Perks Equal Care — Why the Office Playground Is a Costume | Lies of HR #5

"Perks prove you care." Nap pods, craft beer on tap, catered dinners, wellness apps — the perks arms race is sold as proof a company is devoted to its people.

In Lie No. 5 of Lies of HR, we take it apart: why perks are weak, extrinsic motivators (and can even erode the drive that actually matters), how "free" dinners and all-inclusive campuses are really extraction dressed as generosity, why "unlimited PTO" makes people take less time off, and what a major Oxford study of 46,000 workers found about corporate wellness apps — that they do almost nothing. Then the reframe: fix the work, not the worker.

The voices are AI; the arguments come from Martin Spiteri Schillig's sixteen years in HR.

Full written breakdown, sources, and the mailing list: https://liesofhr.com/lies/perks-care