If you’re not getting weekly massages at work in addition to your free gourmet lunch while your car gets serviced on-site, you may be doing it wrong.
At least, that’s probably how you’ll feel after reading about some of the best work perks in the Philadelphia region.
Offices with open floor plans and collaborative working spaces have become commonplace. And of course, there are jobs in the Philly area come with great health insurance packages and generous vacation time options. But not all come with constantly flowing taps, sliding boards to ride into the cafeteria, or subsidies for child care and public transportation.
We asked you to tell us if your workplace had some of the most unique perks in the area and, boy, did you deliver. Here are 19 of the best/ weirdest/ most exclusive perks in the Philly area (in alphabetical order):
160over90
Location: 510 Walnut St.
About the company: This branding agency headquartered in Philly has been named one of the best places to work and one of the coolest companies in Philly.
Coolest perks:
- Daily breakfast spread and dinner provided after 8 p.m.
- On-staff barista who serves coffee, espresso and lattes all day.
- Beer, wine and cocktails served Thursday and Friday nights.
- Creative work spaces with an outside terrace.
In their words: They describe their Philadelphia office as such: “Our Philadelphia office is centrally located right in the heart of Center City. It’s so central that it’s sometimes hard to wrap our minds around the bustle of urban activity swirling in concentric circles around us literally all the time. This includes but is not limited to: dozens of food trucks, a three-story Walgreens that for some reason is building a sushi bar, fantastic views of the city and its many fires, and only one crazy person with a megaphone.”
AWeber
Location: 1100 Manor Dr, Chalfont
About the company: This email marketing firm has been recognized multiple times as one of the best places to work in Pennsylvania.
Coolest perks:
- Two twisty slides that let employees slide right into the cafeteria for lunch each day.
- Three on-site chefs who prepare free gourmet lunches for team members every single day. No mozzarella sticks or lunch meat sandwiches here — it’s more like flank steak, chorizo tacos and paninis.
- Not only does it provide 100 percent company paid premiums for medical, dental and vision insurance, but pet insurance is an option.
In their words: The person who nominated this workplace wrote: “We have modern work stations which include desks that are both mobile and adjustable for standing. And to top it all off, there’s a game room area with billiards, ping pong, foosball, video arcade, Xbox 360, Wii, and Multiple High-definition Blu-Ray movie theaters.”
Azavea
Location: 990 Spring Garden St.
About the company: Azavea is a geospatial software and data analysis company.
Coolest perks:
- Monthly guest lecture or artist with a catered lunch.
- Time off for voting, disaster response and volunteering.
- Fitness room with rowing machine, pull-up rack and ping pong tables.
- Nap rooms and a video game room.
- Public transit subsidy (or bike subsidy for those who bike regularly) as well as a dedicated bicycle parking room.
- Child care subsidy.
- 20 percent of company profits are distributed back to staff.
- 2 percent of profits are distributed to non-profit organizations based on staff voting.
In their words: The person who nominated the company said this: “We’re a B Corporation and we carefully select our work for civic, social and environmental impact potential. This isn’t a conventional fringe benefit, but it means that we attract people looking to do meaningful work.”
BrainDo LLC
Location: 444 N. 3rd St.
About this company: BrainDo is a digital marketing agency operating out of a shared workspace called Thrive Philly in the N3RD Street area.
Coolest perks:
- An annual BrainDo beach retreat in which employees get away from the office and take a one-week company paid vacation with the team, significant others and the “BrainDogs.”
- Unlimited paid time off.
- Each month the company hosts BrainDo University, a workshop where one team member presents a training session to the team based on their area of personal expertise. Recent examples of this include an improv comedy workshop and a build-your-own-terrarium workshop with wine and cheese.
In their words: The person who nominated BrainDo said this: “Group excursions out of the office to places like Franklin Square and Dave & Buster’s can happen on any given day.”
Braithwaite Communications
Location: 1500 Walnut St.
About the company: Braithwaite is a Philly-based marketing, branding and PR firm.
Coolest perks:
- Weekly catered staff lunches.
- Fully stocked refrigerator of Philly’s best beers.
- 360-degree views of Rittenhouse, the Delaware River and Billy Penn himself.
- Basketball court and locker room.
In their words: The person who nominated Braithwaite had… a proposal of sorts: “We’d also challenge the Billy Penn team to a friendly game of knockout on our basketball court.” Challenge, accepted.
Brownstein Group
Location: 215 S. Broad St.
About the company: The Brownstein Group is a Philly-based brand strategy, advertising, digital, public relations and social media marketing firm.
Coolest perks:
- Free yoga classes in the office.
- A nutritionist comes in and meets one-on-one with employees.
- A fully stocked bar and kegerator in the office for those “cheat” days.
