Healthcare, 401(k) matching and paid leave are still important, but they are no longer enough to beat today’s workers.
According to the 2024 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey, the number of unique benefits companies offer has increased 23% since 2022 as employers reassess the ways in which they stand out against younger talent, especially in the competitive job market. This doesn’t mean that traditional benefits are gone, but businesses around the US are rethinking the best benefits of attracting and retaining talented employees.
From surrogacy assistance to mortgage rate acquisitions, the advantage of the niche is its direct response to honest employee feedback. Workers are seeking help they meet them in places of life, and businesses are finally responding.
Take it home? If you are an HR manager, you don’t need to throw your current benefits list, but you need to evolve it to make today’s employees truly reflect their value.
6 Employee benefits to redefine workplace culture in 2025
To determine which benefits are effective, we asked businesses across the country to share the most unusual perks they have. Almost 40 people responded with creative, real-world ideas.
Below are six outstanding benefits that reflect the future of work in 2025:
1. Free university tuition fees
Tuition reimbursements are a general benefit to early and medium-term workers. However, some companies, like JBS USA, the world’s leading food producer, are now even more free to education. The company partners with over 60 universities in the US, Canada and online to provide free higher education to team members and Their family.
“JBS employees and their dependents can earn their degrees and certificates for free,” says Juriana Sperandio, the company’s global chief human resources officer. “It helps our employees avoid avoiding education debt, but it also helps transform and boost our workforce.”
Initially, JBS USA expected that employee dependents would use the program, but what they found was the exact opposite. To date, more than 2,500 employees have made the most of the program to either return to school or earn their degrees.
2. Adoption and surrogacy assistance
Expanding a family is a very personal and often expensive effort. Power Home Remodeling aims to ease that burden through adoption and surrogacy assistance reimbursement programs.
“We want every team member to feel the power to build the family they imagine, without the financial stress that comes often.”
Profits include all employees regardless of marriage status, gender or sexual orientation, and can be used for a variety of eligible expenses, including legal costs, agency costs, and medical procedures related to surrogacy.
By covering both adoption and surrogacy, the company recognizes that parents have many paths and supports their employees through each.
3. Mortgage fee acquisition
A recent survey by the National Association of Housing Builders found that despite having a stable job, 57% of households cannot afford a $300,000 home. High interest rates and record home prices are key contributors to this affordable crisis. Meanwhile, many households report that wages do not correspond to economic costs.
These conditions make homeowners unruly for many Americans, and cybersecurity company Cyber Guardians are stepping in to support their employees. CEO Nick Martin offers to buy up to 3% of employee mortgage rates, which could save tens of thousands of people over the lifespan of the loan. Employees can apply for this benefit and allow the entire staff to achieve homeownership.
“Make people feel truly valuable means throwing away old playbooks and identifying what will have the most realistic impact on your team,” says Martin. Over the past four years, Cyber Guardian has achieved a retention rate of nearly 100%, and Martin attributes this success to his company’s ready-to-use benefits package.
4. Paid leave with scholarship
Providing a PTO is one thing. It’s a different matter to make sure that employees can actually afford it. Over half of American workers leave their leave unused, resulting in 768 million unused holidays over a year. Costs are a major barrier, and many workers simply can’t afford to dissolve.
At Software Company Bamboohr, we offer a core value of the company: “Enjoy the quality of life.”,is supported by financial support.
“Bamboohr believes that employees can afford to truly disconnect from their families and create meaningful experiences, so all employees will receive an annual scholarship, especially of $2,000, to cover travel expenses such as flights, accommodation and activities.
Scholarships remove financial obstacles and encourage real-time leave as well as permitted times. Whether employees spend on extended family trips or solo wellness retreats, the message is clear. Rest is not only unauthorized, but it is essential.
5. Domestic partnership medical benefits
Being unique doesn’t mean anything flashy. It can simply involve being more inclusive. While traditional employer-supplied health insurance coverage has long covered couples and their families, some companies have expanded this report to cover all partnerships.
According to the 2020 US Census, approximately 8.3 million unmarried partner households on the other side and 500,073 same-sex unmarried partner households lived together. That’s about 3% of all households.
“My current organization has expanded health benefits to cover domestic partnerships,” says Mitchell Jeffrey, senior regional director of human resources at Bradford Health Services. “This isn’t just LGBTQ employees. It supports people who have been in a dedicated partnership for over six months.”
6. Company retreats meet at music festivals
“Post-study research shows how community-human connections connect us with our happiness and happiness,” says Holly Delaney of Power. The 2023 CDC Science blog highlights decades of evidence that strong social connections predict longevity and improved mental and physical health, and that shows that loneliness and isolation pose a risk of premature death.
That’s why Power doesn’t settle for a regular annual retreat. Instead, they send employees to the quest. Quest dispatches a fully paid 3-day music festival and company retreat in Mexico. It’s partly a celebration, partly a team building and it’s completely focused on celebrating their people.
“We’ve seen that our people are showing better for each other, our customers, our communities. In fact, a survey of all employees shows that 95% of our employees feel a strong sense of community here.
Today’s most valuable workplace perks have something in common
Whether it helps employees build a family, buy a home or simply take a real break, these creative perks are just some of the benefits of a new, human-centric workplace that some companies can take advantage of.
Mitchell Jeffrey of Bradford Health Services said: “Some of the most impactful benefits don’t cost extra. They’re going to rethink their policies to reflect how people actually live.”
What is USA Today Top Workplaces 2025?
Are you working for an employer with top-notch benefits? Each year, USA Today Top Workplaces is a collaboration between Energage and USA Today, ranking US organizations that excel at creating positive work environments for their employees. Employee feedback determines the winner.
In 2025, over 1,500 companies were recognized as the best workplaces. Check out our overall rankings. You can also get more insight into workplace trends and advice by checking out the links below.
