Rippling, DoorDash partnership brings the office breakroom to remote work

Payroll and benefits company Rippling has teamed up with food delivery app DoorDash to bring perks to their employees working remotely.

Rippling’s employer clients will be automatically enrolled into DoorDash for Work, a program that offers employees DashPass and customized meal stipends. Employers will pick up the tab through their Rippling account.

Food delivery apps saw a spike in use throughout 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to stay home. Indeed, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub and Postmates saw a combined $5.5 billion in revenue in 2020, according toMarketWatch. That’s a jump from the combined $2.5 billion in revenue they saw in 2019.

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“There is a sense of tribe that is lost when we’re all staring at each other on Zoom calls because of a lack of social interaction that often happens over meals,” says Matt Macinnis, chief operating officer at Rippling. “[We’re] trying to find ways to deliver benefits and follow through on a very basic commitment that you make to an employee when they join your company.”

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Rippling employers will be able to offer $0 food delivery and reduced service fees on Doordash and Caviar for only $8 per employee per month; employees save an average of $4.43 per order with DashPass. Employers will also be able to set budgets and guidelines for expensed meals.

“Food in particular is the community piece and [this] lets employees feel like you’re taking care of them,” Macinnis says. “It’s a much more emotional component of benefits.”

Many employers have taken on greater initiatives to provide employees with benefits that enhance and support their emotional well-being. Organizations including Noodles and Company, ClassPass and Prudential have all offered employees programs designed to combat the stress of working from home in the COVID environment.

“COVID has taken us apart and it's denied us the opportunity to share a meal with our coworkers,” Macinnis says. “This is really about bringing a degree of humanity back through a very important benefit.”