https://www.siliconvalley.com/2021/10/04/how-some-bay-area-businesses-are-trying-to-entice-workers-to-return/

Fast Water Heater in San Jose is offering $1,000 referral bonuses to anyone who can help them find new workers. Bloom Energy is touting mental health counseling benefits and up to a $1,200 signing bonus for new hires as it looks to expand. And in Danville, restaurant owner Darren Matte has eked out a small hourly pay boost to attract workers.

Throughout the Bay Area, companies both large and small are struggling to refill their ranks after last year’s business shutdowns drove laid off workers to seek pandemic unemployment assistance or find new jobs in other industries. But as bigger companies offer increasingly generous rewards, smaller companies with leaner budgets are struggling to compete in a worker driven market.