Scott Adams, who talent was not so much just being funny as being seriously insightful and making us laugh about it, named the OA4 concept. He suggested that companies truly serious about their employees would be OA4 Companies and throw their employees Out At 4pm.
I'm into my 13th year of professional programming now, finally working for myself, doing only what I want with exactly the tools I choose, and getting OA4 is almost impossible. OA2am is currently more like it. But the truth of all-nighters and suchlike 'dedication', (and I pulled a 24 hour special only last week for a client deadline), is that it's just like credit card spending; sooner or later you have to pay it back.
The reward isn't in the perks, it's in the job. Help people do their job well - not compulsively, obsessively, heroically or with guilt. I'm not a better person for busting a gut whatever my feelings suggest; I'm a better person for starting at the same time every day; finishing at the same time every afternoon; and getting plenty of breaks away from the desk. Sometimes you do good work; sometimes you don't. If you follow a healthy routine, you'll do more good work more often. A good company as Adams suggests, would be one that encourages us to be better people.
Hey, anyone want to write some Cocoa with me? I'll let you Out At 4pm! :-)