Employee benefits are lucrative incentives that improves the workplace morale. The benefits packages demonstrate that an employer cares about the employees as people. This creates a positive environment where the employees feel appreciated and rewarded for their hard work.
There are several different types of employee benefits packages that a company may offer their employees. Some of these are statutory, while others are company-specific. The best packages will include the standard benefits, along with a few extra tidbits that will improve the quality of life for the employees.
Managing the employee benefits requires an understanding of the different options and packages available. Here are eight different types of employee benefits packages:
Type #1: Dental, Vision & Health Insurance Benefits
Health insurance is the most popular types of employee benefits offered by a majority of businesses. This employee benefit has been proven to increase the overall happiness and morale of employees. In many cases, health insurance also covers dental and vision insurance, which are often bundled together.
A company has the choice to offer group health insurance or premium reimbursement:
Group health insurance is the traditional way of offering health insurance to employees. In this case, a group health insurance plan is purchased by the employer, then employees choose if they want to be included in the plan.
Premium reimbursement is a new way to go about employer health insurance. Employees are provided with an allowance for health insurance, like a gift card or stipend. The allowance is spent on individual healthcare, but at an annual cost that the company controls. With this approach, an employee chooses and purchases a healthcare plan that works best for them, then pays for it with their money. Later, they are reimbursed for any premium and out-of-pocket medical expenses up to the amount specified by the employer.
Type #2: Wellness Programs
This is one of the newest types of employee benefits that have emerged recently.These wellness programs may include a company gym, stress management, smoking cessation, exercise classes and anything else qualifying as a wellness program. The programs are beneficial to both employees and employers. When a worker is healthy and happy, productivity tends to be generally higher as well.
The wellness programs help to build a corporate culture of health and wellness. They are great ways of maintaining a healthy and productive workforce. The employees are motivated to stay fit and become more active, which lead to increased happiness and productivity.
Type #3: Retirement Benefits
Retirement benefits provide employees with something to look forward to when they retire. These types of employee benefits allows you to sustain yourself and live comfortably even after retirement. Although social security exists as part of an employee’s retirement plan, additional retirement programs that help employees save more money are greatly valued.
Some employees live in the moment and don’t usually prioritize saving money for their retirement. When a company offers retirement savings and plans, it helps employees begin this important step on retirement planning.
A qualified retirement plan allows an employer to deduct annual allowable contributions on behalf of the employee, and also comes with several tax benefits. The earnings and contributions are tax-deferred until withdrawn.
Type #4: Tuition Reimbursement Benefits
Workers who have both career experience and formal education are an asset to a company. Employee development is essential for employee retention and maintaining the overall company culture. Employees greatly value a company when the employer is willing to fund them to further their studies.
When workers have access to formal training, they can be promoted within the company upon receiving their degrees. Tuition reimbursement is among the employee benefits with a lasting effect, since both the employee and the company can benefit as a result.
Type #5: Life Insurance Benefits
Most companies offer group-life insurance options to their employees. Life insurance policies cover accidental death or dismemberment. The policies are eventually paid out to a beneficiary designated by the employer. This can be their children, partner or, in some cases, an extended family member.
Type #6: Company Stocks
With these types of employees benefits, employees are allowed to purchase a certain number of shares of the company stock at a pre-set bargain price over a period. The ability to purchase stock options is a popular trend especially among start-up companies.
Approximately thirty years ago, stock options were only offered to employees with the best overall performance for doing a great job, or to reward decades of loyalty to the company. Nowadays, stock options are a way for companies that haven’t gone public to speed up company growth.
Type #7: Workplace Flexibility
These types of employee benefits offer flexible workplace schedules for employees, including the ability to take sick days and personal time off. In the unfortunate instance where an employee falls ill, they will appreciate a benefits package that allows them to take time off from work and recover physically.
Without workplace flexibility, employees may worry about taking time off since they do not get paid. This financial strain takes a physical and mental toll on employees, which results in increased health-related costs, and significantly decreased productivity.
Type #8: Family and Medical Leave Benefits
These types of employee benefits stipulates that an eligible employee should be given up to 12 work weeks off, but without pay. This is given to take care of a sick family member, a new child, or any other family-related emergency, without jeopardizing their job.