Company offers two free homes to its workers to encourage them to stay

Companies are feeling under threat by the so-called “Great Resignation”, which has led to numerous employees leaving their workforce. Some have responded by offering workers big bonuses and higher pay to refrain from leaving.

However, one Florida-based company has outdone them all by enticing employees to stay with the offer of a chance to win one of two homes it will pay for in full.

Mechanical One, which is an air conditioning and plumbing company based in Altamonte Springs, Fla., with around 100 employees, says the two, mortgage-free homes will be given to a couple of its employees at random, following a drawing of lots, next year.

The company has purchased two lots for three-bedroom, two-bath homes and is allocating $500,000 for the project.

“My passion is really trying to reinvent employee appreciation,” Jason James, president and CEO, told the Orlando Sentinel last month about the drawing. “Our business model is really, if we take care of our people, they are going to do more for us than any marketing budget.”

James said a home incentive seemed more luring than a car or vacation giveaway. “Many of our employees own a home already, but a lot of them rent,” he adds.

Eligible employees for next December’s draw must be with the company for a full year. They also must take a financial literacy class, which will be paid for by the company, and complete 20 hours of community service at a nonprofit of their choosing.

Anthony Mitchell, an operations manager for Mechanical One, said employees are excited about the chance to win a free home. “There’s nothing like coming home to the wife and saying, ‘Honey, I’m bringing home a new house,’” he said.