Top tech firms have long fought it out to have the best employee perks and now a bizarre but oddly appealing incentive seems to be making the rounds.
Airbnb,
Google and
Twitter are among a growing list of corporate giants to offer personalized Renaissance-style oil paintings to their employees as a form of appreciation.
“When you think about it, a gift card to a coffee shop doesn’t cut it anymore,” says Chris Jensen, founder of Noblified – a company that offers the unique service.
“Over the past three years, we have increasingly commissioned portraits of employees to recognize top salesperson, for winners of bug-breaking competitions, to recognize employees who have made it to the one or eight-year mark.”
According to Jensen, each employer conducts the unveiling process in a different way – some as part of small monthly ceremonies or others as part of company retreats or conventions.
Yelp, in particular, has taken a shine to the perk and has created a “Hall of Fame” in its New York office with personalised paintings for stand-out employees. The office – which houses 900 employees – also offers a café, on-site bar, multiple common areas and a fully-stocked kitchen.
Interestingly, while the humorous employee perk is picking up steam in some sectors, the traditional formal approach is actually being banned in others.
In January, US Senator Bill Cassidy introduced a bill which specifically targets oil paintings – if passed, it would ban funding for portraits of any employee of the federal government, including the president, vice president, cabinet members, and members of Congress.
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