What Are Some of Your Favorite Work Benefits and /or Perks

[Neovingian]

While I know this is a careers section, I listed this here because sometimes its nice knowing the benefits some companies are willing to offer, as we all get older we realize a large salary isn't everything, for some there are things that are equally important or more important than $$$. Also during these dark economic times its good to know some companies still value their human resources and who knows it may give someone reading this thread a leg up in negotiating a better job offer or package. I know I've turned down many jobs due to the certain benefits or lack of.

What are some of your favorite work place perks and / or benefits?

Some of personal faves are:
- matched profit sharing
- fitness subsidies
- DB Pension
- preferred pricing on credit interest rates
- banked vacation time.
- 100% Medical & Dental
- discounted or free tickets to theater & movies
- free phone and long distance

You don't need to list the company you work for if you don't want to, as i'm sure many on here may be able to figure it out eventually or keep guessing.

[Prinsesa]

100% Medical+Dental+Vision
Paid Vacation lol (Banked Vacacation Time)
Compressed Time/Flex Time
Corporate Plans for mobile, gyms, amusement parks

[nalababe]

Vacation: 10 years and I have 6 weeks
Access to Corporate discounts (Bosch, Audi, etc)
Stock PP: 3:1
Savings/RRSP Matching (50%): i.e. 10 of salary is matched with 5%
Pension DCC 2% (actually quite low, but nice)
Home office
10k car allowance plus gas card
No defined hours

[Sepiraph]

Vacation: 10 years and I have 6 weeks
Access to Corporate discounts (Bosch, Audi, etc)
Stock PP: 3:1
Savings/RRSP Matching (50%): i.e. 10 of salary is matched with 5%
Pension DCC 2% (actually quite low, but nice)
Home office
10k car allowance plus gas card
No defined hours

That'd probably be my favorite, the ability to work whenever as long as you deliver the result.

I'll add:
Free internet (reimbursed)
Free cell phone
Free lunch (my brother gets that at work every day)
Pension (personally don't care for it as much as it has a vested period of 2 years but does match 100% of the first ~5%)
Vacation, medical/dental/glasses/perks, sick day etc

[Immortal]

Doesn't make my company benefits seem as good now but here goes...

$ 2000 to take for courses for your career (used $ 600 last year)

$ 1500 for massages per year (only used 200 last year)
Profit sharing - last 3 years were about 10% of your annual salary - Can't really touch 6% of that until you leave the company or retire

SPP - Get 50% extra by the end of the year the stocks you buy (up to 10% of your salary) - Although for this one, you get only 10% of the extra stocks given to you for every year you work there

3 week holidays with the ability to buy vacation days with your benefit plan - If you don't enroll in the benefits packages, you can buy a week or even two weeks worth of holidays.

We do have a gym at work for 20 bucks a month. Not the biggest or bestest but enough for lunch time work out and it's cheap.

No matching of any kind in rrsps. Oh well...

[Neovingian]

WOW!.. I thought I had it good, some of you have some amazing perks here, esp setting own & not having any defined hours.

[rdtx2002]

rrsp matching 100% up to i believe 12% of salary
stock purchase plan
100% health
100% dental - 100% minor, 50% major, $3000 for ortho
$250 vision, yearly exams
$500 for each Health practitioner
1 million travel package/insurance
$5000 yearly education credit

nothing out of my pocket in terms of health/dental premiums

[Sanhedralite]

Raptors and Leaf finals tickets.

[Sanhedralite]

rrsp matching 100% up to i believe 12% of salary
stock purchase plan
100% health
100% dental - 100% minor, 50% major, $3000 for ortho
$5000 yearly education credit

nothing out of my pocket in terms of health/dental premiums

Where do you work?

[rdtx2002]

Where do you work?

IT company

[desolatioN]

- Free movies any Cineplex with a guest anytime I want for any show.
- 100% Health, 100% Dental
- 3 weeks vacation paid, all employees, 4 weeks after 5 years
- Full travel insurance
- Reimbursed internet
- Unlimited mobile phone usage with email (blackberry)
- Personal line and fax
- Free food at the theatres when visiting the site for work purposes.

[ggs]

education reimbursement ftw.

[dubjk]

3 week holidays with the ability to buy vacation days with your benefit plan - If you don't enroll in the benefits packages, you can buy a week or even two weeks worth of holidays.



how does this work? how do you buy vacation days? it sounds very interesting, i dont think my company has this (otherwise i would know how it works).

[Goldbugger]

My favourite is close to 5 weeks vacation and just about 6 weeks after purchasing more through benefit package. Plus any banked vacation. This is with <1 year with the company.

Corporate discounts and $1000 of massages per year are alright as well.

My other benefits are pretty common.

[Zug_Zwang]

1.Defined Benefit (Pension Plan).
2. The ability to take relevant courses upon the managers discretion
3. Future potential of salary averaging (take 80% of your pay, work 4 years, take 1 off)

My "employer" is cheap as funk, but seeing as we are the federal government, that's a good thing. If anything, all the misconceptions I held prior to joining (long lunches, easy work load, etc) were shattered, brutally might I add. Even things I took for granted in the private sector, such as printing interesting articles to read at lunch or on the subway are a definite no-no.

I wonder how the Public Service was prior to the Chretien/Martin cut back days. Probably like the Ontario Public Service. :D

[nalababe]

I wonder how the Public Service was prior to the Chretien/Martin cut back days. Probably like the Ontario Public Service. :D

From the sites that I work with...Ontario is very much the same.

[arias86]

I'm starting a position with the federal government in one week and we haven't discussed the benefits yet but I guess mine will be similar to yours. I'm sure they cover vision/dental at least, do they not? and no other benefits at all? I expected a lot more for some reason..



1.Defined Benefit (Pension Plan).
2. The ability to take relevant courses upon the managers discretion
3. Future potential of salary averaging (take 80% of your pay, work 4 years, take 1 off)

My "employer" is cheap as funk, but seeing as we are the federal government, that's a good thing. If anything, all the misconceptions I held prior to joining (long lunches, easy work load, etc) were shattered, brutally might I add. Even things I took for granted in the private sector, such as printing interesting articles to read at lunch or on the subway are a definite no-no.

I wonder how the Public Service was prior to the Chretien/Martin cut back days. Probably like the Ontario Public Service. :D

[Chanpod]

how does this work? how do you buy vacation days? it sounds very interesting, i dont think my company has this (otherwise i would know how it works).

He's on some sort of cafeteria style flex credits system as some companies define it where you can customize and purchase benefits most suitable to you.

[Immortal]

He's on some sort of cafeteria style flex credits system as some companies define it where you can customize and purchase benefits most suitable to you.

That's about right. You get to pick option 1/2/3/4. Depending on what you option you take, you might have some credits left. For example, you can start with 100. Plan 1 costs 50, plan 2 costs 60, plan 3 costs 80 and plan 4 costs 100.

You can get plan 1 for 50 credits and then use the rest of the 50 credits to buy whatever you want. Spend 20 credits to buy stuff that's only available in plan 4 or use the remaining credits to buy holidays.

You can even choose to cash out the remaining credits as taxable cash or to your RRSP.