We all love a perk – whether that’s a free piece of chicken when our Nando’s card is full or free shipping on an order, getting something that makes you feel valued is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
The same is true in the workplace. While a good salary is a must, it isn’t the be all and end all – today’s workers also heavily value workplace perks and benefits. In fact, some research suggests that around half (49%) of employees consider the perks on offer when deciding whether to accept a new job offer or not.
If you need to boost your perks package, here are five great perks that employees want right now…
- Free Food
Free food is the number one perk. If you think about it, it makes total sense as you eat at least one meal a day and probably the majority of your snacks while sat at your desk. Millennials especially are known to value free snacks. Now, you don’t need to go to Google-style extremes with a free cafeteria and gourmet food but a few well thought out additions to the office kitchen is an easy way to put a smile on everyone’s faces.
A big fruit bowl packed with tasty, healthy options is simple to set up. Cookie jars and energy balls are also very easy to come by and help to keep energy up. If you want to push the boat out (and add the novelty factor) how about a popcorn machine?
- Gym Membership
A monthly gym membership is a popular perk with today’s health-conscious workers but it’s also great for you too as healthy employees who are regularly active and care about their physical fitness take fewer sick days and are more productive overall. Bigger offices could even create an in-office gym in a suitable space with a small selection of machines.
- Wellness apps
Wellness and mental health continue to dominate conversations about workplace wellbeing. With many apps offering a corporate option, it’s not as expensive as you think to invest in the wellbeing of your team by offering access to useful digital tools, resources and support options.
- Health Insurance
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has made us all hyper-aware of health and, free health insurance for your team is a huge perk. Larger companies may want to extend this to cover their team’s immediate family such as spouse or children.
- Paid time to volunteer or study
Today’s workers value personal development. While you may already have a professional development pathway set up which allows for professional training, offering paid time off to volunteer or study is a very cool perk to have and could help you to attract the brightest, most socially-minded graduates and professionals.
