Missing Perks

Feelslikefar

Senior Member
Location
Nashville, TN
Wondering if anyone else misses the Perks you got while working, that are now gone
when you retired.

While working for a major hotel chain, as employees we had access to room discounts
that were pretty good.

Could stay at most of the chains hotels for 35-65 USDs per night.

We used this feature a lot and help spur us into more travel.

Also, our Christmas Parties were major productions with food, open bar, even some Ice Carvings!
The door prizes always included at least 5 vacations, usually a 3 night stay at one of the chain
hotels and wife and I won twice, visiting Washington DC and Tampa Florida (on the beach front).

Sure miss those Perks now.
 

I worked for a restaurant company that gave us major discounts when we ate any of their nationwide chains. I miss that! The company I retired from gifts retirees with continuing discounts. We pay 15% of retail!
 

My wife’s job had her investing large sums with big brokers. They loved to take us out to dinner in the finest restaurants in the country and free tickets to all the 49’rs games. Miss it? Not really. Fine dining is overrated. Looking back on those days I cant recall a single truly memorable plate. I’d as soon eat in the local taco joint.
 
Gosh yes I miss the "perks". As a business owner I ran many expenses thru the business. I never dinged the business for major personal expenses like a car or family travel, but little perks that I now miss.

Perfect example was just a few days ago when I wanted to ship a Christmas gift to my sons in-laws in another country. $394 dollars UPS, $286 DHL! I couldn't do it, that's way too expensive, but when I had the business I would have shipped it on the companies account.

Another thing I miss is all the equipment I had use of, I am a machinist by trade and always working on something. Having a shop full of lathes and mills and racks of materials sure made my life easier for those home projects.

Oh and duct tape! I just had to buy a couple rolls recently, first time in 25 years I didn't just bring it home from work.

Still...I wouldn't want to go back to working a job every day, I much prefer retired life!
 
I worked at a call center for a major credit card company. They gave out candy bars when we did a “good job” or had what they considered a good call. While the other employees seems to love these rewards, it always made me feel like a ”good” dog getting a treat for performing well.

So no, I don’t miss the “perks”.
 
When I was an Ambulance attendant with Metro Toronto Ambulance my "perks " were my liberal time off periods. I worked there for 10 years, from 1977 to 1987.

In our 6 week schedule, we only worked 20 shifts of 12 hours so we had 22 days off in 6 weeks . That meant that in 5 of those weeks I worked either 3 or 4 shifts out of 7 days in that week. Once every 6 weeks I had one complete 7 day period off, to compensate for the previous week where I had worked 6 days out of 7. That 7 day off period was NOT vacation , it was rest days. In our union contract with the city of Toronto we got 21 days of vacation in the first year of our employment, with a further 7 days of vacation added for each year we had worked on the job. By the judicious use of shift changes with others, I was able to spend almost 2 complete months off one summer. I went to Australia and New Zealand that year. I repaid those who worked for me during the following winter months.

Working statutory holidays was also well worth it. If I was not scheduled to work Christmas Day I would offer to work for others who had kids at home. By working a stat holiday that I was not scheduled to work, I got paid time and a half for the 12 hour shift, which equaled 18 hours of my regular hourly rate. BY working both Christmas Day and Boxing Day, I earned 36 hours of overtime pay. The same thing if I worked New Years Day for some one else who wanted to go out and party the night before. If I worked all 3 holidays at time and a half, my first pay cheque in the new year would have an additional 45 hours pay on it. Happy New Year !!!

On the other hand, over that ten year period of time, I reckon I responded to about 15,000 emergency calls in all types of weather and road conditions. That 15,000 number breaks down this way. In a typical 12 hour shift ( in the largest city in Canada with a population of about 3 million people ) each Ambulance crew would respond to about 10 calls per shift , multiply that by 3 or 4 shifts per week, times 12 months per year, times ten years.

