Healthcare, 401(k) matching and paid time off still matter, but they’re no longer enough to win over today’s worker.
According to the 2024 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey, the number of unique benefits offered by companies has jumped by 23% since 2022, as employers reevaluate how to stand out in a competitive job market, particularly with younger talent. This is not to say the traditional benefits are gone, but companies around the United States are reimagining the best benefits to attract and retain talented employees.
Niche benefits — from surrogacy assistance to mortgage rate buyouts — are direct responses to honest employee feedback. Workers are seeking support that meets them where they are in life, and companies are finally responding.
The takeaway? If you’re an HR manager, you don’t need to toss your current benefits list, but you do need to evolve it to reflect what today’s employees truly value.
6 employee benefits redefining workplace culture in 2025
To determine which benefits are effective, we asked companies across the country to share the most unusual perks they’re offering. Nearly 40 responded with creative, real-world ideas.
Here are six standout benefits that reflect the future of work in 2025.
1. Free college tuition
Tuition reimbursement has become a popular benefit to offer to early- and mid-career workers. However, some companies, like leading global food producer JBS USA, have taken free education one step further. The company partners with more than 60 colleges in the United States, Canada and online to offer free higher education for team members and their families.
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“JBS employees and their dependents can earn degrees and certificates at no cost to them,” says Juriana Sperandio, the company’s global chief human resources officer. “It not only helps employees avoid taking on education debt, but also helps transform and upskill our workforce.”
Initially, JBS USA expected its employees’ dependents to be the ones to make use of the program, but what they found was the exact opposite. To date, more than 2,500 employees have taken full advantage of this program to return to school or complete their degrees.
2. Adoption and surrogacy assistance
Expanding a family is a deeply personal and often expensive endeavor. Power Home Remodeling aims to ease that burden through its Adoption and Surrogacy Assistance Reimbursement program, which provides a lifetime maximum of $15,000 in support of all employees who need it.
“We want every team member to feel empowered to build the family they envision — without the financial stress that so often comes with it,” says Hollie Delaney, Power’s chief people officer.
The benefit is inclusive of all employees, regardless of marital status, gender or sexual orientation, and can be used toward a range of eligible expenses, including legal fees, agency costs and medical procedures related to surrogacy.
By covering both adoption and surrogacy, the company recognizes that there are many paths to parenthood and supports employees through each one.
3. Mortgage rate buyouts
A recent survey from the National Association of Homebuilders found that 57% of households can’t afford to buy a $300,000 home despite having steady jobs. High interest rates and record home prices are key contributors to this affordability crisis. Meanwhile, many households report that wages haven’t kept pace with economic costs.
With these conditions making homeownership unaffordable for many Americans, cybersecurity firm Cyber Guardian is stepping in to support its employees. CEO Nick Martin offers to buy down up to 3% of an employee’s mortgage rate, which can translate to tens of thousands in savings over the life of a loan. Any employee can apply for this benefit, making homeownership achievable for the entire staff.
“Making people feel genuinely valued means throwing out the old playbook and identifying what makes the most real-world impact for your team,” says Martin. Over the last four years, Cyber Guardian has achieved a near 100% retention rate, and Martin attributes this success to his company’s out-of-the-box benefits package.
4. Paid vacations with a stipend
It’s one thing to offer PTO; it’s another to make sure employees can actually afford to take it. More than half of American workers leave their vacation time unused, resulting in 768 million unused vacation days in a single year. Cost is a major barrier, and many workers simply can’t afford to unwind.
At software company BambooHR, the company’s core value, “Enjoy Quality of Life,” is backed by financial support.
“BambooHR believes that when employees can afford to truly disconnect and create meaningful experiences with their families, they return energized and more creative,” says Wende Smith, the company’s head of people operations. That’s why every employee receives a $2,000 annual stipend specifically to help cover travel costs, including flights, lodging and activities.
The stipend removes financial obstacles and encourages real time off, not just time granted. Whether employees spend it on a big family trip or a solo wellness retreat, the message is clear: rest isn’t just allowed, it’s essential.
5. Medical benefits for domestic partnerships
Being unique doesn’t mean flashy; it can simply involve being more inclusive. While traditional employer-provided health insurance has long covered married couples and their families, some companies have expanded this coverage to cover all partnerships.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, there were approximately 8.3 million opposite-sex unmarried-partner households and 500,073 same-sex unmarried-partner households living together. That’s about 3% of all households.
“At my current organization, we expanded our medical benefits to cover domestic partnerships, ” says Mitchell Jeffery, a senior regional director of human resources at Bradford Health Services. “This isn’t just for LGBTQ employees — it supports anyone in a committed partnership of six months or more.”
6. Company retreats meet music festivals
“Study after study shows you how instrumental community and human connection are to our well-being and happiness,” shares Power’s Hollie Delaney. A 2023 CDC Science Blog highlights decades of evidence showing that strong social ties predict longevity and improved mental and physical health, while loneliness and isolation raise risks for premature death.
To that end, Power doesn’t settle for the usual annual retreat. Instead, they send employees to Quest, a fully paid, three-day music festival and company retreat in Mexico. It’s part celebration, part team-building and fully focused on honoring their people.
“We’ve found that our people show up better for each other, our customers and our communities. In fact, according to an all-employee survey, 95% of employees feel a strong sense of community here, and 98% look forward to Quest every year,” she says.
What today’s most valued workplace perks have in common
Whether it’s helping employees build a family, buy a home or simply take a real break, these creative perks are just some of the new, human-centered workplace benefits some companies are making available.
As Mitchell Jeffery of Bradford Health Services says: “Some of the most impactful benefits don’t cost anything extra. They’re about rethinking policies to reflect how people actually live.”
Source – https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/07/25/unusual-employee-benefits-in-2025/85354399007/