There are many benefits that businesses can offer their employees that are accessible, cost-effective, and appealing to existing workers and new hires. Are you wondering what company benefits and perks you should be offering to your team? We've compiled a list of fifteen ideas that range from health insurance and gym memberships to free snacks and fun social events.
57% of people say that the benefits and perks offered by a company are among their top considerations when deciding whether to take a job offer. Tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Airbnb are well-known for the luxurious perks attached to a position at the organization, but there are many benefits that businesses can offer their employees that are accessible, cost-effective, and appealing to existing workers and new hires.
Are you wondering what company benefits and perks you should be offering to your team?
We've compiled a list of fifteen ideas that range from health insurance and gym memberships to free snacks and fun social events.
Employers are increasingly aware of the importance of their workers' work-life balance. The healthiest and most stable workplaces aren't made up of workaholics, after all, and instead are comprised of individuals that have the freedom to excel in their professional and personal lives.
Flexible work schedules might not work for every role, but many workers have some wiggle room in terms of what hours they work during the week.
There is a range of possibilities when it comes to this perk– you could offer your employees the option to work the hours that make sense for them so long as they clock in a certain number every week, or you might have specific days where people can alter their hours.
Paid time off is viewed as a major perk for many employees, as they are free to use their personal days whenever they choose in ways that suit them. Someone might use a day off as a mental health day, to take a long weekend, to attend doctor's appointments, or spend time with family, for example.
It's increasingly common for companies to offer unlimited paid time off, which is a great way to promote work-life balance. Organizations that take this approach are coming from the standpoint that employees are free to take as many days off as they'd like so long as they're getting their work done on time and working hard.
We all know how important staying well-fueled is to morale and motivation, and a popular benefit in workplaces across the U.S. is having a well-stocked fridge and pantry.
According to USA Today, 56% of full-time workers are "very" or "extremely" happy with their current roles. However, this percentage leaps up to 67% when dealing with people that receive free food in the workplace.
There are a number of benefits to offering free food at work, including:
If you manage a remote team, you might feel a little bummed out that you can't reward your employees with the perk of delicious food in the office. Don't despair– we have the perfect solution. At PizzaTime, we help remote companies send breakfast, lunch, coffee, and after-work cocktails to teams around the globe.
Offering professional development opportunities to your employees is really a win-win situation.
Not only is it something that many individuals find valuable and appreciate as a perk, but it also can provide tremendous benefits to your organization, including:
When you help your employees improve their skill sets, it can make them happier and more effective workers and encourage them to stick with the company long-term. On top of that, you'll find that you have a long list of people to choose from when there's a vacancy in a managerial position.
While some offices have on-site gyms that employees can use, others will cover the cost of gym memberships for their full-time workers.
Exercising can have incredible benefits regarding employee wellness and productivity, helping them manage stress, avoid burnout, reduce absenteeism, and more.
Both productivity and employee retention can be improved when employers offer paid leave. According to one study, incorporating paid leave into the package of benefits actually saves one out of ten companies money because it reduces their turnover.
There are a number of different kinds of paid leave that organizations can offer.
The first is family leave, which allows workers to be away from the office for an extended period of time for family-related reasons. This might be for maternity or paternity leave, caring for an aging parent, or adoption leave.
There is usually a specific amount of time that employees can be away from work using family leave, and this time can be paid or unpaid depending on the details of the plan.
Some employers also offer extended leave, which allows people to retain their benefits and maybe even their pay when they need to take time off for medical reasons.
Finally, companies will also offer paid sick leave that gives each employee a certain number of days every year that they can stay home sick and still receive a full paycheck.
When employees feel supported in the workplace, they typically have a higher level of loyalty to their company and productivity in their work. Everyone in the office can benefit from the morale boost that occurs when workers can bring their pets to work.
Pets can help improve your team's work-life balance, reduce stress, and boost employee satisfaction. On top of that, it can help with team building and reduce turnover. A pet-friendly workplace is appealing to many people looking for jobs, so this can also be used as a tool to recruit new team members.
Of course, this policy has some potential downsides, so you'll want to weigh the pros and cons before you encourage everyone to bring Fido and Rover to work. For example, pets can be a liability, can cause disruptions, and can cause damage to personal and company property. On top of that, some team members might not like animals or even have a fear of dogs, and this could lead to discomfort, stress, anxiety, and negatively impact work performance.
