8 Examples of Employee Benefits That Promote Engagement, Retention, and Wellbeing

Trying to optimize your company’s employee benefits package can feel like a constant balancing act. Should you aim for a higher 401K match and more robust retirement plan, or introduce student loan reimbursements? Should you offer daily lunches at the office, or promote flexibility with work-from-home equipment stipends?

Employee benefits are a way for you to show employees that you care — not just about their work output, but about their physical, mental, and financial wellbeing. And there’s no mistaking that benefits plans matter to them. They’re nearly twice as likely to stay with their current employer if they’re satisfied with their wellness program and benefits. 

When it comes to tailoring your benefits package, the stakes are high. But if you stick to your company’s values, prioritize employee work-life wellness, and focus on what matters for your team, you’ll design a competitive benefits program with great resources for employees. Here are some examples to consider for your own employee benefits.

1. Retirement Savings Plans

Retirement savings plans are an essential company benefit that most employees consider a top priority. These plans give your team members a way to save for the future, which can improve their financial wellbeing and help them maintain a stable standard of living in retirement. Because company matches on retirement plans are usually tax-deferred, they’re a great way to reduce your employees’ taxable income and improve their take-home pay.

Some common examples of retirement benefits include:

• 401(k) plans
• 403(b) plans
• Company contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
• Employee stock options
• Profit sharing programs

When choosing which retirement plan is best for your company, consider the tax implications associated with each, as well as your company’s overall financial goals for the coming year.

2. Healthcare and Insurance

Healthcare and insurance are key company benefits that employees consider important. Providing your team members with access to quality healthcare options is a great way to provide peace of mind in times of need, as well as promote overall wellness within the company.

Some common company health insurance benefits include medical, vision, and dental insurance, life insurance, and disability insurance plans. These types of employee benefits help pay for healthcare costs or protect their families if something happens to them. They're also helpful if employees can't work because of an injury or illness.

There are additional healthcare benefits you can offer to help your employees feel supported and protect their physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. You can offer a health savings account or flexible spending account to help employees cover larger medical expenses. Tech companies in particular are starting to offer telemedicine services, which give employees 24/7 access to doctors, nurses, and mental health providers through their smartphones.

3. Paid Time Off

Paid time off is another company benefit that’s essential for employees to feel valued. This includes holidays, sick days, vacation time, personal days, and parental leave — all of which are important for employees to take care of themselves and their families without sacrificing paychecks.

Some companies opt to offer a generous paid leave policy as a perk, while others may choose to offer a more limited option that’s in line with company budget constraints. If you want to provide your team members with additional paid time off, there are many creative ways to do so depending on your company’s needs and preferences. For example, offering unlimited vacation days can help employees feel like they always have the flexibility to take time off when needed, without having to worry about accruing a certain number of hours or days.

4. Flexible Work Arrangements

Offering flexible work arrangements, such as remote options or flexible schedules, is another company benefit that can improve employee satisfaction and engagement. Many employees value the ability to work from home or attend meetings outside of traditional office hours, which allows them to better balance their professional responsibilities with appointments, personal commitments, and downtime.

If your company offers flexible or remote work schedules, it’s important to clearly communicate these employee benefits before hiring new employees. You may also want to consider setting clear expectations for productivity and accountability when employees are working remotely or on a compressed schedule. By doing so, you can ensure that your company remains productive while still providing your team members with the flexibility they need to be happy and successful.

5. Childcare, Elder Care, and Caregiving Assistance

Providing caregiving assistance is another company benefit that can help employees better manage their work and home responsibilities. Offering flexible paid time off for these purposes, as well as options for subsidized childcare or elder care services, can go a long way in helping your team members feel supported and respected.

These perks also make a big impact on recruitment and retention. According to a Care.com survey,48% of people who leave their jobs cite the desire for better childcare or elder care benefits as the reason why.

If your company provides childcare or elder care assistance as company benefits, it’s important to ensure that the services you offer are of high quality. This can include vetting providers or caregiving services carefully and considering employee feedback when making decisions about benefits. By doing so, you can demonstrate your company’s commitment to its employees and their families, and help employees feel confident in their ability to focus on work while still meeting their family obligations.

