One of the crucial factors to consider when finding a job is the perks and benefits the company offers. This is why employers need to focus on the perks and benefits as well, besides salaries, company culture, work environment, and the like.
These are what would help interest more applicants and retain top talents, keeping everyone happy. Not only that, but they’re a substantial part of any employment package. For start-ups and remote companies, these perks may be different, including (or missing) things that aren’t typical for other companies.
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Remote companies and remote employees working from home are on the rise due to the pandemic and lockdown restrictions. More and more companies are instructing their workers to stay at home, working in a virtual set up for everyone’s health and safety. And even after the pandemic has eased, remote employees are here to stay, with companies seeing the benefits of having their people work outside the office.
Before one begins working as a remote employee though, they should take note of the salary, expectations, and job description, AND the perks and benefits tho be offered, which should be suitable to those working remotely. As mentioned, they would be slightly different compared to the ‘typical’ company package, and if you don’t offer the right benefits, you won’t be able to keep the best people in your team.
So what should you look out for and what are the perks to provide We tackle the 10 best remote employee perks you need this 2023.
Why Offer Work from Home Perks to Remote Employees?
Even after the pandemic, remote work will be staying. Surprisingly, the trend of remote work isn’t mainly from the coronavirus pandemic, as the number of remote workers has been rising ever since the past decade. A study from Small Biz Genius shows a whopping 140% increase in remote employees from 2005, and this is just one of the many studies and data showing just how popular working remotely is now.
And with more people working from home or in other countries as digital nomads, the perks differ from that of a typical office-based business. Furthermore, it would (and should) include more than just working anywhere and flexible hours.
Remote employee perks are benefits, tools, and/or resources handpicked for employees working remotely. Such perks are given to help counteract the unique challenges employees face working outside the typical office environment.
Remember, remote work, whether working from home or as a digital nomad in different countries, is very different from the in-office experience. This is why companies have to offer different benefits to match those experiences, making it fulfilling and convenient for remote workers to do their job well.
When you offer the right employee perks for those working remotely, they will all have the potential to:
- Boost employee retention thanks to the amazing benefits that keep their health and wellness prioritized. Providing them benefits and salaries they can’t find anywhere else will have them more inclined to work in your company. This can also attract the best talents with the competitive edge you have against other companies in terms of benefits packages.
- Enhance the remote work culture. A well-thought-out benefits package will extend the brand’s working culture way beyond the usual, which is crucial today.
- Increase and improve productivity with the properly-design plans on the remote employees’ welfares. Benefits should ease any issues and pain points remote employees would experience, which would then maximize their productivity as they are encouraged to work better.
- Nurture happiness and more positive feelings, as your benefits aim to improve fitness and overall physical and mental health.
And these are only just a few of many benefits! Such remote employee perks can be free and paid, with many different ideas you can implement based on what your employees want and need.
The Top 10 Remote Employee Perks for 2023
Now that you know why you need to provide the right perks for remote employees, what are the perks you should provide this 2023? Here are the top 10 to consider giving now:
1. Subsidized Insurance Plans
It’s important to have an insurance plan, which is a must-have for all modern-day working professionals. This will give a sense of financial security to employees, a crucial thing to have due to the trying times.
Many employees would purchase various insurance plans so they can secure different assets, along with the future of their families. This is when it begins being tricky since these insurance plans would be more expensive than employees would handle.
Responsible employers can help their employees by providing subsidized insurance plans.
You can find many insurance companies out there providing their plans at discounted rates, which are exclusive for corporate employees. Include health, life, disability insurance for your employees’ reassurance and sense of stability. These discounted plans are usually offered by companies that cater to employee benefits, and they are the ones who can take care of the employee benefits program as a whole, so you won’t have to worry.
Besides the usual health insurance, make sure that you give them a proper retirement plan and financial aid. Employers can begin with Provident Fund accounts and contributing a substantial amount of money every month. You can also provide financial counseling, assistance for student loan payoffs, advice about stocks and investments, among others.
2. Workstation Support
Employees need to have the best equipment to work with, regardless if they work in an office or remotely. With access to all useful amenities to get work done, their motivation is fueled, becoming even more productive for the best results. Furthermore, a great workstation with excellent equipment will keep them comfortable through creating positive vibes around, instilling a sense of responsibility.
With that in mind, it’s important to provide your employees the right hardware and resources needed for them to set up their own workstations. Besides this, you can choose to reimburse expenses employees made as they create and invest in their work-from-home setup. This includes internet connection fees and/or maintenance allowances, given monthly.
There are different expenses that employees would make for the perfect workstation to induce productivity, such as a desk, chair, computer, and accessories, among others.
Other times, employees would work in coworking areas to escape from the temptation of their bed. Rather than providing an allowance for their equipment, you can also provide a coworking stipend, which is helpful for employees who choose to travel while working, or when they have a local coworking space available nearby.
3. Access to Homecare Services
This is another excellent benefit that would have your employees feel amazing when working in your company, as home care services are a crucial part of living!
When employees work from home, they will need to care for their daily household chores, which can be distracting and time-consuming. That’s why you may want to look into providing your employees different domestic care services such as laundry, cleaning, or meal delivery, which can help your employees focus more on their jobs and relieve the amount of work and energy spent on other things, which is stressful to deal with! Remember that these chores don’t only take up time, but they can also tire people out, affecting their productivity and work output.
