The Best Benefits Canadian Companies Offer

FreshBooks in Toronto knows that life sometimes throws curveballs and that what may seem an insignificant problem to some may be an insurmountable mountain to others. With their "compassion fund" they help employees with things like the cost of a stolen bike.

Find out if they also topped the list of the best companies to work for in Canada in 2018.

Many companies, especially in the tech industry, have caught on to the idea of providing free snacks such as granola bars, yogurt, organic fruit or bagels to their employees. Montreal-based GSOFT has free lunches delivered three times a week while Digital Extremes in London, ON employs two full-time chefs to prepare free meals for their employees.

So what if you're in a role that pays over $300K - who doesn't like free food?

Some days a beer can make all the difference at work. Clio in Burnaby has a “beverage island” that includes wine and beer, GSOFT in Montreal and iQmetrix in Vancouver have beer on tap, and Verafin in St. John’s has a Friday-afternoon beer cart. At Labatt Brewing Company employees can get two free cases of beer a month.

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Many companies now offer yoga or aerobics classes to their employees but some offer even more ways of getting fit. Copperleaf Technologies in Vancouver and Uken Studios in Toronto offer kickboxing, for instance, while employees of the Provincial Health Services Authority, BC in Vancouver can learn bellydancing.

The Great Little Box Company in Richmond, BC has their own outdoor beach volleyball court, as does Loblaw Companies Limited’s head office in Brampton. The Loblaw head office also has a skating rink in winter.

It’s great when companies offer ample employee parking space or even bicycle racks for those who want to pedal to work. If you work at The Great Little Box Company’s Richmond, BC headquarters, you can paddle to work too. The company has their own dock for employees to use.

In Calgary, employees at Ambyint can get personal ergonomic assessments, while those at Agrium Inc. can consult with a registered dietician. Uken Studios in Toronto has onsite massage therapists, physiotherapists and chiropractors while Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC has an onsite health clinic.

Most people close their office doors to take a power nap on the floor or the couch. Uken Studios in Toronto and the Provincial Health Services Authority, BC in Vancouver provide their employees with nap rooms.

The employee lounge at Connected Lab in Toronto features hammocks to swing in. While many employee lounges now feature board or video games, Connected Lab’s employees can also play with hula hoops, Lego or virtual reality headsets.

At World Vision Canada’s Mississauga, ON office, there is an outdoor auditorium with a piano that employees can use for unwinding or impressing their fellow employees.

Onsite childcare facilities are becoming more commonplace but some companies also cater to their employees’ furry family. Clio in Burnaby, BC has a designated area for their employees’ pets while Mars Incorporated’s Bolton, ON head office has a doggy courtyard.

GSOFT in Montreal has an innovative solution for employees who want to stretch their legs. The company’s employee lounge features a skateboard half-pipe.

Onsite fitness centres are nothing new among Canada’s top employers but at Verafin’s St. John’s office there are small fitness stations throughout, complete with skipping ropes, yoga mats, chin-up bars and exercise balls. TELUS Corporation in Vancouver offers treadmill desks for those employees who like to multitask.

Corus Entertainment’s Toronto head office has a feature that helps employees unleash their inner child and make a quick getaway. There is a slide three storeys high.

Several Canadian companies allow their employees to get their hands dirty for relaxation purposes. Employees at World Vision Canada’s Mississauga, ON office, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada’s Cambridge, ON facility, Nature’s Path Foods’ Richmond, BC head office and Fresche Solutions in Montreal all get to potter about in onsite community gardens.

GSOFT Montreal doesn’t bother with the dreary office party for the holiday season. Instead, they send their employees on a trip to an exotic location such as Cuba.

Every quarter, Connected Lab in Toronto offers their employees something they call “Disconnects”. These include weekend getaways such as camping trips to Algonquin Provincial Park.

If employees at The Great Little Box Company in Richmond, BC make their annual profitability target, the company sends all of them on an all-expenses-paid vacation to a sunny destination like Las Vegas.

Most of Canada’s top employers offer generous packages for new parents. Stryker Canada in Dundas, ON even helps employees become parents in the first place, with an IVF subsidy of up to $15,000 if they need it.

Most great companies offer tuition subsidies for their employees and scholarships for employees’ children. At the University of New Brunswick, employees get full tuition subsidies even if the courses aren’t related to their jobs, while the University of Toronto employees’ children can study for free at the university.