We all work for different reasons. At one end are those who work simply for the salary and nothing else. The other end of the scale are the fortunate (and few) passionate believers who would do their jobs even if it didn’t come with any financial reward. Most of us sit somewhere in the middle.
One thing that can make a big difference to your satisfaction at work are the perks that come with it. These are the additional benefits, outside your regular income, that increase your enjoyment and attachment to the company.
Feeling ill after a big night? At some companies, you could cash in some of your hangover leave.Credit: iStock
Research from Deloitte and Origin Energy last year found that remuneration and benefits were the reason that almost three-quarters of employees choose to stay with their current employer. Seventy-nine per cent of people said that benefits aligned to their values made them more likely to stay at their workplace.
Australia leads the world in one mandated “work perk” that no one can dodge: superannuation. I’ve seen the jaws of many international friends and family drop as I’ve explained our excellent system of forced savings that pays dividends decades after the first account is opened.
Every country and company approaches employment incentives in different ways, so what are some fresh examples we can learn from? Here are five ideas:
13-month pay: This concept originated in the Philippines in the 1970s, and has since spread to many other countries. It pays workers an additional one month’s salary as a bonus each year, usually around Christmas.
The way we are working is rapidly changing, so it makes sense that the way we reward people should too.
Each country that legislates it treats it differently, from a guaranteed payment to a share of profits, but the security of knowing there’s extra money coming in at the end of the year is its best feature.
Free transport: Many companies in Germany pay for all employees to get to and from work. This is helped along by some tax and duty-free reimbursements on travel tickets, and is a neat way of encouraging public transport use, as well as maintaining office attendance.
While it’s not a strict law, it is a work perk that’s taken hold within many businesses as a way of keeping workplaces accessible for all, no matter how far you live.
Marriage leave: If you live in Spain and get married, then by law you automatically get 15 days of leave to enjoy the high. Since 2005 this applies for same-sex couples also, and a few years ago the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that marriage leave must start the next business day after your wedding.
It’s a unique perk that almost every Spanish worker takes up as soon as they’ve made their vows.
Customised workspaces: This one is not a common perk, but US tech company Asana used to give all new employees a budget of $US10,000 (about $15,350) on their first day to completely customise their workspace however they want.
They could choose from sitting or standing desks, special chairs, bountiful plants or elaborate computer set-ups. However, this was when they had just a few hundred staff, and now that they’ve grown to 4000 this expensive perk seems to have been quietly discarded.
Hangover time: A Japanese IT firm, TrustRing, announced an unusual employee benefit earlier this year: hangover leave. Instead of having to start work at 9am after a big night out, workers could report to the office at midday instead. Now, I don’t see this trend catching on in every workplace, but it’s a clear signal for the type of worker they’re trying to attract.
The way we are working is rapidly changing, so it makes sense that the way we reward people should too. Having the right work perks is never going to be a replacement for a healthy workplace and a fair salary, but every little bit still helps.
Tim Duggan is author of Work Backwards: The Revolutionary Method to Work Smarter and Live Better. He writes a regular newsletter at timduggan.substack.com
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