There are companies that, among their employment benefits, grant annual bonuses.
Labor benefits are payments that are granted to workers beyond their salary . These are rewards that, by improving working conditions, aim to attract new talent and retain current employees.
It is important to indicate that there are job benefits guaranteed by law. In this sense, they do not represent an extra or a reward , but are part of labor rights . Other benefits, however, are prizes or bonuses that companies grant by their own decision to increase the well-being of their staff.
Types of employment benefits
There are job benefits, therefore, that are mandatory . They can be considered benefits in the sense that they transcend the money that the worker receives for carrying out his activity.
Although labor laws vary by region, these mandatory benefits typically include paid sick days , breaks during the work day, maternity/paternity leave , life insurance , paid vacations, seniority recognition, and compensations. Offering a safe work environment is also an obligation for companies.
This means that a worker will receive his full salary even when he is absent due to illness . The same will happen when taking vacations . You will also have free days if you become a father (or mother, in the case of a worker): you will receive your entire salary even if you have not gone to work for a certain number of days.
Other work benefits, however, are voluntary . This means that employers can grant them if they wish, but they will not be penalized if they do not do so.
Commissions , for example, are common. In this way, those who work in the sales sector obtain a percentage of each operation they complete and that amount is added to their basic remuneration. Bonuses (such as performance bonuses and year-end bonuses) are other common benefits.
Also linked to the economic aspect , company shares are usually distributed or employees are given a share in the profits.
Many of the voluntary benefits aim to promote balance between work and personal life . Flexibility in time management, in this framework, grants autonomy to the worker. Options include flexible hours and the possibility of remote work.
Setting up a workplace daycare , employee discounts on company items, and office fitness classes are also among the job benefits that entities can provide.
Employment benefits can be provided through wellness programs.
Professional development
Job benefits often constitute an incentive for professional development . In this context, tools are offered to employees so that they can grow in the company with career plans or enhance their career.
There are companies that make mentoring available as a way to contribute to education and training. Another possibility is to facilitate access to conferences and seminars.
Especially in larger organizations, a job benefit that is often highly appreciated is internal promotions . Those who work in one of these companies aspire to stand out to achieve progress and climb the hierarchical structure.
Professional memberships and subscriptions to publications are part of the work benefits that aim to promote worker growth.
The importance of job benefits
Employment benefits are important to both workers and employers. That is why its implementation is common and increasingly relevant in today's market.
For employees, these benefits represent a more rewarding or enriching work experience . The investment that the company makes in them translates into greater well-being and greater protection. In turn, these work benefits can be useful to progressively build a prosperous future or one with more opportunities for advancement.
Companies, for their part, appeal to benefits for workers with the intention of increasing motivation : those who work motivated usually achieve higher and more productive performance.
The employment benefits policy, in this way, helps minimize human resource turnover (staff do not want to leave). It can also serve to attract talents who are not part of the firm, inviting them to join the project.
The motivation
In some cases, the job benefits provided are abstract or symbolic. What the company does is captivate workers by proposing challenging projects that motivate them.
The intention is for the employee to feel that they are carrying out meaningful work . In this way, greater commitment is achieved with the activity and with the corporation in question.
Of course, consideration of these types of job benefits is subjective . Suppose a company assigns the same task to two people: while one considers the proposal attractive and exciting, the other believes it is boring and unstimulating. For this second individual, then, the proposition does not imply a work benefit.
Examples of job benefits
To fully understand the concept, we can review different examples of work benefits:
- A software company has a staff of 20 employees, who work from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. As a labor benefit, it provides a food subsidy to each worker so that they can cover the expenses associated with food during the work day without allocating part of their salary to this purpose.
- A bank decides to install a gym in the workplace and give workers half an hour off each day so they can use it. This work benefit is an advantage for bankers, who can exercise in the office and thus improve their physical condition.
- A financial consulting firm offers the possibility of participating in international projects as a job benefit. For the worker, having an experience abroad is an excellent tool that allows them to learn through cultural and professional exchange.