Employers are paying for all the overtime Americans do…in food

Apparently free food is a major factor that influences overworked Americans to list their companies as good places to work...but it's not as good as certain key factors

Ever wondered how certain companies consistently get rated highly on “Best Places to Work” rankings? Free stuff, or so it might seem.

The top three things that would influence an employee to rate his or her employer highly were found by food delivery service GrubHub:
  1. Flexible vacation policies
  2. Gym memberships
  3. Food-related perks
Karen Miller is vice president of people at GrubHub, and said she responds to longer work weeks by providing food for employees staying in.

"As competition for top talent intensifies, companies are creating inventive programs to differentiate themselves from competitors and to keep top talent engaged and satisfied," said Miller. At GrubHub, she said, “we've seen firsthand at how food-based perks has become part of our recruiting brand, creating a halo effect that has helped bolster retention and attract a pipeline of strong candidates."

Interestingly, GrubHub’s own reviews on Glassdoor rave about the company’s culture and perks – but say it hasn’t been the same since the company’s merger with Seamless. The lesson? Easy perks are useful, but don’t make up for everything.