One of these "crazy" perks isn't so crazy

Ilya Pozin has published a list of 22 crazy perks you should ask your boss for. Although I don't work for a startup with millions of venture capital lying around in the halls, I thought I'd compare my current perks to this list - and I actually have four of these perks.

3. A neverending stockpile of free coffee.

Flavia AND Nespresso, thank you very much.

4. How about a little something special to bring you back to your childhood?

Well, perhaps I don't have a play area like the one illustrated in the article, but I do have building blocks, a light-up bouncing ball, and other toys.

12. A state-of-the-art health club in your building.

I gave myself this one, although it's probably a stretch to refer to our health club as "state-of-the-art"...or, for that matter, as a "health club." But we do have a room with gym equipment that keeps me happy (although I should use it more often).

Which brings us to the fourth perk that I have:

22. Ergonomic office furniture

Since when is this considered a "crazy perk"? Shane Dayton provides an example of the cost of NOT providing ergonomic equipment.

Consider a common office ailment, carpal tunnel syndrome, and the corrective surgical procedure. Surgery is the solution available if carpal tunnel syndrome does not respond well within three to twelve months of non-surgical treatments. While an office worker is suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome his or her productivity is reduced. If surgery is required a worker will lose one or two days recovery time if the non-dominant hand is operated on, though up to two weeks is required. If the dominant hand is operated on, six to twelve weeks of downtime can be expected, depending on the success of physical therapy. For a company and employee, this is expensive.

I tried to find the opposing argument - that ergonomic furniture was a waste of time and money - and instead found more arguments in favor of ergonomic office furniture.

Doesn't sound like a "crazy perk" to me. Am I missing something?