What Employer Benefit Do You Value the Most?

What employer sponsored benefit do you value the most? If your employer asked you to choose the benefit that mattered most how would you answer? I would imagine that older, loyal employees would value their pensions, while younger employees would value 401k contributions. Middle aged employees with families probably value flexible work schedules and telecommuting. I’m sure a handful of employees would list their vacation time, while others would include educational assistance.

There are so many employer sponsored benefits to choose from. Would you choose vacation time? Flexible work options? Medical benefits? Educational benefits? Life & Disability Insurance? Adoption Expense Coverage? On-Site Day Care?

If you were faced with a cut in salary or a cut to your benefits, which would you choose? Would it depend on which benefit you most valued? If you value your 401k contributions, then clearly you care about saving for the future. If you are saving through retirement vehicles then perhaps you are also saving a good portion of your salary. In this case, you might choose to keep your salary and cut your benefits. If on the other hand you needed flexible work options that would allow you pick your children up from school each day would you be willing to take a cut in pay for the option to leave work early each day?

Personally, I would take a cut in pay, in order to keep my employer sponsored benefits. My most valued benefit is flexible work options. Faced with long commutes to work each day, I would choose the ability to work from home, over a higher salary. Benefits like flexibility enhance quality of life in a way that more money cannot.

When companies are considering cuts to benefits do they also consider cutting employee salaries? I wonder how many employees would choose salary cuts over losing their benefits?

4 thoughts on “What Employer Benefit Do You Value the Most?”

  1. The two employer benefits I value most are:

    1. the people I work with;

    2. the opportunities my employer has given me.

    Neither of these appear in my contract. If you wish to limit the question to things more commonly seen as benefits, I get a decent vacation allowance (which I seldom use all of) and a generour life insurance policy. On the other hand I get no pension and I opted out of the health plan (I am covered under my wife’s plan). My salary is set at a level which more than makes up for the absence of such things.

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