- The annual “Camp Berny” event is a version of that field day you had as a kid, except with more beer.
- Marc’s Madness, the yearly beer pong tournament.
In their words: The person who nominated Brownstein said this: “We think great thinking comes from getting out of town and out of your own head. It’s why we have unlimited paid time off (PTO) and Summer Friday’s at BG, so we can take time off, fly to Thailand or even just spend some time in that one corner of Philadelphia we always meant to explore.”
Crossmedia
Location: 4001 Main Street, Manayunk
About the company: Crossmedia is a Manayunk-based digital marketing and advertising firm.
Coolest perks:
- Jägermeister on tap.
- Every Friday is Burgerday.
In their words: You’re probably wondering about that Jäger tap. Here’s what the person who nominated the company said about that: “As a client for Crossmedia, they were kind enough to give us a tap machine and we’ve never really been the same since.”
And here’s how BurgerDay works: “It’s a tradition we’ve held since our founding in 2000, and every Friday we gather around a long table, have burgers and beers (and sometimes Jägermeister). The deal was that we could not go to the same place twice, but since we’ve grown, we had to make a few changes to that rule. On #burgerday we talk about the week, we toast our people, our wins and losses and come together as an agency. You can order anything you want, as long as it has the word ‘burger’ in the name.”
Delphic Digital
Location: 10 Shurs Ln., Manayunk
About the company: Delphic Digital is a full service digital agency providing web design, web development, SEO and online marketing services.
Coolest perks:
- Constant rotation of three different beers on tap.
- “Bring Your Dog to Work” environment.
- Company outings based on the wants of the team (highlights include Escape the Room and Lord of the Rings at the Mann Center).
- Weekly in-office yoga classes.
- Bagel Fridays.
In their words: The person who nominated Delphic said this: “From the people we add to our growing team, to our office space and decor (which includes conference rooms named after our favorite actors, Murray, Freeman, Eastwood, and Fey, complete with oil portraits), every element works together to contribute to our positive work culture.”
eCity Interactive
Location: 1501 Walnut St.
About the company: This Philadelphia firm create websites, apps and digital marketing campaigns.
Coolest perks:
- Third Thursdays, when once a month the team goes out together. Sometimes it’s karaoke, sometimes it’s bowling, sometimes it’s happy hour.
In their words: The person who nominated the company said this: “It’s awesome that the company recognizes the employees and our hard work by supporting us in hanging out together and having a good time.”
Indy Hall
Location: 22 N. 3rd St.
About the company: This Old City coworking space caters to artists, developers, programmers and makers.
Coolest perks:
- Semi-Annual Cheese Day.
- Take One Leave One beer fridge.
In their words: The person who nominated Indy Hall said this: “We will invite you to the next cheese day.” And we will hold you to that.
Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg LLP
Location: 260 S. Broad St.
About the company: This Philly-based firm specializes in business and corporate law.
Coolest perks:
- The law library was converted into a break room for employees and includes a pool table, foosball table, lounge style seating, a 70-inch screen TV and an under-counter refrigerator that is always stocked with beer.
Lamps.com
Location: 1217 Sansom St.
About the company: Lamps.com, based in Philly, is an online-led retailer offering an array of lighting and home furnishings.
Coolest perks:
- Open office space with full-kitchen, bar and glass window conference room with, of course, amazing light fixtures.
- Weekly gourmet breakfasts courtesy of Founder/ CEO Chris DiMarco.
In their words: The person who nominated Lamps.com had this to say: “Lamps.com was voted the #1 fastest growing company in Philly — so being on a team that’s growing at a rapid rate is a major perk.”
O3 World
Location: 1339 Frankford Ave.
About the company: This Fishtown-based firm specializes in web design and development, eCommerce and online strategy. O3 World was named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures and Best Entrepreneurial Companies, as well as one of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Best Places to Work in Philadelphia for two years in a row.
Coolest perks:
- Every employee takes part in annual culture days dedicated to diving into the arts and culture outside the office. Last year, groups of employees spent a day checking out the flowers at Longwood Gardens, enjoying the Franklin Institute’s LEGO exhibit, taking in the history of Valley Forge and learning to make pasta by hand.
- Innovative Labs initiative in which employees have the opportunity to collaborate to brainstorm, submit, select and create quarterly technological innovation experiments (like apps that play each employee’s theme song as he or she walks into the office and a Mac OS X app that alerts meeting attendees to upcoming room conflicts).
- O3 Academy, an educational initiative that cross-trains employees in the skills of their coworkers.
In their words: The person who nominated O3 said this: “O3 World’s office perks go beyond our beautiful dog-friendly office, pool table, healthy company-sponsored snacks, flexible time off, and well-stocked bar cart, though all are important parts of our agency lifestyle.”
