There are so many employee benefits examples out there, it can be hard to know where to start. Luckily, that piece at least has a clear answer. 58% of companies provide health benefits to their team members, making it the most common employee benefit.
Beyond that, though, it gets murkier. If you want to stand out from your competitors, you need to come up with other employee benefits examples to improve your employee experience and increase retention.
When done right, these offerings can make a huge difference. In fact, 49% of employees will leave their job in the next year because of a lack of benefits. 51% feel it plays a big role in talent retention.
So, what are some employee benefits examples you could implement to increase your retention rates?
Meditation or mindfulness apps
A huge 91% of Gen Z employees believe companies should provide mental health benefits.
So, if you’re not providing any mental health benefits, you’re missing out on a huge part of the talent pool.
Not to mention, businesses lose $1 trillion every year in employee productivity because of mental health challenges, according to the World Health Organization.
A short, 10-minute meditation can improve everything from concentration levels to anxiety to chronic pain. Giving your employees this option helps them focus more and ensures they perform at their best.
Many meditation or mindfulness apps now provide business subscriptions too, showing just how big the demand is for them. These subscriptions also make this an easy option to implement as far as employee benefits examples go.
Skills development
Having skills in unrelated areas makes us more creative. This leads to better problem-solving skills. Of course, this can help your business stand out from competitors, move faster, and make more money.
You could provide art classes, storytelling workshops, cooking courses, gardening workshops – the list is virtually endless. You could even offer subscriptions to sites where employees can learn a variety of different skills at their own pace, like Wondrium or Masterclass.
Nap rooms
We’ve all experienced the 3 p.m. slump. Providing nap rooms where employees can take 10 minutes in private to recover helps them be more productive and allows them to think more clearly.
It’s also handy for anyone who didn’t sleep well the night before and is finding caffeine just isn’t enough. A quick power nap could be just what they need to get going again.
While this is one of the employee benefits examples that obviously requires a bit of space, it can be well worth it.
Library
Reading fiction makes us more empathetic and more creative in our language usage.
Non-fiction teaches us new skills and introduces us to other perspectives.
Reading works faster than some other relaxation methods, like listening to music or drinking tea. It lowers your heart rate, relaxes the body, and reduces stress.
Having a company library where employees can take out books that are related—or unrelated—to their role allows them to experience all these benefits.
The books could be physical books or ebooks, depending on employees’ preferences.
Audiobook subscription
Audiobooks can be expensive, but they’re a useful and relaxing way to pass the time on long commutes.
If you know your employees love a story, why not provide them with a subscription to feed that interest? It could be to sites like Audible, Kobo Plus, Blinkist, or one of the many other options.
This is one of the employee benefits examples that’s really easy to implement, but is often overlooked.
Sabbaticals
Taking an extended break from work is a great way for someone to experience another culture or recover from burnout.
However, the stress of having to find a job at the end can take away some of the enjoyment.
Offering long-term employees the opportunity to go on sabbatical, safe in the knowledge that their job will still be there at the end of the break, rewards their loyalty and shows how much you value them, their knowledge, and their skills.
Lunchtime exercise classes
Breaking up the day with exercise is a fun way to relieve stress and boost happy hormones.
To experience the benefits, we don’t need to do loads. It’s about compounding efforts over a period of time.
Could you offer a 10-minute stretch class or a 30-minute barre class, for example?
A lunchtime exercise session could be the perfect way to give employees opportunities to try out different exercise methods they may not have considered otherwise.
They may even end up falling in love with that form and practicing it more regularly. This will benefit their physical and mental health long-term and boost their productivity and engagement at work.
Travel subsidies
Whether it’s travel abroad to expand employees’ experiences of the outside world, or travel to and from work, subsidizing travel gives employees the opportunity to do more.
In the current cost of living crisis, helping employees with the cost of their commute shows them you value their contribution to your business and want them to stay. You could offer discounted travel cards or discounts on bikes from local businesses, for example.
When it comes to traveling abroad, do you have an overseas office where they could work from? Or a location where several of your employees are based where they could hang out?
Many larger companies now even subsidize the cost of relocating overseas for a few months. This gives employees the chance to experience another way of life.
Or maybe you want to encourage them to take regular vacations by connecting them to discounts on hotels, flights, or activities abroad.
Four-day work week
Several studies have now shown that a four-day working week doesn’t lead to a reduction in productivity. What it does do instead, is improve employee mood and mental health.
When employees have to be at their desks for eight hours a day, five days a week, they can wind up feeling chained to their jobs. It leaves them with less time and energy for their loved ones, or their hobbies and interests.
The four-day working week provides more time for employees to enjoy life outside of work. And you get the benefits of their improved mental health and energy levels.
It’s one of the relatively newer employee benefits examples, but it can have a huge impact.
Conclusion
These are just a handful of employee benefits examples you could implement in your workplace.
If you want to ensure employees know about all the benefits you’ve put in place for them, look no further than Workrowd. Our one-stop shop makes it easy to centralize all your important employee information.
Once team members see all the employee benefits examples they can take advantage of, they’ll be happier and more likely to stay long-term. Don’t leave them searching around in the dark. Visit us online or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com today to learn more.
