Now, catered food, vacation time, on-the-clock personal charity endeavors, nap rooms, permission and encouragement to work from home, and websites dedicated to ensuring companies are pleasing to work for are just a few examples of the rapidly changing corporate culture.

Reports show the flexibility and benefits that some companies are willing to go above and beyond to offer have a lot to do with a new generation of workers who have high expectations, an inclination to be picky when it comes to workplace culture and a willingness to share their positive and negative experiences via social media.

Glassdoor Provides a Look at Companies from the Inside Out

Companies not only have to compete to ensure their customers are satisfied, but are under increased pressure to do the same for current and future employees. An In the Black article points out entities like Glassdoor, which offers a database of employers that feature reviews from employees working at the companies that post jobs on their site. According to the story, the company has 7.5 million reviews and reports covering 340,000 companies in 190 counties.

Michael McQueen, a social researcher who is studying “Generation Y,” the youngest cohort in the workforce, said those who preceded them, Gen-X, a group that entered the workforce when the economy was down and unemployment was high, sometimes accuse the Gen-Y Millennials of being spoiled.

He said it’s not uncommon for new job candidates to throw questions like: “Why should I work for you?” at future employers during interviews. “[One] Gen Xer who had entered the workforce during a recession when unemployment was at 9% … found this attitude staggering and even offensive,” notes McQueen. “However it isn’t just about perks and pay packet. Many Gen Ys see a company’s corporate social responsibility as a critical ingredient in the employment relationship. They don’t want to be associated with a brand that doesn’t match their own values.”

Millennials want inspiring leadership, companies that value their input and give them room to grow, he said.  In return companies will get a slate of workers who are creative, tech smart and good at networking if they can provide those qualities.

Companies Pulling Out All the Stops to Attract Top Talent

Employee confidence is up, and workers expect to be well-compensated for their work, studies show, according to a Boston.com article. And, it seems to have an impact on what companies are offering.

In order to foster a creative environment, and one that brings the needs of all parties involved in line, companies are increasingly using game rooms with video games and pool tables, catered food and even laundry services to promote positive work cultures.

Doug Schade, a technology recruiter for WinterWyman, said perks like those are especially common in the startup sector. There, each new hire is a potential cornerstone in the foundation of a new company.

“A small startup could be just three to four people in a room trying to figure out the best work style,” he said. “The startup space is an incubator for new benefit ideas, like beers on tap, a game room, or ping pong tables.” He also said some companies have even gone as far as offering travel bonuses, unlimited vacation time, and pets in the workplace.

David Pollard, senior vice president of Talent Fusion by Monster, said job seekers are “very idealistic” and want to work for companies with common values. Monster, for one, encourages charitable pursuits while on the clock. Simply offering Millennials more money may not be enough to lure top talent, he said.

The Rise of Telecommuting

Another flex-perk on the upswing is working off-site, perhaps from one’s own home. Benzinga reported that telecommuting is up 80% in the last decade and the “global remote worker” population is 1.3 billion people. Further, one out of every two employees has a job that could be done remotely. According to information from Benzinga, telecommuters work more and are more productive than site-based employees.

FlexJobs, which specializes in telecommuting and flexible job postings, analyzed hundreds of companies in an effort to identify organizations that “openly discuss their dedication to having a distributed workforce and the benefits it provides to the company's strategy and culture.” A list of those 76 companies can be found here.