Why should one work? What are the perks at work, and why are employee perks important? How do they benefit the employees?ย
Whether high or low paid, work is essentially important as other factors for an individualโs health and well-being. It helps one gain confidence and builds self-esteem.
Above all, it rewards us financially too. So, one should get back to work as soon as possible after an injury, sickness, or vacation.
1. Employee Perks of Working
1.1. Everyday Challenges
There is always something to look forward to at work, whether it be a new challenge or something you have been trying to accomplish for a few days. Such challenges help you develop yourself by bringing out your inherent potential.
1.2. Meeting Your Target
When you accomplish your goals at work, even if they are small and easily achievable, it gives you a sense of pride. Any achievement makes you feel important to your organization, as you can contribute your bit.
Establishing a positive workplace culture, providing incentives and benefits that motivate employees and draw top talent to the hiring process are critical for a companyโs overall success since they increase employee satisfaction.
1.3. Build Contacts
Work not only helps you enhance your good qualities but also find support through socializing with your colleagues and getting to know them better. Also, socializing at work helps us later when we are needed to work in teams on projects.
The non-wage rewards that go beyond pay and benefits are known as perks.ย Additionally known as fringe benefits, they play a significant role in the company culture.
Perks for employees donโt directly affect engagement. However, if strategically managed, they can help your engagement goals by reiterating your organizationโs culture and values and creating an employer brand that draws and keeps talent.
1.4. Financial Support
Working with dedication also helps us support ourselves and our families financially, which is a boon in itself. When one is financially strong, one is then able to explore his strengths and other areas too.
1.5. Health Benefits
Employee benefits bring health benefits along with it too. It has been proved repeatedly through many surveys that oneโs mental health and physical health is generally improved through work.
Once you realize these numerous work benefits, it is natural to be confused among the various job options and difficult to choose the best one for yourself.
Various factors play a great role while choosing a job offer over others. Some of them may be the growth opportunities in the job or the commute length.
Many people take such factors to be perks at work, but they actually are just a few circumstantial opportunities that most of employees look for.
Also Read:ย How People Can Work Better Together
2. What Are Perks at Work?
A perk can be thought of as something that helps the employees perform their job better and brings out the best of human resources.
In other words, a perk is something that keeps the employees motivated, and they look forward to more work. Some traditional perks at work consist of discount travel fares, a company car, which an employee may use as a personal vehicle, and access to premium hotel suites and gym memberships.
Recent studies have shown that company employees tend to weigh perks and benefit more than the salary. But what are some of the perks that really matter to employees?
2.1. Affordable Health Insurance
Around 40 percent of employee survey respondents mentioned that they value healthcare insurance way more than a pay raise.
One of the major reasons behind employer sponsored health insurance is that public health insurance is not affordable in many places. So, this is one of the feasible ways for employees to have access to better healthcare services.
Above that, an employee is even more satisfied knowing that his family is covered in a major illness or accident through health savings accounts. Many companies provide their employees with this facility.
2.2. Work From Home
A majority of employees desire a flexible schedule with flexible hours that includes working from home as one of their company perks whenever they need to, it also helps maintain a good work-life balance.
It has become one of the most desired perks for modern times employees and one of the best employee benefits for balancing their professional development and personal life, especially productive employees. While fulfilling the family and educational duties, work from home becomes is a boon for them.
A flexible work schedule also ensures an employeeโs better quality of life. Especially for those with children at home, work from home is a necessity. Employees feel that in order to focus more on their family when needed, they do not have to sacrifice their careers, companies also are more focused on employee happiness.
2.3. Tuition Reimbursement
Tuition costs for both public as well as private colleges have been continuously rising since the last decade.
The same is the case for graduate as well as professional courses, with average tuition fees for a top B-school being more than 100,000 dollars in total and a law school costing around 50,000 dollars per annum.
This is the reason why the employees of an organization highly value (student loan debt) tuition reimbursement. When one is working along with studying for a course, it alleviates not only the tuition fees but also the opportunity costs.
On the other hand, staying unemployed doubles the actual cost and results in a major loss.
2.4. Gym Membership
Imagine this: You work for 8-10 hours on weekdays and put your all in a stressful job. You do have a gym membership but are not able to find enough time in the morning to commute all the way there to workout.
After returning from work, you are too exhausted to exercise and put it on tomorrow. It becomes a continuous cycle.
Everyone in modern times has fallen into this trap. However, sitting for too long at work can result in long-term ill health effects, including diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
As employees, people are very much aware of how costly healthcare services are.
Several companies have found a solution to this problem and have onsite gym and workout centers, encouraging their employees to take care of their physical health.
Other companies which at present cannot invest in onsite gyms, have started wellness programs, hired yoga and fitness instructors for their employees.
2.5. Reduced Costs of Prescription Drugs
Healthcare is a major source of concern among people due to its ever-increasing costs, and the most important employee perk program. Affordable and good-quality healthcare is one of workโs important perks attracting employees.
However, even the best insurance plans are not enough if the necessary medication is not covered, some companies also offer pet insurance.
Thousands of companies carefully choose their insurance plan to provide their employees with the perk of low drug prescription costs.
2.6. Performance Bonus
Although the effectiveness of salary is limited, the monetary incentives do work as a whole. To keep employees encouraged and engaged in work, monetary rewards are connected to emotions.
When rewards are tied with results, the performance bonus inculcates employeesโ sense of control and ownership. It keeps them motivated in their work, and they look forward to performing better and better each day. When they hit their goals, they will receive the reward they deserve.
Incentives undoubtedly have a positive impact on the performance of employees. Also, not only it keeps the existing employees engaged but it attracts new candidates too.
2.7. Office Perks
The balance people once kept between life and work is a thing of the past. In the modern-day scenario, work-life integration is a lot more appropriate description.
People no longer want to pretend at work and become someone they are not. A part of this new attitude that the employees carry is that they want their workplace to be enjoyable.
The office perks matter a lot as the employees spend most of their day at the office, and it would be great if they really enjoy working and spending time there.
The office perks include team-building events and games, good food choices at a discounted price, and recognition gifts.
Where team-building events help the employees build teamwork qualities, providing them with good food ensures that they do not skip their meals and take care of their health.
You can learn more about the usefulness of perks here. Clickย here.
2.8. Office Lounge Space
Every organization should provide its employees with an office lounge space or any other area where they are able to socialize in the office environment. Employees do deserve a place to socialize and relax and take a break during the day where they can get to know their colleagues better.
Many offices have already implemented it, and others are in the process of doing so. Such spaces are coming to be known as โrecharge rooms.โ
It has been observed that after spending sufficient time in the office recharge room, employees work with more focus, enthusiasm, and productivity for the rest of the day.
2.9. Paid Sick Days/ Paid Off Days
Paid sick days or paid vacation days are not only a great way to express gratitude to the employees for their valuable service but also lets them know that they are cared for.
This perk is indeed beneficial to the offices too. Employees who get this perk avoid coming to the office when they are sick and instead work from home or take an off. This, in turn, prevents the spread of a cold or flu in the office.
Spotify was one of the first companies to provide employees with fertility benefits, including funding for egg freezing and other types of support.
Additionally, it offers one month of flexible work choices for parents returning to the workplace along with six months of paid parental leave. There is one perk accessible, though, that youโd anticipate would be appealing to everyone, given that these benefits might not be appealing to everyone.
This was our list of great perks at work that employees should be provided with. What perks, according to you, are important? What perks at work would you look for in an organization? Share in the comment section below.
Last Updated on by Steffy Michael
