Office snacks, happy hours and freebies are back for Meta employees following 21,000 layoffs

The employees are slowly finding their way back to office life, recovering from a severe morale slump brought on by the unfortunate layoff of 20,000 of their colleagues over the past year. There's a silver lining to this recovery: the revival of several popular pre-pandemic perks, ranging from branded T-shirts to delightful happy hours.

As per a sources report, Meta employees have been living under a cloud of uncertainty, as the company underwent successive rounds of layoffs.

This uncertainty caused a drop in productivity, as employees struggled to determine their roles and responsibilities.

Surviving employees grappled with the emotional toll of losing friends and the dwindling of workplace perks that once made their jobs enjoyable, according to accounts from both current and former employees.

Now, Meta, the parent company of Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, is bringing back those branded T-shirts, a gesture that was considered too extravagant during CEO Mark Zuckerberg's proclaimed "year of efficiency" over the past eight months.

The reintroduction of these branded items is seen by some as a positive indicator of the company's performance, especially after two consecutive quarters of surpassing Wall Street's profit and revenue expectations.

Additionally, Meta has begun rehiring some employees who were previously laid off, as reported by anonymous employees discussing internal conditions.

At Meta's Menlo Park, California headquarters, most of the restaurants that had closed during the pandemic have reopened. Dining hours have been adjusted to an earlier 6 p.m., laundry services and haircuts are back, Thursday happy hours are in full swing, and unique food vendors have set up shop.

These changes are aimed at making in-person office work more appealing, as the company now requires employees to be in the office three days a week.

Employees are not only noticing the return of these perks but also sensing greater support for them a stark contrast to last fall when the company's snack bars were noticeably depleted.

This decline in snack options coincided with a period of poor stock performance for Meta, as investors expressed doubts about Mark Zuckerberg's vision for virtual reality, and advertisers tightened their budgets.

The depleted snack bars foreshadowed a more significant event: Meta's first major layoff, affecting 13 per cent of its workforce, or 11,000 employees.

In March, Zuckerberg announced further layoffs, leaving staff in suspense about who would be affected. Subsequent layoffs occurred in April and May, ultimately reducing the workforce by an additional 10,000 employees and eliminating 5,000 open positions.

The extended nature of these layoffs added to the anxiety, as employees wondered about their job security and the future of their collaborative projects. Meanwhile, other major tech companies also imposed hiring freezes and layoffs, making the prospect of job hunting even more daunting.

Despite these challenges, Meta employees are slowly regaining their sense of security and workplace satisfaction, buoyed by the return of cherished perks and the company's improved financial performance.