You’ve paid your dues slaving away in entry-level jobs. Now that you finally have some serious work experience under your belt, it’s time to leverage that into a career with a salary and, ideally, some impressive perks. With more and more employers adjusting their company policies to accommodate a healthier work-life balance, employee benefits are growing well beyond paid time off and health insurance. Here are some perks to watch for on your job hunt:
Free Stuff
Who can say no to cool swag? From free gadgets like phablets or laptops to tickets to sporting events and concerts, many companies have gotten creative with how they incentivize employees. Sales executives at vibrant, young companies such as Yelp are often motivated with monthly sales contests while others offer monthly giveaways. Depending on if the company sells products or services, you also can count on getting those for free or at a steep discount. For instance, Lululemon offers employees 70 percent off product purchases and Microsoft offers employees software discounts.
These type of perks are major morale boosters for employees. They motivate them to work hard, compete and feel excited and appreciated. For employers, freebies rarely cost much (if anything) and can be used as a write-off.
Employee Fitness
As healthcare costs continue to rise, employers have begun taking more proactive measures to keep employees healthy by offering fitness related perks. Gym membership subsidies are not uncommon at many competitive companies including food manufacturers H.J. Heinz Co. and Del Monte. Tech giants Microsoft, Facebook and Google take this perk to the next level by offering complimentary on-site fitness facilities.
Likewise, Intel offers employees a Health for Life program, which includes a comprehensive health assessment, personalized fitness plan and health resources to help reach fitness goals.
Fitness-focused benefits can help prevent you from gaining the “Freshman 15” at your new job. It also allows you to work with a group of like-minded individuals to help you stay on track to reach your health goals. Furthermore, this is beneficial to the employer because healthy employees cost less to insure and are less likely to call in sick.
Family Friendliness
Planning on starting a family in the next few years? There are a variety of family-related perks to be on the lookout for in your job search that can make the transition into the new role of mom or dad a little easier.
Facebook offers employees “baby cash,” a $4,000 bonus for new parents, in addition to four months of paid maternity leave or reimbursement of adoption fees. Retailer Patagonia offers onsite subsidized childcare to employees at their corporate headquarters in Ventura, California. Many other companies like Costco offer dependent care plans that let you pay for childcare with pre-tax dollars, which can save you as much as $2,000 over the course of a year, according to their benefits website.
By offering new parents these benefits, companies receive loyal, dedicated employees who feel valued in this time of transition. New parents who have family-focused perks are likely to be less stressed and have an easier transition back into their work role after the baby has arrived.
Everything Else
Yes, there are a few tech giants like Google, Facebook and Apple that offer nearly every cool perk imaginable. With juice bars, free gourmet meals prepared onsite by chefs, spas, laundry service and free rides to work on luxurious shuttles, these companies offer employees practically anything you can dream up. If you can score a job at one of these Holy Grail companies, you’ll probably find yourself (happily) spending more than 40 hours a week at work.
