Many companies offer health insurance and retirement plans, but did you know that there's a company in Memphis that lets parents take their baby to work with them? The "Infant at Work" program from social services nonprofit Meritan is one of the more unusual perks and benefits offered by this year's Memphis Top Workplaces winners.
Read on to learn more about that program and other uncommon benefits. The information comes from the application forms that the companies filled out to participate in the Memphis Top Workplaces program. This is not a complete list of the benefits that each company offers: in most cases, we've selected only the most unusual benefit from the company's offering.
Memphis-based Meritan allows employees to bring their child to work with them until the child reaches 9 months of age.
If the employee has a position that prohibits the child from safely coming to work, a stipend for daycare services is provided for nine months, the company said. The company has offered this benefit for several years.
This architectural and interior design company pays 100% of professional dues, association membership fees and licensing fees for professionals including architects, interior designers and legal personnel. It also offers a bonus plan based on profit and extraordinary performance.
The company hosts a leave share program in which employees can donate vacation hours into a pool to support fellow employees who are experiencing a loss of income due to health conditions, natural disasters and other hardships.
The credit services company has an employee engagement committee that plans weekly activities for employees to take a break and have fun with coworkers.
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The freight brokerage company partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters to reimburse employees who volunteer as mentors for outings with their mentees.
It also offers a leadership development program and student loan debt advice through LendKey, an online loan and debt consolidation advisor, to provide refinancing and repayment resources.
Among the perks offered by the biotechnology company is a massage therapist who visits every other week.
The school offers an "Atta Teacher" award that is given each month by their peers for recognition of a job well done or a random act of kindness.
This information technology company serves the logistics industry and has instituted a "Summer Hours" program allowing employees to end the work week on Fridays at 2 p.m. The company describes a "work hard, play hard" culture with events like a company picnic, annual Summit dinner and Christmas party.
All employees at this engineering company are given up to one week paid time off each year to volunteer for charitable causes.
Among other benefits, the health insurer offers a seasonal onsite farmer's market.
The transportation company is 100% employee-owned. The company website says its founder created it in 1997 “to provide a better place for people to work.”
President and CEO Tim Clay said, “People now understand that their work directly impacts the stock value of our company. This has impacted our employees' work, and it has also helped us in the recruiting process. Being a 100% employee-owned company is an additional benefit not many other companies can offer.”
The manufacturer of safety products offers annual profit-sharing bonuses that are worth as much as 2.5 weeks of pay.
The manufacturer of clothes hangers and other organizational products provides salaried exempt employees with a "free time off" policy. "This allows our salaried employees to take the time they need, when they need, so long as their work gets done without worry about having to pull from a 'bank' of time," the company said.
Reach reporter Daniel Connolly at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.