If you have a remote team, you don't have to worry about instituting this type of benefit. After all, most of your employees are likely tapping away at their keyboards and attending video meetings with their four-legged friend lying at their feet.
That being said, you can still incorporate people's pets to boost morale and bring the team together. For instance, you might consider having a meet-and-greet social event where everyone puts their pets front and center on the video screen.
We talked about offering employees paid time off and paid leave, but there's also the question of making sure your workers are taking the opportunity to recharge a few times a year. A vacation can improve mental and physical health, improve well-being, boost motivation, decrease burnout, and let workers return to the office with a renewed outlook.
According to a survey by Time Off, the second most desired benefit by employees after health insurance is paid vacation time.
To encourage your team to actually get out of dodge and explore the world, you can even offer a travel and spending stipend to help them out with expenses associated with traveling. While this isn't an expected perk, you'll likely find that this is a great way to show your employees that you care about their well-being.
Many employees prefer to work from home than commute to the office every day, and you might find that a remote work arrangement helps reduce your overhead and improve team morale simultaneously.
Some companies offer hybrid schedules where workers spend some time in the office and some time at home. Others allow workers to be fully remote– an arrangement that has become much more common after the Coronavirus pandemic forced companies across the globe to transition to working from home.
If your company is remote, your lovely employees are already enjoying this major perk. You could take things to the next level and offer them a stipend to get their home office decked out with all the tools they need to be productive and thrive.
The most valued benefit by job seekers, according to the Harvard Business Review, is better health, dental, and vision insurance. 88% of the people that responded to the survey referenced in the article said that they would give better health insurance some or heavy consideration when selecting a new job.
At the same time, this is the most expensive benefit a company can provide for its employees. The average cost per employee for individual coverage is a little under $6,500, while family coverage averages a little over $18,000.
In the U.S. alone, student loan borrowers owe nearly $1.57 trillion in both private and federal student loan debt. The average American household that has student loan debt owes a little under $59,000, and one in seven people in the U.S. owes money for student loans.
Considering that a large number of your employees likely have this type of debt, there's a good chance that this would be an attractive perk– particularly for younger workers.
Of course, you don't have to take on the full burden of repaying all of your employees' student loans. However, you can offer a specific amount of money every month to pay back this type of debt.
In the same survey referenced above from HBR, just under half of the people that responded said that student loans and tuition assistance could convince them to take a lower-paying job. Considering that this is a perk that only 3% of companies offer, according to SHRM, helping your employees chip away at their debt could be an appealing perk indeed.
We've talked about offering opportunities for your workers to develop professionally, but what about personally?
Employees like to know that they aren't seen as just a cog in a machine– they appreciate it when company leadership values them as individuals with lives outside of work. The reality is that the personal development people undergo after hours can significantly impact their contribution to the office and their ability to climb the ranks within an organization.
While this isn't the most common perk offered, it can be a relatively affordable way to help your workers improve themselves and boost their loyalty and commitment to your company.
You can choose to be as strict or as loose with how people spend this money as you please. You might decide to have a designated list of activities that qualify for the stipend, or you can let your employees have a bit more freedom regarding personal development.
Offering paid volunteer days is a great way to let employees engage meaningfully with their community without sacrificing a day's pay.
This can help boost relationships with the larger community for your organization while also providing a purposeful break from work from your team.
When your employees know each other well, everything flows better during the work day. Consider offering fun, company-sponsored events throughout the year, such as happy hours, team lunches, office parties, retreats, and intramural sports leagues.
This is something that you can do even if your team is remote and spread out all around the world. Whether you organize virtual happy hours, virtual trivia, or a weekly pizza party, you'll find that this is an affordable and worthwhile perk to offer your employees.
Offering an employee wellness program can be a great way to help your team prioritize their physical and mental health.
There are a lot of different types of activities and perks this type of program can include, such as:
These are benefits that can add value to your employees' lives while also showing your team that you care about their well-being.
While you can go back and forth about the pros and cons of giving your team Fridays off during the summer or offering unlimited paid time off, there basically aren't any downsides to keeping your employees well-fed.
If you're looking to give your workers a pick-me-up that doesn't completely erase your company's budget for the year, consider throwing your remote team a pizza party or organizing a fun, team-building social event.
Remote meetings are boring. Stimulate your team with a unique experience.
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