than a straight paycheck – insurance benefits, vacation time, or other perks.

As more and more corporations set up shop in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, businesses are offering creative perquisites.

Jill Cowan has been tracking this development for the Dallas Morning News. She says some of the extra benefits she’s come across include in-office bars, gyms, catered meals and relaxed dress codes.

“One of the most interesting ones that I reported about was that State Farm is now offering actual college classes for credit on its office campus, which I’ve been told by recruiters is sort of cutting-edge,” she says. “That serves a dual function of both being a perk for the workers but it also helps build the labor force in a given region.”

Cowan reports that unemployment in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was low in November, at just 3.5 percent. The U.S. overall had a 4.6 percent unemployment rate. This is in part due to the large draw to companies in the area – companies which are pulling in more employees and trying to hang on to them.

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– Will companies increase the perks to try to get one step ahead?

– Whether the trend of on-the-job perks is here to stay