This Company Is Offering New Hires $20K to Go on Safari Instead of Starting Work Right Away

Citing the current state of the economy, some consulting firms are providing incentives to those willing to delay their start dates.

New hires at popular consulting companies are being offered a unique situation — accepting a job with a significantly delayed start date, combined with a one-time bonus to bridge the gap and allow for travel, adventure, and education.

McKinsey and Bain, consulting firms both based in the United States, have been reaching out to some incoming employees to delay their start date in exchange for a sum of money — as much as $40,000 —  to bridge the time, according to a recent report from the Australian Financial Review.

Bain has said a $20,000 payment for the delayed workers could be used to take a safari, reported The Wall Street Journal. With popular safaris being offered for $10,995, these future employees should have no problem finding a unique opportunity to apply this one-time bonus. Future employees are also encouraged to use the funds to learn a new language, work at a non-profit, or even learn yoga.  Travel + Leisure reached out to Bain for a comment, but had not received a reply at the time of publish.

Companies have been delaying start dates and citing changing economic conditions.

“I was recently notified because of the economy and that work is slow, all new grad hires have to have their start dates delayed by 3 months,” one person wrote in a Reddit forum, and asked for advice on whether it was a signal their job was in jeopardy of potential layoff before they started. The employee did not disclose which company they were joining.

For the future McKinsey and Bain employees, the financial payment during the delayed period may be a signal of commitment that their jobs are safe.

Providing funds for wellness has become a popular benefit in corporate work. For example, Adobe offers full-time employees $600 a year to use on wellness activities, which include yoga classes, CrossFit, dance classes, personal training, and more, as listed on the benefits site.

Other companies have woven in travel and reimbursement to their benefits package to entice prospective employees to join, and current employees to stay. Instead of paid vacation time, these companies are actually paying for the vacation. For example, Airbnb touts that they offer employees an “annual travel and experiences credit” on their careers page.

Evernote, a tech company focused on note-taking, provides an annual vacation stipend to encourage companies to take vacation. The stipend is $1,000 for breaks of over five days, according to their career site.

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