The relationship between employers and employees has come a long way over the last century. And the growing competition among companies to attract and retain top talent has been one of the most important factors driving this change. Employers have gone from being known as slave laborers concerned only with results, to the position of encouraging leaders who seek to keep employees and their families happy by providing more than just a job. In 1992, benefits accounted for just 3 percent of total payroll costs for U.S. companies, compared to 42 percent today (Encyclopedia.com, 2009). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay This is partly due to the Wagner Act passed in 1935, which allowed employees to organize into unions. This gave workers a stronger voice as they were now able to unite and, in turn, forced companies to make necessary changes by improving the treatment and pay of their workforce. In the business world, there are many benefits required by the United States Constitution. These include: Social Security, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, and family and medical leave, all of which are mandatory for businesses with more than 50 full-time employees (SBA.Gov, 2016). Today's employers go above and beyond by offering employees more than just compensation. Some of these modern benefits include free company-provided meals, allowing pets at work, ample time for families expecting children, and much more. The idea of ​​providing meals to employees while they work originated with investment banks in the 1980s. The idea at the time was to reward those who stayed late by allowing them to order a meal at the company's expense (Gross, 2016). This idea is now a benefit that many candidates seek when choosing a career, and companies have adapted to meet their needs. Google, the American tech giant, has one of the highest employee retention and satisfaction rates of any Fort 500 company and for good reason. The multi-conglomerate offers its employees a very generous salary and then pairs it with some of the most unusual perks you've ever heard of. The favorite perk of employees, known as Googlers, is the free, endless gourmet food and snacks they have access to at any time of the day. These meals are prepared by campus chefs and include a healthy breakfast, lunch, and, for those who work late, a healthy dinner (D'Onfro, 2015). The main reason companies have started providing meals is to reduce the stress of having to leave the office just to spend money on food, and then return to find that you've lost the brilliant idea you had before lunch. By providing these meals, employees can stay focused, eat free, healthy food, and spend breaks getting fresh air, all while developing new ideas. Research has shown that these small decreases in employee stress lead to a productive and happy workplace. One of the more unusual perks Google offers is allowing Googlers to bring their pets to work. It seems like it could be a distraction but, on the contrary, it has significantly improved employee morale. According to a former Google employee "Although managing a dog between meetings can sometimes be difficult, having her with me meant that every few hours I needed to go out and take a break which helped me manage my energy" ( D'Onfro, 2015). The employee goes on to explain that having his dog at thework helped him develop relationships with his managers and colleagues, who stopped by during free time to pet the office puppy. This is just another example of how companies receive numerous benefits simply by allowing a little freedom and personal expression. Clearly Google is one of the best companies an employee could hope to work for, and one of the main reasons isn't even technically a given benefit. Googler I have the pleasure of working alongside some of the best and brightest minds of the 21st century. The company is committed to providing an environment of learning and camaraderie by hiring motivated talent who strives to do the best work possible while having fun. When you put all of this into one workplace, an entire model of success is cultivated. “Never in my life have I met so many people with a Wikipedia page as in the last year!” a quote from an anonymous Googler describing what it means for him to enter the workforce (D'Onfro, 2015) The law allows pregnant women to take up to 12 weeks after giving birth to recover and spend time with their baby. This may seem like an adequate time, but research has shown that it is crucial for a newborn to remain with a permanent caregiver for at least six months after birth to develop properly. Google takes employee family life very seriously and has significantly raised the bar when it comes to new parental leave. Mothers receive 18 weeks of fully paid leave and fathers receive six weeks, while still receiving full benefits during their time off (D'Onfro, 2015). Google isn't the only company to put its employees' families first, Facebook, the social network media mogul, is giving four months of paid leave to mothers and fathers to spend time with their newborn. As well as reimbursing parents for daycare, adoption expenses and up to $4,000 in cash after the birth of their child (Carmela, 2016). Facebook understands that having a new baby can be extremely stressful and wants to help in any way we can. Not only is a newborn a huge time drain, but it can also be a major drain on employee finances. Diapers aren't getting cheaper, and Facebook realizes that these additional stressors will only decrease employee productivity. Forcing parents to abandon their new children would only cause resentment among managers and staff and would ultimately lead to distracted work performance as parents would think about their families instead of focusing on the task at hand. Facebook is not only increasing employee morale and strengthening the bond with their workers, but it is also improving work productivity and efficiency. Paninoteca Capriati understands that life and emergencies arise outside of work; especially when it comes to children. Therefore, they allow employees to participate in their children's activities and even leave work to handle emergency situations without asking questions (Carmela, 2016). In the parks and recreation department, turnover is a big problem because employees typically stay only long enough to find a higher-paying job. Due to the recent economic crisis, cities are forced to cut budgets and parks, and the recreation sector is usually the first to feel the financial drain. This means that offering a higher salary is simply not an option for retaining top talent, but what these departments can do is increase the low-cost benefits offered to employees. By restructuring working hours, they could allow employees with childrenmore time to spend at home while they continue to get work done. Another unusual benefit that has grown in popularity due to its amazing results, is to provide employees with fitness centers, nutrition plans, yoga classes, free massages, and even acupuncture. The idea behind this benefit is that a healthy employee is one who will take fewer sick days and require less health insurance coverage since fewer doctor visits are needed. This type of benefit began to appear in the early 1980s when companies founded clubs and distributed special T-shirts to those attending company health events. It seemed like an effective way to bring employees together and increase camaraderie, but as a result it produced the opposite result. The employees who needed the programs most were alienated from the rest of the group, and office health and morale declined. To combat this ostracism, employers have developed incentive programs that distribute cash and other incentives to employees who meet their fitness goals. Integris Health, Oklahoma's largest health care provider, developed an incentive plan that would reward employees who achieved established goals such as: weight loss, lowered cholesterol, blood pressure and no tobacco use. The reward was a reduction in health premiums paid by employees and the result was a 15% reduction in total diabetes, weight and cholesterol levels. Those who achieved their goals received incentives of up to $250 and those who did not were given the opportunity to enter “assistance programs” such as Weight Watchers at Work (Anderson, Kleiner, 2015). The health plan was a success because healthier staff required less insurance, allowing employees to pay lower premiums and ultimately allowed the company to choose a more affordable coverage plan. Money isn't the only incentive for employees to participate in health programs. Many companies have developed plans to reimburse employees for purchasing gym memberships, nutrition programs, and exercise equipment. Segal Co., a Manhattan-based consulting firm, offers employees up to $300 towards any purchase that leads to a healthier lifestyle. Purchases include running shoes, supplemental vitamins and a membership to any gym of their choice. As healthcare costs continue to rise, companies will continue to look for new ways to motivate employees to become healthier by offering innovative incentives that lead to reduced business costs. Vytra Healthcare offers 29 different ways to earn “health points” that can be redeemed for over 50 sports and other health-related items. Vytra's marketing team expects to see a 10% decrease in healthcare costs because the program results in a huge cost decrease for such an easily implementable program (Jamison, Kleiner, 2015). To attract young talent, companies have introduced loan repayment plans for newly graduated employees with student debt. A study by the Society of Human Resource Managers found that loan repayment programs are among the top 5 benefits students seek after graduation. This finding is no surprise because “Americans have nearly $1.3 trillion in student loan debt. In fact, the average graduate of the class of 2016 is $37,172 in debt” (Student Loan Hero, 2016). This means that the average graduate will face enormous financial stress for the first few years of their professional career. In the competitive workforce of.