Apple

Very good pay and benefits. Management genuinely appreciates good work done. They provide good compensation raises and bonuses to keep you. Leave credits to you fairly. And the stock appreciation does give you some good upside. The employee purchase plan (EPP) is good. Plus, they have EPP+ which gives extra money for purchases every three years. The company buys and uses some of the best software packages from vendors, so you are enabled to do very high-quality work using the best software there is.

Very hectic work life. My group has a requirement that nobody can take more than 2 weeks off at a stretch. But now, with remote work arrangements, you can work from remote geographies for up to 4 weeks a year and can combine it with vacations. This policy is generally working out well enough so far.

The ESPP policy limits you to no more than 10% of your salary to be invested. There are no matching rewards on ESPP. But the stock appreciation and stability of the stock price probably make up for it.

Trust in employees is a two-way street. It is reasonable to expect employees to respect company secrets. But in turn, the company should respect employees’ need for long leaves, sabbaticals, and other means to refresh themselves and come back to work with great vigor and newer perspectives.

It may also be a good idea to consider offering a learning sabbatical every 7 years to allow folks to take a 3-month leave to learn new skills and come back to apply them to work. The company benefits, and the employees get the time to dedicate to learning.