6. Student Loan Repayment or Tuition Reimbursement

Student loan repayment or tuition reimbursement is another company benefit that can help employees manage the significant financial burden of paying for their education. Offering this perk, either as a one-time reimbursement or as an ongoing payment toward employee student loans, can be a powerful way to attract and retain top talent in your industry.

Tax benefits for employers who offer student loan repayment company benefits can provide a key incentive for businesses that want to invest in the financial wellbeing of their employees. Under the CARES Act, companies can deduct up to $5,250 of contributions made towards an employee's student loan payments each year, making this company benefit more attractive from a financial standpoint.

7. Gym Memberships or Wellness Programs

Another type of employee benefit that can help teammates feel supported and valued is a gym membership or wellness program. Offering these employee benefits, whether it’s providing discounted memberships at local gyms or offering on-site fitness classes, yoga sessions, or other health programming, can be an effective way to encourage employee wellness and reduce employee stress.

Common types of wellness benefits include:

• On-site fitness classes
• Yoga sessions
• Personal health coaching
• Health screenings
• Ergonomic equipment stipends
• Discounted gym memberships
• Wellness reimbursements

8. Food, Drinks, and Meal Stipends

For employees who hate the idea of packing their lunch, there's nothing better than coming into the office to a well-stocked fridge. Offering employee benefits that make it easier for employees to eat well can do wonders for employee health and productivity. This might include providing company-funded snacks and drinks, offering food stipends or reimbursements to purchase lunch, or even providing subscription services to prepare healthy meals at home.

Tailor Your Benefits to Holistic Wellness

It's more important than ever to help your employees manage their overall stress, take care of every aspect of their wellbeing, and create a healthy work environment. Standard insurance premiums and retirement plans are just the bare minimum. To attract and retain top talent, you'll need to create employee benefits that cover every aspect of holistic employee wellness, and that your employees value most.

If you're looking for ways to improve employee wellness at your company, talk to a wellbeing specialist at Wellhub to find out how you can unlock more health benefits for your teammates.

References

• The Rise of the Whole Employee: MetLife’s 20th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study 2022. 2022. MetLife. Retrieved December 12, 2022 from https://www.metlife.com/employee-benefit-trends/2022-employee-benefit-trends/ 
• 401(k) Plans. IRS. Retrieved December 13, 2022 from https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/401k-plans 
• 403(b) Plan: What It Is, How It Works, 2 Main Types. July 20, 2022. Investopedia. Retrieved December 13, 2022 from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/1/403bplan.asp 
• What is an IRA? U.S. Bank. Retrieved December 13, 2022 from https://www.usbank.com/retirement-planning/open-an-ira/what-is-an-ira.html 
• Future of Benefits Report 2022. 2022. Care.com for Business. Retrieved December 12, 2022 from https://www.care.com/business/resources/ebooks-and-reports/future-of-benefits-report-2022/
• Aquino, Leo. (August 24, 2022). Your employer can help pay for your student loans — here's an email template to ask them. Business Insider. Retrieved December 13, 2022 from https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/student-loan-repayment-assistance-workplace-benefits-2022-5#:~:text=%22,-If%20you%20want&text=I%20recently%20learned%20that%20employers,each%20employee%27s%20federal%20student%20loans. 
• Retirement Plans. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved December 13, 2022 from https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans. 
• How U.S. Health Insurance Works. Stanford Vaden Health Services. Retrieved December 13, 2022 from https://vaden.stanford.edu/insurance-referral-office/health-insurance-overview/how-us-health-insurance-works 
• What is PTO? A Deep Dive Into Paid Time Offs. Freshworks. Retrieved December 13, 2022 from https://www.freshworks.com/hrms/what-is-pto/
•  What is Flexible Work Arrangements? TalentLyft. Retrieved December 13, 2022 from https://www.talentlyft.com/en/resources/what-is-flexible-work-arrangements 
• Sammer, Joanne (January 7, 2022). Caregiving Benefits Can Support Workers—and the Bottom Line. Society for Human Resource Management. Retrieved December 13, 2022 from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/caregiving-benefits-can-support-workers-and-the-bottom-line.aspx