Put it another way, I have seen every type of way that people can be injured, or die. Fires, explosions, automobile accidents, pedestrians hit by vehicles, kids dying from drowning, people jumping from rooftops, hanging themselves, assaults, floaters who have been in Lake Ontario for weeks, and subway suicides. Multiple victim murders, delivering 26 babies over the years, talking a 16 year old girl off the Bloor Street bridge, only to learn that she hung herself that same week at home. A lot of horrible stuff, which is why our union contract had such liberal time off, and we ( as Ambulance Attendants ) were the highest paid outside workers in the City of Toronto at that time

I left in 1988, due to recurring back problems. Too many 400 pound people who lived in a 3 story walk up apartment building who could not walk, so my partner and I had to carry them down to the street. Too many falls on the ice in the winter, too many drunks, too many domestic fights. too many crazy street people, too many uniforms that went into the garbage because of the blood, vomit, urine, and the grease from crawling under a subway train to remove a dead body that was wrapped around the axle of the car, and put it in a Stokes basket to take it to the morgue. Now, 34 years later, I can still see some of that in my mind. But as the years went by, and I was doing other things in my life, the bad stuff has kind of fallen away.

Today the 1360 Toronto Paramedics are all University medical school trained, in a 2 year long course and they get paid a lot more money than I ever did. BUT they are so much better educated and equipped than we could have ever imagined back then in the days before Paramedicine and advanced life support techniques. And unlike in my days, where there were no females on the job, the current Toronto Paramedics are just about 50 percent female and 50 percent males. Highly educated and very well equipped. I know, because I have had to call them recently for my Wife. Quick to arrive, complete physical assesment, IV started, cardiac monitor leads in place, and off we go to Toronto General. Diagnosis ? Atrial fibrillation, meds prescribed, home in 3 hours, with a follow up appointment at the cardiac clinic the next Monday. All good now.

JimB.
 
@jimintoronto In one cooking job, I worked long hours part of the year and then got 2 months off in the winter with pay. I didn't consider it a perk though, because the time was owed to me.

A few years ago, I lived in a rural area. I slipped on the ice in the yard, and broke my fibula and some foot and ankle bones. I didn't call an ambulance though, as I didn't see the point in having two more people slip on the ice and hurt themselves. (It was really slippery!) I crawled back to the house.

When the ice cleared a couple of days later, I decided it was too late to seek medical help. It stopped hurting after a year and a half, so I guess it healed itself.
 
Things from two different jobs. Tho the first could not be replicated today.

In the early 70's i was for some months working 6 hr morning shift renting bicycles on a T intersection corner in Waikiki, Honolulu. across one street was the Honolulu Zoo and across the other a small stretch of Waikiki beach not yet blocked by luxury hotels. Admission to Zoo was essentially free (donation box which i generally put something in anyway) i visited once week having developed something of a bond with the Marmosets and it was a great place for people watching. Some days i would wear a bathing suit under my jeans and t-shirt. And didn't bring even a wallet. Maybe a small bit of cash in pants pocket. When my relief arrived i would head across to the beach take off the outer layer of clothes and go for swim in the surf. Revitalized me.

Then for some 9+ years before retiring i worked at University of Wyoming in HR. UW encouraged all staff not just the academics to take advantage of seminars, lectures by guest speakers etc on Campus. We could use comp time earned or work it out with supervisors to work an extra hour to make up for going to lecture. Got to hear Temple Grandin speak, watch Tibetan Monks make a huge sand Mandala in Student Union and dissemble it too. Also participated in some interesting seminars and round tables on topics of interest--all for free. And while as a Wyoming Resident i'd had access to the University library fo years, working on campus made it so easy. Often took out and returned books on my lunch hour, did personal research etc.
 
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Well, the company I worked for, got massively anal about covid. No more parties for 3 years, no company picnic, no birthday celebrations. So I did without before having to leave.

I will state that every company I worked at from 1996 onward gave a turkey or a coupon for a free turkey every Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This last company wouldn't. Not sorry at all for leaving them.
 
In the days I worked for other people (rather than our small business), I had great perks. Worked part time for a small bakery when in HS and was given tons of free, delicious baked goods.

The apparel industry was full of great employee perks. I bought "last season's" clothing at $5 a hanger for samples that never made it into the selling line - including beautiful silk blouses. (Luckily, I wore the sample size.) Paid 20% to 40% below wholesale for non samples.

For apparel manufacturers, fall and holiday season clothing was shipped over summer and they're now shipping spring clothes. So what clothing companies considered "last season" was actually weather appropriate for us.

Other perks were great healthcare plans that the companies paid in full and some nice holiday bonuses. Bummers were the daily commute to downtown Los Angeles, dealing with more than one a-hole owner, and over the top stress.

I have no regrets leaving those jobs.
 
