You think days off (I'd go further and say standard working hours/days is sometimes negotiable) and actual job responsibilities are meaningless? I'd say they're usually a lot more meaningful than equity, which is literally nothing in the common case that the company doesn't have a positive exit event. When the business decides it's time to cut costs and people your equity isn't a shield (unless it comes with a board seat and majority voting rights) and the cost cutting is likely a hint that your equity isn't going to convert to cash either.

I agree there's not much point in negotiating travel stipends or gym memberships instead of the equivalent cash (except in edge cases where you're the top of a salary band corporate policy won't move on, but they'll pay for perks) but employee equity is also basically only an alternative to cash compensation you might get offered by richer employers, just in the form of a high risk illiquid investment which occasionally works out as much more than you could ever have earned in salary and is more often a decentish bonus years later or absolutely nothing.