Fewer Parties, More Treatments and Workshops as Employee Perks Change After 2.5 Years of War
After nearly three years of a reality described as crazy, war, hostages, economic uncertainty, alongside massive technological change, employees are tired. The signs are strong, and they are pushing employee experience and welfare managers at many high-tech companies to change their approach. Fewer lavish parties and glittering company events, and more small workshops, treatments, or activities with meaning and personal adaptation to employees’ needs.
This shift is part of a broader change in mindset in high tech in light of the situation. If in the past employee experience departments were measured by the number of events, the size and glamour of productions, and the number of celebrities who appeared at the year-end party, today the success metric is how much employees feel their workplace provides them with a stable anchor in a turbulent reality.
"Quiet stress"
"We live in a country that has gone through a very turbulent period in recent years, with war, hostages and ongoing uncertainty. Even today, the overall feeling is one of tension and uncertainty. In such a reality, the workplace becomes an anchor of stability and certainty for employees. Accordingly, our employee welfare strategy has changed significantly over the past two and a half years," says Liron Or, head of corporate social responsibility and employee experience at AppsFlyer.
According to her, during periods of war and national challenges, the company avoids holding large festive events and focuses investment on activities that provide real support to employees. "Our employees are required to keep working and leading even when the reality outside is very complicated. As a global organization with 19 offices around the world, whose headquarters is in Israel, it is important for us to set an example and provide employees with the stability and support they need."
The company gives a quarterly grant of 150 dollars, allowing employees to decide for themselves how to invest in themselves, in classes, shows, treatments or other activities that contribute to their personal well-being. In addition, employees receive the Be Well service, which provides ongoing advice and support in a variety of fields, access to the Calm app, and four Recharge days a year on the company’s account.
"Our goal is to allow employees to stop, take care of themselves and find balance, even during a particularly challenging period. We want to remind them that it is okay to feel that not everything is okay, and to make sure support is available to them," she says.
At Elad Systems, the focus is on meetings within parent units and teams, with activities and workshops that allow people to talk, open up and connect. "The new world of work and the current reality in the country, after rounds of fighting and reserve soldiers being called up for additional rounds, employees who went through a period without sleep, family complexities and more, required adjustments to an intimate employee experience that empowers people and brings a sense of optimism and a soft landing. If in the past we focused mainly on large and impressive events, today the emphasis is on the organization seeing the employees, understanding what will do them good, all while treating them individually," says Inbal Sinman, the company’s VP of HR.
"For me, the world of human resources today is measured less by the scale of the production and more by the ability to understand what employees really need as people."
Samdar Mori, VP PEOPLE at BUYME, also identifies the same change. According to her, in recent years there has been a shift away from an emphasis on social events toward activities that give employees practical tools for coping with overload, stress and uncertainty. "In a period of intense routine and a reality full of frequent changes, we realized that employees, and managers too, are in a kind of quiet stress," she says. "Alongside our happy hours and social activities, we felt there was a need to expand the framework to deeper mental well-being as well. We wanted to give employees a practical, accessible and immediate tool, one that does not require advance preparation and can easily be implemented within the daily routine."
According to her, the timing of the change is a necessity of reality. "We live in a complex reality characterized by constant uncertainty, restlessness and many distractions that create daily emotional and mental overload. In recent years, the workplace has become, in many cases, the employees’ safe and stable space. Precisely because of that, it is important for us to provide them with a real support package."
For example, the company will soon hold a 45-minute breathing workshop, in which employees will learn how conscious use of breathing can improve their ability to cope with overload, stress and everyday challenges.
Similarly, at Salesforce, the concept of organizational welfare has also undergone a significant change in recent years, from a focus on flashy mega events and point perks to a deeper approach that places at the center the added value for employees, the sense of belonging and the impact on the community in which the company operates. Accordingly, the company shifted the emphasis to smaller, more intimate activities at the team level, volunteering and community contribution initiatives, enrichment and learning meetings, and strengthening the connection between employees and the company’s values. This approach reflects an understanding that organizational welfare today is measured by the ability to create meaning, connection and real impact, inside and outside the organization.
For example, the company’s Shavuot event this year was dedicated to honoring creators and small business owners from the north, who were especially affected during the war.
