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> Meta [...] usually feeds staff for free from canteens at its larger offices, including its sprawling Silicon Valley headquarters. But those at smaller sites a

by jffry 2y ago

> Meta [...] usually feeds staff for free from canteens at its larger offices, including its sprawling Silicon Valley headquarters. But those at smaller sites are given daily credits to order food through delivery services such as UberEats and Grubhub. Daily allowances include $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch and $25 for dinner. So probably a perk they decided was worth it or necessary for morale at some point

Eumenes 2y ago
> Daily allowances include $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch and $25 for dinner. Dayum, I could make a weeks worth of meals with the daily allowance of each of these.
- JohnFen 2y ago
  My thoughts exactly. $70/day to eat is mystifyingly generous. I don't spend $70/week.
potato3732842 2y ago
I suspect this is a result of acquisitions. They buy some startup, bring them all under Meta's HR umbrella with all the rules and perks that comes with. Since these recently acquired guys are running out of random offices in random places they just give them a stipend rather than force them to all relocate to a campus with dining. The $400k employee was probably a higher up (or key SME Meta felt they needed to put in golden handcuffs) at one of these acquired companies and was probably already on his or her way out.
- questionableans 2y ago
  At Meta, $400k would be high E4 or low E5. That’s someone earlier in their career who probably feels fairly anonymous and is used to taking all the deals they can get to live cheaply, even if they don’t need to anymore.
tivert 2y ago
> So probably a perk they decided was worth it or necessary for morale at some point I always thought that stuff (along with the snacks) was a ploy to keep employees working longer hours. Needing to get food/coffee/whatever is a transition that can allow people to decide to disengage from work. A strategically placed coffee station can prevent a longer trip to the cafeteria or a coffee shop, and free food in the cafeteria can prevent a trip offsite to a restaurant or the worker's home for a meal. Plus it can seem like a plus to the employee, because people often pay a lot more attention to money than time.
- HDThoreaun 2y ago
  Of course it is. That doesnt mean it isnt also a perk. I am happy that my office has coffee even though it also benefits my employer with the increased productivity. Same with lunch, its a win win for the company and the employee.
  - tivert 2y ago
    > Same with lunch, its a win win for the company and the employee. I don't think it's that simple. Sure, on some level it's a win for you (free food) and a win for them (more time spent working), but on another level you might be winning more if the perk wasn't influencing your decision-making to take the employer-preferred path. I think it's a little more clear when thinking about employer provided dinner, like Facebook apparently provides.
  - dns_snek 2y ago
    I don't think it's a win for the employee if they're getting $100 worth of extra labor out of you in exchange for $25 worth of food. And not just financially, I always thought that these "perks" make it harder to disconnect and relax from work which is likely to take a toll on mental health - I know it would for me.
    - s1artibartfast 2y ago
      It isnt an exchange of extra labor for food. They are demanding the work either way for the salary.
jerlam 2y ago
Now we know who's paying all those food delivery companies $20 to deliver them a single coffee.
joezydeco 2y ago
We use a Doordash voucher as an incentive to go hybrid and come into the office once or twice a week. Seems silly to spend all that time commuting and then you go leave for another 60-90 minutes to get lunch. At some point it will disappear and go to a hard RTO, but for now it kind of works. I've seen others ask how is buying toothpaste and wine is possible on a voucher, Doordash definitely does this "add groceries in the next 15 minutes!" thing once you've ordered lunch.

by jffry 2y ago

Eumenes 2y ago

> Daily allowances include $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch and $25 for dinner. Dayum, I could make a weeks worth of meals with the daily allowance of each of these.

JohnFen 2y ago
My thoughts exactly. $70/day to eat is mystifyingly generous. I don't spend $70/week.

potato3732842 2y ago

I suspect this is a result of acquisitions. They buy some startup, bring them all under Meta's HR umbrella with all the rules and perks that comes with. Since these recently acquired guys are running out of random offices in random places they just give them a stipend rather than force them to all relocate to a campus with dining. The $400k employee was probably a higher up (or key SME Meta felt they needed to put in golden handcuffs) at one of these acquired companies and was probably already on his or her way out.

questionableans 2y ago
At Meta, $400k would be high E4 or low E5. That’s someone earlier in their career who probably feels fairly anonymous and is used to taking all the deals they can get to live cheaply, even if they don’t need to anymore.

tivert 2y ago

> So probably a perk they decided was worth it or necessary for morale at some point I always thought that stuff (along with the snacks) was a ploy to keep employees working longer hours. Needing to get food/coffee/whatever is a transition that can allow people to decide to disengage from work. A strategically placed coffee station can prevent a longer trip to the cafeteria or a coffee shop, and free food in the cafeteria can prevent a trip offsite to a restaurant or the worker's home for a meal. Plus it can seem like a plus to the employee, because people often pay a lot more attention to money than time.

HDThoreaun 2y ago
Of course it is. That doesnt mean it isnt also a perk. I am happy that my office has coffee even though it also benefits my employer with the increased productivity. Same with lunch, its a win win for the company and the employee.
- tivert 2y ago
  > Same with lunch, its a win win for the company and the employee. I don't think it's that simple. Sure, on some level it's a win for you (free food) and a win for them (more time spent working), but on another level you might be winning more if the perk wasn't influencing your decision-making to take the employer-preferred path. I think it's a little more clear when thinking about employer provided dinner, like Facebook apparently provides.
- dns_snek 2y ago
  I don't think it's a win for the employee if they're getting $100 worth of extra labor out of you in exchange for $25 worth of food. And not just financially, I always thought that these "perks" make it harder to disconnect and relax from work which is likely to take a toll on mental health - I know it would for me.
  - s1artibartfast 2y ago
    It isnt an exchange of extra labor for food. They are demanding the work either way for the salary.

jerlam 2y ago

Now we know who's paying all those food delivery companies $20 to deliver them a single coffee.

joezydeco 2y ago

We use a Doordash voucher as an incentive to go hybrid and come into the office once or twice a week. Seems silly to spend all that time commuting and then you go leave for another 60-90 minutes to get lunch. At some point it will disappear and go to a hard RTO, but for now it kind of works. I've seen others ask how is buying toothpaste and wine is possible on a voucher, Doordash definitely does this "add groceries in the next 15 minutes!" thing once you've ordered lunch.