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The snack options at the San Francisco office of Ticketfly, shown from 2015, include cereal, energy bars, crackers, chips, bananas, nuts, chocolate and candy.(Photo: Ticketfly)

There's a lot that Lindsay Duran has beenthinking about as some of her co-workers are slowly starting to come back to the office.

As thechief marketing officer at Zilliant, a B2B startup in Austin, Texas, Duran is helping to make sure there's enough open meetingspace andproper social distancing for her colleagues and visiting customers, many available masks if necessary, and plenty of hand sanitizer.

Butafter 14 monthsaway, there areotheroffice essentials, perks if you will, that she's also taking into consideration:Will there be an abundanceof snacks around, and, will "Taco Tuesday" and beeron Friday afternoonsbe back?

"The short answer, yes, we see a lot of those perks returning," she said.

"At Zilliant, we have what we call an adult culture, asthe health and safety of our colleagues definitely come first. And, aswe start to get critical mass,'Taco Tuesday' will proceed, and so will 'Beer 30.'

Upon returning to the office, Zilliant executives Samantha Leung, left, and Lindsay Duran, right, wanted to make sure certain perks including Taco Tuesdays, returned as well to the Austin, Texas-based startup.(Photo: Zilliant)

While serious discussions are ensuingfor several companies contemplating how to safely welcome back their employees back to the office more than a year into the pandemic, for some employerswho incentivize workers within-office perks, an intriguing question may popup: Will there still be free snacks and other amenitiesavailable?

Here are three big changes employees can expect as they go back to work after the COVID-19 pandemic. USA TODAY

And, for some smaller tech companies, like early- or midstage startups, these incentives, such as a fully stocked fridge, an abundance of snacksand the free or occasional meals, matter. They arenot only a way to attract talentbut also usedto boost creativity,productivity, and a little fun.

Companies who offer perks should not see them as costs, but rather as investments...

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"Absolutely having some or all of those perks will help if affordable," said Ben Waber, president, andco-founder of Humanyze, a Boston-based company that tracks workplace analytics.

He cites a survey Humanyze recently conducted that found while nearly half of respondents are not confident that their company will have a well-thought-out strategy upon their return to the office, almost73% of respondents saidbeing unable to collaborate with their colleagues in person was the biggest challenge they've experienced during the pandemic.

New workplace rules: More companies will let employees work from home or hire workers who live far away

Co-workers missing working alongside each other,as well as some perks, could be what would draw themback to the office, even if it's in a hybrid workplace structure, Waber said.

"What offices are good at is creating serendipitous interactions, building trust, and brainstorming because it can sometimes be hard to do that remotely," Waber said. "Companies who offer perks should not see them as costs, but rather as investments to create those interactions."

Meanwhile, Ben Johnson, the president and CEO of Spruce, an Austin, Texas-based startup whose app provideson-demand servicesfor apartment residents with chores such as laundry,pet care, and COVID-19 sanitation, briefly closed before reopening in May 2020 andhas had a flex policy, keepinghis officewith two large bay doors openas he's letmostemployees work remotely as many come by for socially-distanced happy hours on Fridays.

Pre-pandemic, Johnsondid offeroffice perks such as free lunches, the occasionalcatered meals,beer kegs, and as muchTopoChico (the popular mineral water originating fromMexico)as employeescan drink.

"Being in the officewas a big part of our culture," said Johnson, who in addition to the Friday happy hours,hired aproduction company to make Spruce's virtual holiday party look like an awards show.

Spruce executives Ed Ryan, Paul Clark, and Rick Ford, roast marshmallows outside their headquarters during a recent happy hour. The Austin, Texas-based startup is among many companies debating whether to continue certain perks such as snacks and meals as several employees return back to the office.(Photo: Spruce)

Currently, Johnson said he pivotedfrom officeperks (with the exception of the TopoChico), while mostof his employeeswillcontinue to work from home three to fourdays a week, to remote perks.

This includes free home cleaningservices, unlimited personal time off, and letting them work anywhere, as Johnson has seen staff more than double to 50 employees as the companyprepares for another round of funding from venture capitalists.

"We have an intense culture here, where everyone is doing their best, so being able to work from anywhere is absolutely liberating," said Johnson, who also hopesto eventually see them all during Spruce's first companywideevent in more than a year, a boat party on Lake Austin, this summer.

For Brian Platz, co-founder and co-CEO of Fluree, a Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based early-stage startup that providesblockchain database solutions, having office perks is now virtually essential in a competitive tech space.

About six weeks ago,some ofFluree'sgrowing staff started trickling into the office, located in formertobacco factories converted into startup hubs. This came as many of them worked remotely and even met for virtual happy hours usingTopiaspatial video software.

As an incentive,the companystarted bringing in free lunchesa few times a week, especially for three recent hires they had never met in person.

"We have the challenge of 'how do we take these new hires and make them feel a part of ourculture when they havent really met anyone else?'" Platz said. "We already had the snacks, the coffees, and the drinks. We hope it'san incentive for people to come back in more."

Regarding the free lunches, Platz said the decision came after some discussions. "Were a tech company, after all. We're notgoing completely overboard, but theres an expectation of having LaCroixand some snacks in the fridge," hesaid.

Platz said as the Centers for Disease Control offersongoing guidance on mask-wearing and social distancing in public, he feels companies like Fluree have to be flexible and know what's important, even if that includes mentioning office perks during interviews while trying to attracttop talent.

"I might even lead with what our perks aretoday, where I probably wouldnt have before," Platz said. "Weve got to be fluid right now asIm fairly convinced thehybrid workplace is here to stay. I expect this to become the new normal."

Back at Zilliant, Duran said she's been encouraged to see some of her colleagues return tothe office, even ordering them tacos for lunch. As for snacks, there'sa break roomwitha fridge full of sparkling water and soda and stocked with trail mix, granola barsand chips.

Duran thinks that's an encouraging sign of workplace normalcy, and that if all goes well, might bea bit bustling very soon.

I hope so, she said.

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OK, but will there be snacks? As workers return to the office, some perks like Taco Tuesdays may be in question - USA TODAY