It’s well-known that companies like Google and Facebook are workplace perk innovators. From nap pods to ‘fur-ternity leave’, there are company perks for pretty much everything you can imagine.

To assess just how Brits feel towards company perks, SavoyStewart.co.uk polled 1,829 working Brits to understand which workplace perks they feel most and least guilty utilising.

To investigate, Savoy Stewart sourced some of the most popular (and unusual) perks offered by companies in the UK, and asked survey respondents to pick the perks they’d feel most guilty using and there were some particularly astounding results.

The Results:

The survey revealed that more than half of British employees (58%) would feel most guilty taking unlimited holiday. And although the premise seems simple – work hard and you’ll be rewarded, it seems employees are sceptical about utilising unlimited holiday days. Companies that already offer unlimited holidays include Netflix and LinkedIn.

Ranking just behind are ‘hangover days’ (55%). We’ve all been there having drunk a little too much, but despite some companies in the UK offering hangover days, we’re likely to reject them out of guilt – or maybe embarrassment?

Sleeping on the job is generally frowned upon, and despite incentives offered by a growing number of companies to have some shut-eye during official working hours with the use of nap pods, it seems we’re creatures of habit – as 52% of working Brits would feel guilty taking a nap during the day.

Statistics have shown that better mental health support in the workplace could save UK businesses a potential of up to £8 billion per year. And although more is being done to encourage people to talk about mental health, 49% of British employees would feel guilty making use of ‘mental health/duvet days’ offered by employers – an indication that a taboo around mental health in the workplace still exists.

Other surprising entries include:
‘Fur-ternity’ leave was an intriguing result. Whilst we’re a nation of dog lovers and companies are beginning to allow employees to bring their furry friends to the office, some businesses are going the extra mile offering paid leave to help settle new pups into their home. Companies like BrewDog already incentivise this company perk, but 44% would still feel guilty about taking advantage!

Pet allowance (33%), baby cash to help with newborn expenses (30%) and interest-free loans for home improvements/weddings (27%) also featured in the survey results.

Company perks employees feel least guilty using
On the other end of the guilt spectrum, the company perks that don’t phase British employees include a day off for your birthday (8%), family days (10%), wine club (11%) and seeking help from a nutritionist (12%).