Trend Watch.(Brief Article)

As dot.com stock options look less enticing than they once did, tech firms are scrambling to offer other, more creative perks, report the Washington Post.

For instance, Net2000 Communications, a Herndon, Virginia, telecom firm whose share price went from $40 to about $5 at press time, now offers an optional four-day work-week, in which people work four 10-hour days or four 9.5-days.

ThinkXML, a Rockville, Maryland, firm, lets employees participate in a sabbatical program to combat boredom and burnout that seem to go hand-in-hand with tech careers. People who stay with the firm for three years get a month off with pay and benefits, five-year vets get a …