When choosing what benefits are essential and discretionary can be tricky. For some, benefits like health insurance, 401k matching and child care are an absolute must who fall into this demographic, usually families or young adults who are considering stating a family. On the other hand, some individuals who live more of a nomadic life might prefer and prioritize other benefits like paid time off, flexible hours and company outings.
There is no way to encompass every benefit into one package, but the best thing to do would be to narrow down what is most important to you. As I said before, some individuals rely on security and assurance like health plans and matching retirements plans, while others are prioritizing living in the now and taking advantage of every new and fun experience life has to offer with little to no worry of the future.
In my case, I would have mix of benefits. As of now I am still on my parents health insurance plan (for another few years), so understandably a full health plan wouldn’t be completely necessary. If I was planning to stick with the organization for years to come, I would prioritize a full comprehensive health care package. Same goes for the retirement plan. If I saw myself leaving in the near future, I’d prioritize discretionary benefits more, but if this job was something I could see myself making a career out of it, then a matching 401k retirement plan would be the 2nd most important benefit. Lastly, either added paid time off or flexible work hours is something that is very important to me. If I was in a situation where I had a family to take care of, I’d prioritize a flexible working schedule in order to make adjustments from one day to the next. If not, having more paid time off and extended vacations would be the next most important benefit.
The benefits that I found to be the least important were having a gym or offering gym memberships and improving amenities around the office. These kinds of benefits seem to be the cherries on top, but really don’t add much value to workers in their own personal lives. Benefits that employees can find on their own with ease seems to be a waste of resources.
