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Thursday, July 24, 2008

I like 'em PERKY!


No, I’m not talking about my boobs. There’s been nothing perky about them since I was about twelve.

I’m talking about company perks. You know little extras that businesses bestow upon their employees as a show of appreciation for a job well done. Or bribery, so you don’t quit.

I’ll start out by saying I have a pretty intense dislike for working in an office, more specifically, sitting behind a desk for eight hours a day five days a week. My very first “real” job after high school was as a patient registration clerk in the emergency room of a hospital. It was sort of an office environment but the constant inflowing of blood and guts kept things interesting. The ever present runny noses and projectile vomiting by people couldn’t ever seem to make it to the bathroom on time, I could have done without.

Anyway, back to perks. When I moved from Michigan back to the south I was working with an AmeriCorps program in MS. I was the administrative coordinator for a Katrina Rebuilding program. I worked in an office, but I wore Capri pants and flip flops to work and often got to go out to the work sites to deliver lunches to the crews or just see how progress was moving along. After that ended, it was a short term program, I moved to Mobile and signed up with another AmeriCorps program as an Emergency Responder. Unfortunately a pinched nerve in my back cut that short.

So after a year and a half of mostly casual outdoor jobs, it wasn’t with a great deal of enthusiasm that I accepted the position of Administrative assistant at the job where I currently work. I’ve been here since September of 2007 and unless Publishers Clearing House knocks on my door with a big fat check, I’ll probably be here for many years to come.

This is where we get to the perks. The company I work for is an Autodesk reseller. For those of you who have no idea who Autodesk is, (I didn't) they sell engineering software; programs that engineers, drafters and surveying companies use. It’s really expensive software. Apparently the profit the company I work for makes from selling this software enables them to offer their employees some pretty freaking fantastic perks.

I posted several months ago about the company Christmas trip to New Orleans. We stayed at the
Harrah’s Hotel & Casino. The company paid for everything. If you lived close enough to drive they reimbursed your mileage. If you weren’t close enough they flew you there and back. They paid for the hotel and all our meals. The only thing you needed money for was if you went shopping or wanted to sight-see.

While the Christmas parties are a nice treat, the real perk is the company vacation they have every year. In 2006 they sent the entire company, every employee plus a guest to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. This is the hotel they stayed in.


We’re talking all expense paid vacation in a luxury resort. If it’s something you can do in the hotel it’s paid for. This year they went to Cancun. Here are some pictures from that trip.



You have to have been with the company for a year in order to go on the vacations. I'd only been here for about 6 months when they went this year so I couldn't go, but next year I'm all over it!

So what do you think? Would an all expense paid tropical vacation EVERY YEAR be enough for you to stick around at a job you weren't overly crazy about? Don't get me wrong now, it's not a bad job. I make decent money, have a very laid back boss and they're pretty flexible about needing time off for doctor's appointments or whatever. You get a pretty fat Christmas bonus too.


Oh, and did I mention that on your 3rd year anniversary they give you a Rolex?

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