Eight Work Perks You Wish You Had

Following up on our discussion regarding what unusual benefits you get from your job is this piece that lists eight work perks you wish you had. Their list:

• Paid and unpaid sabbaticals
• Set your own hours
• On-site child care
• Time off to bond with the kids
• Help caring for aging parents
• Help with the errands
• A break on the mortgage
• More vacation time

Only a few of these appeal to me. Here they are, listed in order of what I'd prefer to have first, second, and so on:

• Set your own hours
• Paid sabbaticals
• More vacation time

Basically, they all revolve around time. More time away from work or at least at work when I want to be. Here's how I'd deal with each of the three above if I had them:

• Set your own hours -- I'd be in at 6 am, work through lunch, and out by 2 pm. Yee haw!!!!!

• Paid sabbaticals -- I'd take some time off and volunteer for a non-profit.

• More vacation time -- Duh. What couldn't I do with more time off?

In addition, the article lists company benefits that are offered by more than half of the 916 U.S. companies surveyed by Hewitt Associates:

• Immediate eligibility for a health-care plan.
• A 401(k) plan in which the typical match is 50 cents for each $1 an employee contributes, up to a certain percentage of pay.
• Retirement eligibility at age 65 and health-care coverage to retirees.
• Access to a dental plan with 100% of exams covered and 80% coverage for dental work.
• Access to a vision plan separate from medical or dental coverage.
• A group life insurance plan that pays a year of salary or wages as a death benefit.
• Long-term-disability benefits with pay replacement of 60%.
• On average, 11.7 days of vacation after one year of service and 15.4 after five years of service.
• Eight to 12 paid holidays a year.
• Dependent-care spending accounts and access to a health savings account.
• Educational reimbursement up to a median of $5,000.

We have a very strong health plan and 401k and I have a decent vacation package. Other than that, we're lagging behind most others. Then again, the ones we are really strong in are the ones I really care about.

So, which benefits would you like to have? And how does your company stack up versus the others?

Comments

[db]

I already get a lot of those perks on the second list and more. The only thing I'd REALLY like to have is the option of a longer sabbatical, either paid or unpaid.

We have disability insurance, life insurance, optional long-term care insurance at group rates, an educational benefit up to $3000 (I wish it was a little higher), generious time off (I currently get 25 days/year but that includes my sick time needs), flextime, the ability to work from home on occasion, etc.

There are also generous maternity leave and family emergency leave options available if you need them.

We have access to a lot of partnerings with local business for discounts, including a paltry selection of rental apartments and a decent selection of mortgage brokers.

We also have access to membership at a local credit union which to me is a fabulous benefit.

We have three different health plans to choose from at different price points, and we have a dental/vision plan.

Finally, they match 100% of the first 3% of our 401(k), and we also have a traditional pension which I am eligible for.

We have the option of having an amount up to $150/month set aside as pre-tax dollars for our costs associated with transportation to work, which provides a tax break.

And finally, we have the potential for a generous yearly bonus.

Now you see -- this is something worth holding on to.

DB

[Rick]

I have most of the benefits in the second list, but the one I don't have that I really wish I did was the education reimbursement benefit. I'm working towards my master's degree, and I have to pay for it myself.

[rdub]

I get pretty much everything on the second list. Plus a defined benefit plan (on top of the 401k @ 80% matching up to the first 5%). The one thing that I love the most is cash value PTO. We can cash in vacation time up to a certain amount. It really comes in handy when I want a new toy or need some spending money for a vacation. That and we get a yearly bonus.

[Teri]

I work for a very small company so none of the big perks. & the industry as a whole is not big on health or dental, not sure why. Coverage is offered for me, but not my family, and it is expensive and subpar. So we have the very pricey private insurance. My dh worked in tech for a bit and was never offered dental either.

I get very good disability and life insurance benefits through my professional association, helps pick up the slack.

Education was always covered. & professional dues and such. An industry that puts a lot of emphasis on continuing education, is why.

