2025 What’s In/Out - Perks
Welcome to the Culture Edit.
Our next few newsletters will focus on what’s in and out for the upcoming year.
What’s Out in 2025: The Death of Perks Culture
The tech industry propagated perks culture—gourmet snacks, massages, and off-site retreats— and now it’s rapidly fading. Once a tool to attract top talent, perks have been trimmed as the tech industry shifts its focus to cost-cutting and artificial intelligence investments. While Twix bars replacing artisanal chocolate may seem like a small change, it reflects a deeper cultural shift.
Here’s the truth: perks never created great workplaces—they were distractions. Great leadership, effective communication, and a strong workplace culture drive real engagement and discretionary effort. Employees don’t stay loyal or inspired because of free snacks; they thrive in environments where they feel valued, heard, and connected to a meaningful mission.
Over the years, we’ve partnered with clients to help them successfully pivot from perks-based attraction to culture-first strategies. By focusing on leadership transparency, communications, and clear articulation of a Culture Story, they’ve seen measurable improvements in employee engagement and performance.
As organizations navigate this new era, the focus must shift to fostering genuine culture and trust. Perks may fade, but culture endures—and it’s a proven investment in what truly matters: your people.
What Is (or Was) ‘Perks Culture’?
“Widespread industry layoffs and an expensive pivot to building artificial intelligence led to a decline of perks culture. Tech companies have started scaling back on the goodies that differentiated their workplaces.”
7 Workplace Challenges for 2025
Spoiler alert, it’s all bad. (It’s Gallup).
The FTC is officially banning hidden junk fees from hotel and ticket prices
“The new rule will require businesses to disclose the total price of a hotel stay or live event tickets before checkout.” Rejoice!
Is Organizational Culture The Next Frontier For AI In The Workplace?
Imagine a world where AI tells you that the email you just wrote does not really feel like “our culture.”
I Was a Health Insurance Executive. What I Saw Made Me Quit.
If you’ve ever wondered what happened over the past 15 years, it was called the “consumerism” movement.
“How Miami Vice brought Hollywood-size ambition to the small screen—and sold a lot of Ray-Bans”
Associated Press 100 Photos of 2024: An epic catalog of humanity
Pretty amazing.
121 Brands That Matter in 2024
Culture Edit Podcast
Ep. 071 – Feliz Navidad
A holiday one-on-one from Miami where Nikki and Chad catch us up on getting over the “Baselvid” illness and why it doesn’t feel like the holidays even though it’s Christmas Adam. They walk us through the “Perfect Sunday” which consists of Don Pan, Lido, and Michael’s Genuine. Nikki opens up her Shrimp Cocktail list to crowdsourcing, where their oyster tradition originated, why Paris has the best Christmas season, how sometimes you can meet your heroes, and getting invited to celebrate Noche Buena.
Spotify or anywhere you get your podcasts.