Working in a medical office, I had to go to many fancy dinners sponsored by drug companies and professional organizations. The downside was listening to the various guest speakers. I remember a harbor dinner cruise, so glamorous, and as we ate, the guest speaker droned on and on about experiments with rats.

Nope, don't miss it a bit.
 
@jimintoronto In one cooking job, I worked long hours part of the year and then got 2 months off in the winter with pay. I didn't consider it a perk though, because the time was owed to me.

A few years ago, I lived in a rural area. I slipped on the ice in the yard, and broke my fibula and some foot and ankle bones. I didn't call an ambulance though, as I didn't see the point in having two more people slip on the ice and hurt themselves. (It was really slippery!) I crawled back to the house.

When the ice cleared a couple of days later, I decided it was too late to seek medical help. It stopped hurting after a year and a half, so I guess it healed itself.
I am NOT doubting what you wrote about fractures from that fall BUT not seeking medical care afterwards ? You must be one of the most stoic people I have ever heard of. A year of suffering in pain ? Jimb.
 
@jimintoronto In one cooking job, I worked long hours part of the year and then got 2 months off in the winter with pay. I didn't consider it a perk though, because the time was owed to me.

A few years ago, I lived in a rural area. I slipped on the ice in the yard, and broke my fibula and some foot and ankle bones. I didn't call an ambulance though, as I didn't see the point in having two more people slip on the ice and hurt themselves. (It was really slippery!) I crawled back to the house.

When the ice cleared a couple of days later, I decided it was too late to seek medical help. It stopped hurting after a year and a half, so I guess it healed itself.
When younger, thirty or so,I have crawled back to my house when I slipped on an icy downwards driveway cause I couldn’t get up on the thin sheet of ice. And when I fractured my leg, a minor fracture, it didn’t need treatment. It did need an X-ray to determine it was fractured.

But broken bones in the foot and ankle?-with no casting? How on earth could you get around? Did you hop for a year and half? I think you might have had a badly sprained ankle which you wrapped yourself. Same for the foot-sprained and wrapped; but broken?

I doubt either was broken but especially the ankle. Walking on a broken ankle, hmm, nope.
 
I miss getting extra money for doing stuff I should do anyway, the company I was at would put an extra $25 in our pay (max of $400 in a year) for completing self-care tasks (dental checkups, annual physicals, exercise goals, etc.).

They had some perks that were great at the time but no need to repeat (webinars on social security, retirement topics), and I really liked the 'gut health' coach perk which I would have liked to have for the whole year but retiring ended the benefit.

Also they provided limited number of sessions for 'life coach' telephone people who were very useful for me when I was freaking out about all I needed to do for retirement such as talking me into making lists of tasks and prioritizing them and putting the dates they should be done by. Simple stuff but nice to have a phone call with someone every week to talk about it all.

I used to love the cookies and treats that people brought in during the holiday season, but in recent years my feelings were very mixed, 'oh boy cookies'/'oh no! sugar-calorie temptations!'
 
I doubt either was broken but especially the ankle. Walking on a broken ankle, hmm, nope.
Apparently,it is very possible though. A friend in high school broke her ankle and walked around on it for a week before she went to the doc.And my own daughter walked around on her broken ankle for about 3 weeks last year before she decided to see a doc.Yep,broken.
 
I am NOT doubting what you wrote about fractures from that fall BUT not seeking medical care afterwards ? You must be one of the most stoic people I have ever heard of. A year of suffering in pain ? Jimb.

When younger, thirty or so,I have crawled back to my house when I slipped on an icy downwards driveway cause I couldn’t get up on the thin sheet of ice. And when I fractured my leg, a minor fracture, it didn’t need treatment. It did need an X-ray to determine it was fractured.

But broken bones in the foot and ankle?-with no casting? How on earth could you get around? Did you hop for a year and half? I think you might have had a badly sprained ankle which you wrapped yourself. Same for the foot-sprained and wrapped; but broken?

I doubt either was broken but especially the ankle. Walking on a broken ankle, hmm, nope.
No wrapping. What can I say? I had suffered a broken foot previously that I thought was a sprain. About a year later I was told it was a break.

Anyway, with the slipping on the ice, I know anyone else would have gone to the doctor. But with one thing and another it didn't come together that way.

Several times in my life I've had to get through pain because I couldn't take time off work, etc. At least when the last incident happened I was retired and could lie down. I think I have a high pain threshold.
 


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