Okay, it's not a huge annual bonus similar to the one offered by Sports Direct and discussed on RetailWire earlier this week. No, it's not a higher employer contribution to a 401K plan or some other big perk. But pet insurance is a benefit that a small and growing number of workers are beginning to enjoy.
According to a Boston Globe report, some employers are offering pet insurance as a benefit to workers as a relatively inexpensive way to support workers and build morale.
The Liberty Hotel in Boston is one of those employers with roughly five percent of its workforce participating in the pet health insurance program. The company offers the program as a group benefit, meaning employees get a discount from what it would cost them to buy similar insurance on an individual basis.
"People who are dog people or cat people, they love their pets as much as they love their own children,' general manager Rachel Moniz, told the Globe.
Sean Reardon, director of sales and marketing at the hotel, told the paper that he pays $500 a year for his pet insurance premium and that the policy has saved him money and made him feel better about his employer.
"It gives me an appreciation that they're looking out for their employees,' he told the Globe. "There's coverage provided for my wife and my children, so again this is just another progression in the care of employees and their families."