In good times they go wild with the perks--yoga classes, volleyball courts, family rooms. But the real test comes in tough times. Priorities may change, layoffs may be unavoidable. FORTUNE's 100 Best Companies, however, are still trying hard to do right by their staff.

For example, at No. 21-ranked Pfizer, rather than cut benefits, the company actually expanded them. Employees now receive three weeks' vacation after one year of service; previously, they had to wait five years. The company also increased its adoption aid benefit from $5,000 to $10,000. And it began offering a vision plan as part of its health-insurance coverage.

Despite Wall Street woes, No. 35 Goldman Sachs said it has maintained all its benefits this year, including a $5,000 contribution to every employee's 401(k) plan. Plus, it recently added a managed-care vision plan to its health-insurance coverage.

J.M. Family Enterprises, a Deerfield Beach, Fla., Toyota distributor ranked 14 on our list, also put more perks on its already lavish list of benefits--which include on-site hair salons, a medical clinic staffed with two physicians, a lap pool, and recognition cruises on a company yacht. In the past year, it opened an on-site child-care center and began offering retirees with 10 years' service a health-insurance plan in which the premium is split 50-50.

If companies like these end up feeling like more than just a place to work, that's the point. Says an employee at No. 4 Xilinx: "There's a sense that we sink or swim as one big family."