"Organizational welfare today is much more than an event or a perk, it is the ability to create a sense of value for employees, make an impact, and connect the company’s success with a positive effect on the people and environment around it," says Nili Gur, Senior Director of Employee Engagement at Salesforce.
At Artlist, they offer psychological support as well as inspirational and enrichment lectures. "The dynamic reality led us to open up to additional types of meetings for employees, so for example we regularly hold inspirational and enrichment lectures with leading figures such as Roni Kuban, Yehudit Katz and Yoram Yovel, workshops and activities for employees’ children and the whole family, and a variety of clubs and activities such as yoga, Pilates and padel," says Shiri Krinsky, VP HR at the company.
At the high-tech company Group 107, which employs 250 workers around the world, large events with hundreds of employees and sometimes their family members were replaced by smaller and more intimate events. "Today our employees are spread across different cities and countries, many work remotely, and the need has shifted from a large and impressive event to a more personal and meaningful experience. We have moved to focusing on team meetings, smaller bonding evenings, local activities, a combination of online and offline, addressing specific employee needs, and much more investment in learning and personal development," says Edi Katz, the company’s CEO.
"Organizational welfare is no longer measured by the size of the event but by the value it creates for people. A good activity is one that creates positive emotion, a sense of meaning, real connection between employees and a sense of belonging to the organization. In the end, the person is at the center, and the ability to truly see them is what builds a strong organizational culture."
End of parties, a change in mindset
The change is not only in the nature or size of the events, but in the very concept of employee welfare. "The world of work in 2026 signals the absolute end of the superficial perception that saw employee welfare as a collection of 'perks' or production events. Employees in 2026 are no longer satisfied with 'Band-Aids' in the form of company parties, they demand a holistic welfare infrastructure embedded in the organizational DNA," says Liran Wolf, owner and CEO of Wellspire.
According to her, the shift is from "welfare events" to organizational readiness. "This is no longer a voluntary perk, but the resilience of the entire system in the face of economic volatility, technological acceleration and built-in burnout."
According to her, data from the NAMI-Ipsos 2026 survey point to a worrying situation: 53% of employees report chronic burnout, 38% say work demands directly harm their mental health, and 40% fear for their job security because of the introduction of AI. "Organizations that integrate welfare into the core infrastructure report 20% to 25% higher productivity," she says.
Ilanit Levi Biton, CEO of iTalent, says what we are seeing today in high tech is not just a change in welfare budgets, but a deep shift in mindset. "After years of a culture that tended toward ostentation, companies understand that employees are looking for financial stability, meaning, flexibility and balance, not more gimmicks. In a period of uncertainty, resilience and personal welfare benefits become a management tool that strengthens organizational resilience and allows employees to keep functioning in a challenging environment. This is part of the same cautious maturity that characterizes the market, less noise, more depth."
Must be happy
While some companies are choosing to tone down events and move toward intimacy and workshops, there are also those choosing the opposite direction. Karmit Shiffer, VP of Human Resources at Sela, a global provider of cloud and AI computing solutions, says that דווקא now people need to celebrate and be happy.
"In the past two years, organizations in Israel have been dealing with a complex reality of uncertainty, intensive reserve duty and heavy emotional stress that accompanies everyone. The initial instinct of many HR departments in the industry was to reduce activities, lower their profile and move into a mode of quiet contraction. But at Sela, we chose to approach the challenge from the opposite direction."
According to her, "We believe that דווקא now, our central role is to create strong anchors of normality, community and joy for employees. This does not come from being disconnected from reality, on the contrary, it is an active choice to build mental and organizational resilience, and from a deep desire to return to sanity and celebrate life despite everything, by injecting positive energy, breaking the routine and creating a sense of belonging."
Accordingly, the company will soon hold a giant company party at the Port of Tel Aviv that will include a live performance, and it continues activities such as happy hours and a cheesecake competition for Shavuot. At the same time, Shiffer says, "We realized that employees today are also looking for added value and professional development that will recharge them beyond the news. As a result, we also integrated learning and growth, created learning meetings on the hottest trends, such as a fascinating lecture held this week on AI agents, and opened advanced professional courses for them."
