Four Boston Companies with Luxurious Employee Benefits

Craft brews on tap, on-site oil changes, and afternoon manicures: To attract top talent, companies all over town are rolling out the red carpet—and making it so workers never have to go home.


Manicures, car washes, and a food hall all come with the job at TripAdvisor. / Courtesy photo

TripAdvisor


TripAdvisor’s senior director of office experience, Matthew Gabree, used to work at the Ritz and the W, so it only makes sense that he runs this travel company’s office like a four-star hotel. Free shuttles with WiFi and comfy seats run all day, transporting employees from convenient spots in Boston and Cambridge to the Needham headquarters. Once they arrive, workers schedule manicures and massages, oil changes and car washes, and even pet grooming and gift wrapping to be done on-site, then drop by the food hall, with a large culinary staff, to enjoy free lunch from a daily-changing menu.

Sonos


Music lovers can play tunes from every corner of this high-end speaker company’s well-wired new office—and take the experience home courtesy of their very own Sonos speaker, not to mention free subscriptions to two music-streaming services. The convenient location in Downtown Crossing means many team members ride the train or the commuter rail to work—and why wouldn’t they, when they can fully expense their subway pass? Walkers and cyclists, meanwhile, are also rewarded for making the trek to work with annual allowances of $300 to $600 to pay for boots, jackets, and bike gear.

Courtesy photo

HubSpot


Unlimited vacation time and ultra-flexible schedules are just the beginning of the benefits at this marketing software company founded by two MIT grads. Feeling out of sorts? No need to go home—just relax and recharge in the hammock-equipped nap room while reading unlimited free books on your Kindle. Need a freshly pressed suit for a big meeting later in the week? Drop it off at the on-site dry cleaner. Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising amenity of all, though, is the subsidized egg freezing for female employees, so your biological clock won’t affect your work clock.

Life Is Good


It would be such a disappointment to learn that a company called Life Is Good is terrible to work for. Thankfully, office culture here appears to be exactly what it should be: spontaneous games of “taps” (which involve a giant crowdsurfing beach ball) can erupt during the day, meetings often begin with a request for everyone to say something good, and employees’ dogs wander the halls. Underscoring the positive vibes are perks that make logging long hours feel less like a chore: think happy hours in an office tavern with expansive waterfront views and shuffleboard, and an entire month of gratitude during the holidays featuring small gifts daily.

Read more from our Burnout City feature.