What blows other jobs out of the water is though we don't have a 401k we have a profit sharing plan - employer contributes 10% of my pay - after 6 years I will be fully vested (almost there - this is huge and offsets the medical insurance expense - kind of a wash).

Unpaid time off is granted whenever because there is such a lack of qualified people, so when I had the kids I got months off unpaid without a prob, and if I asked to take this summer off I know my job would be waiting for me - heck I could take years off and return the way the market is right now. Plus we have busy and slow times which helps.

I pretty much set my own hours and just earned 3 weeks vacation (up from 2). Which is awesome!

If I could have one more thing, it would be better benefits for part-time work. I would love to work part-time, even just part of the year (staying full-time during busy seasons), but I would lose all of my benefits but profit sharing. No sick time, no holiday pay, no vacations, no (required)continuing education paid for, no professional dues paid for. It would cost me thousands and thousands of dollars. The industry as a whole is stingy on this, but I think they need to offer better part-time benefits to attract more people. Most of the women in my office are part-time, but as a young sole breadwinner I am just not in that position yet. I went down to part-time temporarily and it was harsh losing sick pay. Not to mention everything else adding up. The only exception I see is government work - they offer awesome part-time benefits. Something I am considering for the long-term. I guess part of the problem is most part-time workers are bringing in a supplemental or second income, and accept these terms, but I would really like to support my family on that, but the benefit thing puts quite a skew on it for now. Maybe in a few years...

I have it pretty darn good overall, but this is my one wish for now.

[Vicky]

Every 3 years, we get an 4 week paid sabbatical in addition to our 15 vacation days!

I wish we had tuition reimbursement though!
I would never stop going to school then.

[Vicky]

Oops I forgot to mention I work from 7-3 M-F

[Ciji]

I have my own business and I have all the perks in the first list.

As for the second list... I can also do all that on my own and it's cheaper and I have more choice and control over all thing. I especially like the vacations.. .I don't have to get permission to miss a day or a month of work. The passive income from my business brings me income whether I show up or not.

As for health care, well, I think employer-paid health care is a great little mind game your job plays with you. First of all, your employer does pay it, but if you carefully inspect your W2, you can see that what your employer paid to cover you appears on that statement. Some employers build it into your gross wages, so you might not even see it at first. So they say they are paying for your health coverage, yet they tell the gov't it's cost is part of your salary? So in essence, you are really paying for your own health care. And more often than not, you can get lower rates if you were to pay out of you own pocket. Now , maybe this just may have just been true for teachers in the state of CA, but I've talked with friends in other industries (health care, banking, retail) and it happens to them too.

I don't get vision insurance tho' so I paid for Lasik instead. Saved me tons of cash in contacts and eye exams.

[Chris]

My list:

On-site child care
Health care plans
Life insurance over 100k
School-based hours or change the hours of school
401k match
Some kind of ride-to-work carpool/van service

[Leffy]

Great Perks I have.
1. Flexible schedule. Mine currently is. I've started as early as 4am and as late as 2pm.
2. Flexible locations. I am able to work from any location in the US. My company provides me with a laptop, cell phone, and sprint wireless card. I tend to work out of the office as often as possible, but with gas prices rising, I've started working from home more often.
3. 401k Match. My company, depending on earnings per share, will match up to $1.50 per dollar up to 5%. Last year was over a $1.40 and the year before was a $1.50.
4. Airline miles/hotel/car rental points. When I travel, I get to keep the points/miles I earn on the trips. It doesn't seem like much, but after a while, I would basically get a free vacation.
5. I've only been working at the company for a year and a half, but I have 27 days off this year.
6. I also have a pension that I will be fully vested in 3 years after my start date.

Perks I would like: Free meals. But that may just be greedy.

[Big Cheese]

My favorite perks are company car & driver along with home leave flight tickets. Of course this is for working as an ex-pat.

-BC