Today’s employees have begun to look beyond just high salaries or promotions in the workplace. 65% of respondents in Singapore are willing to forego these for better work-life balance, overall well-being, and happiness. This highlights the importance of companies offering better employee benefits that workers find great and practical.
Great employee perks offered by local employers
1. No set working hours
With advanced communication technology, most workers are within reach at any time of the day, making the typical 9-5 working arrangement outdated. Organisations that are output-based now let employees work as long as they require, so long as they complete their projects or tasks. This rewards efficiency and allows employees to clock out earlier if they take a shorter time to complete their tasks.
2. Asynchronous work and flexible hours
Asynchronous work refers to allowing different employees to start work at different times. Companies with employees based in various locations can benefit from this perk, as well as customer support teams that have more shift-based roles.
On the other hand, flexible hours are primarily for the employee’s benefit as they are freely allowed to start work whenever they’re most productive, or adjust their working hours should they have important personal matters to attend to. For instance, you can take a break to pick up your child from school, and then catch up on work later. This scheme makes people more motivated to be productive. Credit Suisse Singapore already practises this setup to help balance employees’ personal and work lives.
3. Improved paid time offs (PTOs)
The amount of leave offered by most companies may not be enough for some employees who need a better work-life balance. Hence, some employers have implemented these additional PTO perks:
Unlimited PTO
Yes, some companies actually offer this! This perk is popular among employees, with 50 percent of surveyed workers saying they’d be willing to take a job with less pay if it meant having no cap on their vacation or sick leave.
In 2014, Virgin founder Richard Branson explained that the company would start allowing its salaried staff to use unlimited holiday leaves, provided that they are up-to-date with projects and their extended absence won’t hurt the business.
Sabbaticals
If you’ve been with an employer for a long time, you may be entitled to a sabbatical or leave you can take to focus on your interests, health, or travels. Sabbaticals typically last from a month to half a year.
Volunteer day-offs
Workers who actively serve their communities may enjoy PTOs counted separately from their vacation leave to do volunteer work. For example, Salesforce gives its staff an extra seven days off annually to volunteer for their chosen charity. This initiative was notably designed for younger employees who favour companies that invest in social good.
4. Benefits for parents and guardians
If you are a parent or caregiver, you may want to be familiar with the perks that allow you to take care of your family as well.
Extended maternity and paternity leave
For new parents, 12–16 weeks of leave may not be enough to adjust to their new lives, and some mothers may require a longer time to recuperate from childbirth. Hence, some companies provide extended maternity and paternity leave to new parents.
Reimbursement or bonuses
Welcoming a baby is not only stressful but also expensive. Thus, some employers provide stipends to assist with their workers’ child-related costs and responsibilities. This usually covers lactation support services, consultations, maternity wardrobe funds, and more.
Social media giant Facebook (Meta) provides “baby cash” of up to $4,000 to help employees offset expenses for their newborns.
Nursing or childcare assistance
Aside from financial aid, childcare support can help parents care for their children while continuing their careers. On-site daycare keeps them close to their children and work. Some countries also mandate workplaces to have a designated area for nursing or pumping milk.
Cherie Hearts, a preschool in Singapore that handles several childcare centres, allows their employees with children to enjoy free childcare services, provided they enrol their children in the same centre they work in.
“Pawternity” leave
Some modern organisations consider pets as part of employees’ families and offer perks for “fur-rents.” A pet-friendly office is great, but if you don’t always work on-site, you can look into other pet-related perks like insurance or leaves to take care of your pets.
5. Employee assistance programmes (EAP)
Take advantage of your company’s employee assistance programme to address your mental and emotional needs. These usually include access to counselling, mental health assessments, and referrals to external services if necessary. Some companies also offer mental health workshops in coordination with their EAP partners to give employees more tools to care for their well-being.
ByteDance, the tech company behind TikTok, provides mental health training to its employees through its mental wellness partner, Headspace.
6. Learning and Development (L&D)
Much has been said about the need to grow and upskill or reskill to stay competitive, but it would be more helpful to get a boost from your employer. Fortunately, some companies already allocate learning and development budgets as a reward or investment.
Organisations have policies that allow high performers to further their capabilities by paying for additional vocational training, tertiary education, or other courses that could help them perform better. This paid education could be a bonus for your superb performance or loyalty or could come with a bond period.
In Singapore, Mitsui Chemicals is one company that offers L&D assistance as an employee benefit.
7. Unique products and experiences
Employers usually offer free or discounted products or experiences to attract candidates. Making these available to employees can also entice their return to the workplace or improve their holistic health.
Travel leaves and packages
Some companies go above and beyond to help their employees relax and improve their mental health and work productivity. Take advantage of travel stipends, if available, to pay for expenses like flights and lodging. One company that unsurprisingly offers these perks is Airbnb.
Nap rooms and standing desks
Modern work calls for employees to spend their days seated. For office workers, companies may provide standing desks to allow them to move from time to time, to avoid being too sedentary.
When midday hits, a nap room where they can comfortably have at least 20 minutes of shuteye can help them power through their remaining hours. Google was one of many companies that installed nap pods for its employees.
Entertainment rooms
Another way you can recharge or socialise is through game or theatre rooms. Even a simple tabletop game at the pantry or a projector for movie nights will make for entertaining breaks if the office isn’t spacious enough to dedicate whole rooms for these purposes.
Chef-prepared meals
This is a unique way to persuade the workforce to return to the office from time to time. It also allows employees to save on meal costs.
Employee discounts
Employee discounts are huge perks that allow you to enjoy specific discounts on items or services sold by the company. Singapore Airlines grants its employees and their eligible dependents up to 90 percent discounts on plane tickets.
Other companies may also get retail partners to offer employees products or services at lower prices. For example, Klook and Smartmall offer exclusive freebies and discounts to partner corporations.
Modern, forward-thinking organisations have come to realise that a high salary is not enough to entice top talents, as employees want to feel valued and taken care of in more ways than one. If these employee benefits appeal to you, consider them during your next job search or recommend them to your current employer!
This article is contributed by JobStreet.
