New York startup introduces workplace perk that could get employees laid

New York-based dating app startup Hinge is taking employee perks to the next level, giving every staff member $US200 ($281.80) each month to go on dates.

The startup also offers healthy food and drinks in the office, weekly catered breakfasts and lunches, unlimited annual leave and exercise benefits, but now employees can also enjoy subsidised socialising, whether it’s a new romance or nurturing a long-term relationship.

According to a report on Inc. the perk is intended to make sure company culture remains aligned with its mission: to create a dating culture that encourages healthy relationships.

It can be used anywhere in the US, and employees will then leave reviews of their dates on the app, to help Hinge members make better dating decisions.

Hinge’s director of communications Jean-Marie McGrath told Inc. the startup is “urging employees to build healthy relationships outside the office and then share their fun, unique experiences with members”.

So far, employees have rated a pop-up playground for dogs followed by tapas and drinks (the best date one employee has ever been on), Aladdin on Broadway (middling reviews) and a wrecking club, where couples smash dishes and electronics with baseball bats (not romantic, but fun).

Conceived to challenge the ‘hookup’ dating culture, Hinge was founded in 2011 and has raised $20 million in funding, to date, according to Crunchbase.

Its membership grew more than four-fold in the past year, and in June this year Match Group acquired a 51% stake in the startup.

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