Benefits have a huge impact and should definitely be considered as part of compensation / hiring. 401K matching - as you said above, if you're getting a poor match with a bad set of funds, then a company that offers a large flat contribution regardless of your contribution (say 6-10%) and had access to thousands of funds / direct stocks would be preferred and provide a significant benefit to you.
Similarly, benefits like Dental, Medical, etc especially if you've got a family means less risk and money in your pocket if it's paid for and you have a great plan. While it would, of course, be better to just get "straight cash homey" and try to deal with it yourself I would argue that benefits are still a signficant factor in the job decision process.
As for the foosball table et al - that's more a cultural thing and less a direct benefit in my mind.
That said - totally agree that benefits are secondary to the dream and the vision of the company as a part of one's decision.
How many people turn down a job because of a benefits administrator? Do you take a job based if they have their 401k administered by Vanguard vs Fidelity?
Similarly, I've never known anyone to take or refuse a job based on a comparison of dental plans or vision plans or medical plans. They're sometimes nice side perks, but if I like the company/job/position, I'm taking it. If I don't like it, the fact that they have a better dental plan than where I'm currently at is a non-factor for probably almost everyone who'd be in that position.
tl;dr - I've never known anyone take or refuse a job because of any specifics in a benefits package.
I've never known anyone take or refuse a job because of any specifics in a benefits package.
How many people do you know with families, or with serious health conditions? Differences in benefits can make a real difference in cost-of-living if anyone in your family falls outside the "healthy 20-something with no chronic issues" bracket.
It may be hard to see these people in the startup world, because they often steer clear of even speaking to companies that can't provide these benefits.
I've known people who've taken jobs with benefits vs jobs without benefits. But I've never known someone comparing two jobs and saying "well, this one has a $500 deductible and this other one has $1000 deductible, but the first one also has 2% matching vested over 4 years, and the second one has 4% matching vested over 3 years, so I'll go to job X".
No, but there are people who say "this one offers to cover costs for my medical condition, and this one doesn't". And if those costs run into 10s of thousands of dollars, that kind of matters.
And if you're bringing any smarts to the table, you know what conditions you're especially at risk for, too, so presumably you do pick the insurance plan that is most likely to protect you from catastrophic financial losses.
(And if you make less than the tech industry usually does - say, only $25K a year - that $1000 deductible sure is a lot more expensive than the $500 one)
If you redefine "benefits", you might have a point.
Many jobs have health insurance, and thus "benefits". Many health insurances are rather picky with what they do/don't cover. If you claim that only "insurance that covers what I need covered, at a price I deem acceptable", can be called a "benefit", then sure, your mention is valid.
I've done that. If the jobs are relatively equal in other aspects, it makes sense to look at the benefits. Also, I've found that the quality of benefits a company offers is a good indication of how well employees are treated. Generally, companies with awful benefits don't think very highly of their employees.
Similarly, benefits like Dental, Medical, etc especially if you've got a family means less risk and money in your pocket if it's paid for and you have a great plan. While it would, of course, be better to just get "straight cash homey" and try to deal with it yourself I would argue that benefits are still a signficant factor in the job decision process.
As for the foosball table et al - that's more a cultural thing and less a direct benefit in my mind.
That said - totally agree that benefits are secondary to the dream and the vision of the company as a part of one's decision.