With companies like Google offering swimming pools, haircuts, and many other imaginative amenities at their headquarters, lifestyle benefits are quickly becoming a point of differentiation for attracting and keeping employees. Although most companies won’t go to these extravagant lengths, there are plenty of great voluntary and lifestyle benefits that you can offer your employees – in addition to traditional medical and retirement benefits.
See below for some of the great benefits employers should offer their employees to keep up with the times.
Employers are reimagining their benefit packages
Traditionally, benefits from employers primarily included medical coverage and retirement options. While these options are still important, staying competitive in the current job market has prompted employers to reimagine what they offer in their benefits packages.
In the current workforce, people are increasingly less likely to stay at one job for the entirety of their working career. Because people change jobs more often now, it’s important to offer benefits that appeal to job seekers and keep current employees happy and adequately cared for. Therefore, employers are beginning to focus on offering benefits packages that improve the quality of life of their employees – and, in turn, ultimately increase their likelihood of remaining at the company.
Modern employees need jobs that offer the lifestyle they want to live; in addition to an appropriate salary, lifestyle and voluntary benefits can offer them additional financial or tangible gains while improving their quality of life.
Lifestyle vs. voluntary benefits
Although the terms “lifestyle benefits” and “voluntary benefits” are occasionally used interchangeably, there are some key differences between them.
It’s true that both refer to perks that you can choose to offer as an employer and that both aim to improve work-life balance for your employees; in each case, benefits can promote health and happiness, but they’re not the same.
For instance, voluntary benefits are also called supplemental insurance or employee-paid benefits. These include optional, additional insurance plans that employees can opt into. They can be offered at no direct cost to the employer and are available for companies both large and small. Two of the most common examples are vision and dental insurance.
Lifestyle benefits, on the other hand, may also require the employee to opt-in or sign up, but they’re typically for a service or membership that’s not related to insurance. These benefits may also include things like a pool table, ice-cold craft brews in the break room, or other on-site goods and services.
Wellness plans, gym memberships, and vitamin discounts
Although your company may not have the resources to offer an on-site gym or swimming pool, you can still provide your employees with those amenities by offering things like gym memberships and wellness benefits.
Your wellness plan can include incentives for employees to make healthy choices, such as giving up smoking or implementing weight loss programs. You can also offer discounts on products and services, such as vitamins or nutritional supplements, chiropractic or alternative health care, and diabetic supplies.
Healthy employees are, without question, happier than those with health issues or worries. By going beyond the standard medical insurance plan, you can bridge the gaps with voluntary and lifestyle benefits so that your employees can be the happiest, healthiest versions of themselves.
Identity protection and cyber security subscriptions
Identity theft protection services monitor records to identify the potentially fraudulent use of personal details and quickly alert the individual if there’s a problem. Some identity protection services even ensure their effectiveness and can help cover the cost of repairing a person’s credit history. Identity theft is increasingly common and can seriously impact an individual’s life; by providing identity protection, companies can help ensure their employees won’t be distracted by the unpleasant aftermath of recovering their identities.
In our digital age, the importance of cybersecurity cannot be overlooked or underappreciated. With banking, medical transactions, and other sensitive activities increasingly taking place online, cyber security services can help protect employees. Unfortunately, many people lack the resources or technical knowledge to be properly protected.
While these kinds of services can be expensive for an individual to seek on their own, an employer can make these plans accessible through group buying – and when they do so, they’re offering their employees much more than just a paycheck.
Pet insurance and family care
Taking care of family is often the driving force behind a worker’s dedication to their job; they want to provide for their loved ones, and they won’t settle for a job that doesn’t meet their needs. That’s why opting for lifestyle and voluntary benefits at work can be an affordable and convenient way to go above and beyond direct monetary compensation.
Offering convenient daycare services for children (and/or elderly parent care) has a tremendously positive effect on employees who need these services. Likewise, offering employees a life insurance policy can ensure peace of mind in the knowledge that their family will be taken care of.
Although pets were traditionally left out of benefits packages in the past, many people feel strongly about their four-legged family members. By offering voluntary benefits, such as pet insurance, employers can offer coverage for the family pet and help prevent both significant financial loss and heartbreak.
Legal and tax assistance
Not everyone has easy access to an attorney, but many would benefit from having one for common personal matters regarding family, property, or civil suits. The same can be said for access to a tax specialist when April 15th comes around.
As an employer, providing access to these services could be life-changing for your employees; situations that would otherwise feel overwhelming can be easily solved with the proper resources and assistance. This kind of support breeds loyalty.
The future of benefits packages
To keep up with modern times, consider offering your employees the benefits discussed above. With all the new kinds of services available, innovative employers and HR professionals are beefing up their benefits packages in countless ways.
Providing these services will help increase retention by reducing the effects of the job-hopping culture and truly benefit employees.
These changing times are an opportunity to provide these benefits for your company. By doing so, you’ll cause a significant, positive shift in your work environment and in people’s lives.