A number of companies are offering workers pet stipends, a monthly sum they can spend on dog-walking, pet-sitting or some other form of day care for their pets.
Companies face an upward battle as they try to compel employees to return to the physical office, after many workers grew accustomed to — and have come to prefer — the improved work-life balance that remote work enables them to have.
"People bought pets when they were quarantined, and it's hard if you have just spent two years with your puppy to go from being with them 24/7 to leaving them alone for eight hours when you are in the office," Walden told CBS MoneyWatch. "We've seen a number of companies introduce this as a new benefit," Lewis said."This way when you get a new pet, you can bond with them and make sure they are OK before you eventually have to bring them into the office." Some companies are even starting to experiment with true four-day workweeks, so that employees are more inclined to spend at least a couple days of the week in the office.
"It is no longer a competitive advantage when everyone is doing it, and they are looking at new things that give them an edge," O'Connor said.These days, there is such a thing as free lunch — another perk companies are offering workers to commute to their physical workplaces. In addition to catered meals, some employers are offering free booze and cappuccino, too.
"Companies are doing everything they can think of the make the office more fun and social," Walden said."A lot of companies are offering yoga and meditation during the day to help with the mindset shift that comes from going to the home environment to the work environment.
"The notion of people coming into the office one day a week — what is the argument in favor of that? You'll develop camaraderie because now people are coming into work because they are forced to, even though they don't want to. And now they are worried about getting infected? I don't think so," he said.