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Do Developers Need Free Perks To Thrive?

Posted by timothy on from the man-does-not-live-by-free-bread-alone dept.

jammag writes "Free sodas, candy and energy bars can be surprisingly important to developers, says longtime coder Eric Spiegel. They need the perks, not to mention the caffeine boost. More important, free sodas from management are like the canary in the coal mine. If they get cut, then layoffs might be next. 'The sodas are just the wake-up call. If the culture changes to be focused more on cost-cutting than on innovation and creativity, then would you still want to work here? I wouldn't.' Are free perks really that important?"

13 of 524 comments (clear)

  1. rather have money by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'd rather have a larger paycheck.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    1. Re:rather have money by BasilBrush · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Cutting the sodas isn't going to make much difference to your paycheck.

      It has a fair chance of lowering morale though.

    2. Re:rather have money by JDG1980 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'd rather have a larger paycheck.

      But in practice, a company that refuses to provide perks to developers is likely to pay them less, not more. Theoretically it could happen differently, but that's not the way to bet.

    3. Re:rather have money by egcagrac0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is great, if you're a single male.

      Women and babies get to be expensive, I hear.

    4. Re:rather have money by BasilBrush · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not everything is about Math. Employees will feel more rewarded by a company supplied meal than they would with the equivalent (or substantially more) cash. Especially if the boss has stayed and joins in the meal too.

      Equally, pick the wrong perk and do it in the wrong way and it'll be a demotivation. I was once given an envelope of vouchers with the entire office gathered around as if I was employee of the month. Ack. I left that place soon after.

    5. Re:rather have money by h4rr4r · · Score: 5, Insightful

      People cannot make a sane argument against it.

      They will however make greedy short sighted childish arguments against it.

    6. Re:rather have money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      My aunt has survived 5 bouts with (supposedly terminal) breast cancer on the Canadian public system.
      My father survived 13 years longer than his original 6 month prognosis on the Canadian public system.

      If I'm hit by a car my treatment is immediate and complete with no one worrying how it will be paid for.

      Yeah, there are long waits sometimes and sometimes people die. But they die because of long waits, not just to save a corporation some money.
      I once took my mother to the emergency room for chest constriction. Within 2 minutes through the door they gave her the initial "want's wrong" check-up and rushed her in for heart treatment. No waiting.

      And people don't die "regularly". That is propaganda and the simple fact that our life expectancy is longer than USA hold light to that.

  2. It's definitely a sign by xevioso · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...that something could be amiss. That said, quite often the perks come right back when the company does better.

    It's not just coders that like free perks...project managers, HR people, and the people who run the business like them as well.

  3. Being treated like they matter by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's not the free drinks or candy, although those things are nice. What developers want is to feel like they matter to the company. One of the ways a company can do that is to provide some small freebies. But freebies alone don't cut it.

  4. R.E.S.P.E.C.T. by CityZen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Aretha Franklin knows what we need.

  5. The signaling aspect is more important by JDG1980 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The perks themselves may not be that important to many employees. What matters is that the existence of the perks sends a message: that the company values its employees and is willing to put some amount of effort into retaining them. As the original article pointed out, if a company isn't willing to spend a few bucks on free food and drinks that the employees value, how long will it be until the work environment deteriorates in other ways?

    Things are different if you work for a nonprofit and/or government agency where there is less discretionary income. You know what you're getting into. But a for-profit company has the choice. If they cut out minor perks like free soda, they're saying that they are willing to piss off their employees to add a few bucks to the bottom line. Either that, or they really are on the verge of bankruptcy – and in both cases it's a good idea to be looking for the exits.

  6. intrinsic motivation by mbaGeek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    the head of NCR (way back in the first half of the 20th century) was asked about the generous "fringe benefits" the company provided (including a golf course). He pointed out that employees were move productive when provided with the benefits. In his opinion NCR wasn't "giving away" anything, just doing what was best for the company.

    any "perks" (like free soda) only increase productivity if the employee is happy with their base compensation. If someone thinks they are drastically underpaid/unvalued then no amount of freebies will matter

    if someone feels like they are valued and doing important work - then they will be more productive/loyal

    my guess is that the return on investment for free soda/coffee (in increased productivity) is extremely high - but it isn't about the soda

    There is actually quite a bit of research on this type of thing - I'd recommend "Drive" by Daniel Pink and "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely (he just did a coursera class as well) for anyone interested ...

    --
    It ain't what they call you. It's what you answer to. http://mylyceum.us/
  7. A convenient canary... by Above · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I do believe it is a canary in a coal mine. I'm amazed at companies that will have no problem spending $125,000 in salary on a high end programmer, which is probably $150,000 with benefits and all that but if they want a second monitor for $400 it's a big no-can-do. Soda/tea/coffee is $0.10-$0.30 a serving, even if someone were a major drinker at 5 servings a day of the expensive stuff that's $375/person/year, or about the same cost. Gives you an idea of what they are willing to spend on a happy, productive employee.

    People don't need a lot to be happy, but basic respect and curtesy go a long way. If you went to someone's house to visit them one of the first things they are likely to offer is some sort of beverage. It's basic hospitality. And the company isn't just inviting the employees into their environment, but what about vendors, partners, or customers come to visit? There should be something to offer to them.

    Lots of management types are under the impression that getting a paycheck is what makes people happy. It's a false logic, just because not getting a paycheck makes people unhappy doesn't mean it works the other way around.