When Vaycay Is Pay Day: Startup Offers Employees $7,500 to Take a Vacation

In the war for talent one thing is clear: high-tech employees win big. Extravagant employee benefits are officially back on the table.

“FullContact, a Denver technology company, recently announced this change to its vacation policy: Go away, get off the grid, and get paid $7,500 to do it,” Caitlin Berens reports in this article for Inc. “Dubbed ‘paid, paid vacation’ by company CEO Bart Lorang, the policy gives employees the money to pay for their trip away, as long as they completely disconnect from work.”

Lorang’s reasoning is that, ultimately, the commitment to “going off the grid” will benefit the company by keeping employees more healthy and productive. But could this also be a sign that the days of creative and generous benefits packages like the ones that so infamously characterized the dot-com boom are back? As Berens writes, FullContact isn’t alone. Other spotlight-grabbing benefits packages include “baby cash” for new parents, on-site pet grooming, and paid, month-long sabbaticals.

What benefits matter most to you?