the.com/perk
A gift from your employer that's really just lower salary wearing a costume.
means A perk is an extra benefit or privilege that comes with a job, on top of your regular pay.
from Short for 'perquisite,' from Latin perquisitum, 'something sought after and thoroughly acquired' (from quaerere, 'to seek'). Originally it meant the casual extras a servant or official could claim beyond their official wages — tips, leftover candle stubs, the master's cast-off clothes. Over centuries it got clipped down to 'perk,' shrinking the word to match the modest size of most of the benefits it describes.
- origin
- short for perquisite, meaning incidental benefit
- economics
- often cheaper for company than equivalent cash raise
- peak era
- 2010s tech offices turned perks into recruiting theater
- catch
- free snacks rarely offset unpaid overtime