Pop! Promos
Location: 800 N. Hancock St.
About the company: This Northern Liberties firm creates promotion materials like bags, sunglasses and other accessories.
Coolest perks:
- A “Fun Fund” that the company puts money into each week to take the team out to happy hour, bowling or anything the group can agree on.
- Dog-friendly environment and two office puppies.
In their words: The person who nominated Pop! made this important note: “We have beer in our fridge at all times and get to have beer Fridays!”
Power Home Remodeling
Location: 2501 Seaport Drive, Chester
About the company: This Chester-based home improvement contractor has earned three recognitions from Fortune magazine — the No. 1 Best Place to Work for Millennials, No. 1 out of 50 Best Workplaces for Camaraderie and one of the Best 100 Companies to Work For in 2016.
Coolest perks:
- Annual company-paid trip to Mexico with two surprise celebrity performances such as Snoop Dogg, L.L. Cool J, Sublime and Flo Rida.
- Healthcare benefits package also provides discounts to employees for going to the gym and maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle.
- Opportunities to attend major events such as the NCAA Final Four, MLB All-Star Game and the ESPYS.
- Performance-based rewards and ongoing incentives, such as high-end gifts and luxury vacations throughout the year to destinations like London, Paris, Las Vegas, Maui, Miami and Scottsdale, Arizona for top-rated spas and golfing experiences.
In their words: The person who nominated Power Home said this: “Our events team has built an impressive calendar of more than 150 events each year (yes, 150 events designed to say ‘thank you’ to our employee base) from Valentine’s Day parties and happy hours at luxe spots across all of our 10 territories to our large-scale leadership conferences with guest speakers from Coach John Calipari and former NFL star, Michael Strahan to Senator Cory Booker to unique company outings featuring activities such as bowling, go-kart racing, picnics with live bands, and ice skating; professional sporting events; and expertly coordinated dinners at exclusive locations such as the Down Town Club in Philadelphia.”
Susquehanna International Group, LLP
Location: 401 City Ave., Bala Cynwyd
About the company: Susquehanna is a global quantitative trading firm built on an analytical foundation in financial markets.
Coolest perks:
- Catered breakfast and lunch daily from places like Circles Thai, Di Bruno Bros, Chick-fil-A, and Qdoba.
- Covered bike rack and bike repair station.
- New on-site gym and fitness classes.
- Game room stocked with the latest video games, classic arcade games, ping pong, pool, and poker tables.
- On-site offerings like auto repair, dry cleaning, and free EV chargers, continuously updated by an Employee Services Concierge.
- Employee events like a global poker tournament with a $15K prize, Night at the Ballpark with loaded tickets, taking over the Philly Zoo for Family Fun Night, and more.
In their words: The person who nominated SIG also noted that it routinely hosts a Speaker Series with people like Nate Silver, Sam Hinkie, the Winklevoss twins and Annie Duke.
The Tactile Group
Location: 109 S. 13th St.
About the company: The Tactile Group is a digital agency specializing in responsive website design, content management systems and custom applications.
Coolest perks:
- Office happy hours on Fridays when employees gather around the fully-stocked beer fridge to wind down at the end of the week.
In their words: The person who nominated Tactile said this: “We are currently organizing a ‘design agency quizzo’ that will take place during Philly Tech Week in our office!”
Think Brownstone
Location: 111 S. 15th St.
About the company: This Philly-based agency specializes in web consultation and design. Check out their office space here.
Coolest perks:
- Weekly free yoga class.
- Monthly opportunities to serve meals at Broad Street Ministries.
- “Feed the Office Day” – Every Wednesday, one or more people at each office cooks a meal for the whole office.
In their words: The person who nominated Think Brownstone said this: “And that’s besides working along side some of the most creative and talented people in town.”
Vynamic
Location: 1600 Arch St.
About this company: Vynamic is a healthcare industry management consulting firm.
Coolest perks:
- Wellness Room equipped with dim lighting and a massage chair.
- Once a month schedule time with a real masseuse.
- Balance Bar full of nutritious snacks, fruit and good-for-you breakfast foods managed by the Health and Care Director.
- Office beer taps with local brews.
- ThriveLive monthly events such as wine tastings, Dave and Busters, cupcake wars, and more.
- A zzzMail policy means employees are to refrain from sending emails to other employees between 10pm and 6am Monday through Friday, all day Saturday and Sunday, and all Vynamic holidays.
In their words: The person who nominated Vynamic said this: “Vynamic’s motto is ‘Life is Short. Work Healthy.’ It is at the center of everything we do, from building the healthiest work environment to creating programs that encourage team member’s to be their best selves. Aligned with our Healthy Culture, Vynamic strives to create office space that sparks imagination, and ignites healthy behaviors.”
