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I spend 40 hours a week at work which means I spend more time at work than at home, in my car, or in my sweatpants.
For my time and efforts, I get compensated. In my youthful years, I was laser-focused on annual income and bypassed lingering questions about benefits. In more recent years, benefits have been an important part of the conversation.
Work bennies are the side deals that enhance an employee’s stay like free gym access and continental breakfast of the work world.
What is a work perk?
Per the King of Bing, Bing Chat states with authority that:
A work perk is a benefit or advantage that an employee receives in addition to their salary. Perks can include things like health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and more. They are often used as a way to attract and retain employees, and can be a great way to show appreciation for a job well done.
With a dazzling array of options, it’s hard to pick the best from the rest. At the top of the list for the best work perks is paid leave.
No matter how the industry says it, paid time off is the best. Having the opportunity to stay home and get paid for it is only bested by traveling and getting paid for it.
Many industries have employees build paid time off based on time in-service and mine is no different despite the legal mandates.
I get 6 hours of leave every 2 weeks. By the end of the year, that’s 156 glorious hours. Almost 4 weeks of leave or a robust month.
That’s a deal I’ll collect every time.
The catch, as with all glorious things, is that there is a limit. Once the time and threshold his achieved, it will gobble up any excess.
The maximum I can rollover from one year to the next is 240 hours or the precious paid freedom gets taken away like a bin rubbish on a trash day.
I’m not a fan of providing refunds to an establishment that I already spent most of my waking hours, so I use my paid leave because a rested human is a better human.
Sick leave is similar to insurance, a will, or a laxative; no one wants to think about it, yet they’re glad they have it.
Recently, I had a mild operation.
Was anesthesia involved?
Yes.
Did I get painkillers that required a doctor’s signature?
Yep.
Did the nurse set fire to the bread in the microwave after I got out of surgery?
To the delight of my drug-addled brain, absolutely.
Still, despite my mild claim, my supervisor ensured that my schedule was clear for 6 days. Though he cleared my schedule, I used my sick leave which I cultivate 4 hours every 2 weeks.
Though I hope to cash it out when I retire early, it’s nice to have and use when instances arise. Generating income while healing makes healing feel better.
Healthcare is expensive even with insurance.
Healthcare costs can water the eyes faster than onion juice. Having an employer pay for a portion turns full price premiums into discounted delights.
I see the bills after insurance thrashes with them and they’re more expensive than plane tickets and less fun too.
Not all insurance is equal and I need an insurance degree to understand their jargon, but putting in effort yields better results than doing nothing.
When it comes to insurance, something is better than nothing.
Retirement bennies are my favorite because it’s financial insurance for the future.
We are existing in a post-pension era. Instead of a pension, where a company takes care of an employee long after they’ve left, like a permanent and undemanding sugar daddy, most companies have embraced 401(k)s. Where the employee and company pitch in money, yet let the employee decide how it should be invested.
I’m grateful for all that is green and growing that I figured out how to invest because that is something companies aren’t providing for employees.
Companies give the money and not the means.
That’s why I was adamant about returning to federal employment. It’s an environment that I’ve spent more time with than any other, so I understand their acronyms and riddled runes.
Also, they have 2 retirement benefits: a matching 401(k) and a pension. Not that they’re called such things, thought they do act like these things.
I’m hyper-focused on early retirement so working for an industry that has 2 vehicles for retirement is more appealing than earplugs at an airshow.
Time for wellness so less time is spent in sickness.
A wellness plan that pays employees to workout is a boon to fitness and a pocketbook.
I appreciate being employed at a place that places physical health in such a priority that they pay their employees to do it. Considering I’m a better employee with fewer sick days and more productivity, the investment is smart one.
The best work perks are the ones that are used.
There are many perks to being at work from passion and purpose to pay and play.
In the era of job hopping, it pays to keep employees engaged and feeling valued. Having benefits is a way to express employee support. An employee supported by the best work perks is going to focus more on doing the work instead of looking for different work.