4. Learning and Development Opportunities
One of the effective and useful employment benefits is providing learning and development opportunities. Today, employees are now even more curious about acquiring knowledge on new technologies while enhancing skills to grow professionally. And as remote employees are mostly isolated, there aren’t casual chats with coworkers, leaving their minds wanting the stimulation with new lessons and courses.
If given the chance to improve and grow their knowledge while they work, the more encouraged they are to become productive. What’s great is that there are now online courses for people to learn just about anything, making it convenient for your employees to learn from home while working!
What you can do is to provide employees with premium online courses, so they have the freedom to learn about any topics they are interested in and those that are related to their jobs. You can also supply them with topical books and subscriptions that are similar to their interests and the company’s interests to provide new ideas.
5. Health and Wellness Benefits
The employee benefits package won’t be complete without taking care of your employees’ health and wellness. Healthy employees are crucial for all successful organizations.
Besides this, your employees will be working remotely, usually in isolation, so this means it’s important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, both physically and mentally. A great way to provide health and wellness benefits to your remote employees is through employee wellness programs.
These programs are helpful for employees to stay fit and active, as they would assign them different health tasks daily. To make sure that everyone is actively participating, there will be incentives as they complete health challenges, which would also encourage work productivity that’s driven by improved health.
6. Childcare Benefits
Employees will love it when their employers extend benefits in regard to their family’s wellbeing, too.
The best benefit you can provide for your employees is through giving benefits made for the team’s children.
This is very helpful for many of your employees that have children because when they work from home, they will also need to care for their kids simultaneously. Unfortunately, looking after their kids while working can become a distraction that affects workflow and productivity.
Relieve employees by providing childcare benefits, including engaging online courses for children, or by paying for babysitter fees.
7. Subscription Benefits
Subscription benefits are actually one of the most wanted benefits remote employees look out for! Today, there are many OTT services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix, which give people ways to entertain themselves thanks to all the fun content to watch during breaks. With a clear mind that’s been well-rested, the better they can work!
Besides this, you may also offer various subscriptions, including magazines, newspapers, access to any paid online forums, among other things.
8. Keep Everyone Well Fed
Who doesn’t want delicious and healthy meals? These are helpful not only for physical health but for mental health as well, increasing energy and productivity for work! When you provide such meals and snacks for remote employees, they will be able to thrive even when in a non-office setting.
Your employees may be missing the company’s pantry and kitchen, which is why you should bring it all to them instead. Today, you can order meals and snack packages online, which you can customize based on each employee’s specific preferences, needs, and health situation. The best part: They won’t have to share those snacks and meals with anyone anymore, and they get to enjoy their lunch in peace.
There are other ways you can also provide this benefit to your employees. You can organize a recipe swap among your team, inviting people to share their meals and recipes. Better yet, send them food packaged filled with ingredients and recipes so they can create their own healthy meals without worrying about grocery trips and meal planning.
9. Travel and Adventure Perks
We’ve heard about digital nomads, those who work from home or anywhere around the world! Why not give your employees similar benefits, such as more vacations and experiential perks, which would deeply enrich their lives? These are benefits no one can get anywhere else, and one of the best that will help attract and retain top talent.
After all, not many companies provide such perks that go above and beyond the usual or the bare minimum. And this is unfair for remote workers, who tend to work even more compared to the average employee that works the usual 9-5 shift.
You can do this by providing platforms that reward remote employees that offer a memorable experience that would usually take months of planning. There are platforms that reward members with concierges so they can take care of all details required to enjoy every experience.
Another great perk is to provide unlimited paid time, which more companies are now offering. You can join this bandwagon for your remote employees to feel well-rested and inspired once they are back at work. Some companies would provide one whole month off for every three years of employment, though the duration of the leave and type of leave can vary based on your company’s needs.
One tip is to also create a travel-based rewards program. You can bring up travel plans to your employees and let your employees enjoy their next vacation with travel-based rewards programs, which companies can prepare for you and your team. Or, plan out the perfect company-wide team retreat together, which includes team-building activities and time for relaxation, which improves team and work culture.
10. Negotiate Discounts
You should also have your remote employees feel great through negotiating discounted products and services made especially for them. Here are the ways you can provide this benefit:
- Remote employees require reliable internet for conducting work, so a discounted plan will help if you don’t plan to reimburse them for the entire monthly fee.
- You can send a quick survey to identify the local goods and services employees would like to take advantage of the most. Then, negotiate with said businesses and work out deals, which can bring in a lot of business when you’re offered a good discount.
- Again, if you don’t plan on paying for the whole fee, you can offer remote employees discounts on their subscriptions, such as their game streaming or television services. This shows that you care a lot about their relaxation even after work.
You can find that there are even more employee benefits you can provide, these are only a few of the many remote employees will appreciate. These top 10 employee benefits would cater to specific issues that remote employees experience, though take note that all people have different wants and needs, which are based on age, gender, location, culture, and the like.
Because of this, it’s important to not only take these 10 perks into consideration but to also ask your remote employees regarding what perks they would like to receive. This will ensure that they are enjoying what the company provides for them, which increases their productivity, employee retention, and the overall success of the company.
Wrapping It Up
When it comes to keeping your employees happy and working well, you need to provide the right perks. While it may be a bit confusing at first as to what specific perks remote employees need, being well-informed through proper research and feedback from your workers will help. Make sure that you know how to deliver such benefits, which should be effective and flexible for employees to choose whatever they want and need.
Hopefully, this article on the best remote employee perks for 2023 gave insight on what you should be providing for employees, or what employees should look for when performing remote work. Do take this information to mind for both the company and employees’ sake now. Good luck!
