Learning to take full advantage of often overlooked organizational benefits can enrich your life, in both the long and short term—you just have to know where to look in order to find them all.
When one thinks of traditional benefits offered by companies these days, health and dental insurance, or a 401(k) fund might come to mind.
However, there could be other items that are not advertised in the job posting that might be overlooked as benefits. You work hard, so why not use the benefits you’re entitled to?
For example, one great value that could pay serious dividends in one’s career is tuition reimbursement. Considering the rising cost of education in recent years, the very thought of someone else paying for your tuition or book fees is almost intoxicating. Many organizations offer virtual or e-learning type courses that you can participate in right at your desk. Classes that can add to your knowledge base or skill set can really pay off in the long run.
Another great way to improve your financial know-how is to attend financial planning classes that may be offered by your 401(k) administrator or Human Resource department. Read through the corporate benefits handbook for examples on how to save money by using a tax free, flexible spending account for medical or childcare expenses.
Other great opportunities to use the benefits you’re entitled to at work include:
Free CPR classes
Childcare discounts with neighborhood providers
Health fairs where you can have free health screenings
Corporate discounts on tax preparation, flowers, travel, vehicle insurance and more
Employee counseling opportunities on stress, health, finance or legal concerns
Family picnics or fun days
Weight management opportunities, such as seminars or program discounts
Participation in community volunteer activities
Discount tickets to local theaters, museums, or art galleries
Free checking and other incentives with a company credit union affiliation
Many organizations offer these types of perks to remain attractive to their employees. If your organization does not offer these types of benefits, maybe you could be the one to research them and suggest a few.
Remember to look beyond your employer for benefits as well. Research opportunities within your community, church, library and other organizations to see what value they can provide you. Consider how you can take full advantage of often overlooked benefits in all of these places.
Readers, are there other perks or benefits that you can recommend? What does your organization offer? Let’s hear from you in the comment section! Remember, life can be richer and more rewarding in so many ways when you learn to take full advantage of the benefits you’re entitled to.
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Jen Anderson is a PhD and a financial controller for a Texas-based company. She earned three degrees by making full use of her employer’s tuition reimbursement program over a 15-year period. Jen’s PhD dissertation was ranked in the Top Ten Sellers List in 2010. (Her name at the time the dissertation was published was Jenny Schneider, PhD.)
Finance is her business, math is her hobby, and sharing encouragement and tips with others is her joy. You can read more by PhD Jen Anderson at her brand new blog, JenAndersonWrites!
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The recent economic downturn has put pressure on all of us. According to a 2009 study by the Corporate Executive Board, work-life balance currently ranks as one of the most crucial workplace attributes, second only to compensation, among over 50,000 polled global workers. This is no small point because, according to the same study, workers who feel that they have achieved a satisfying work-life balance tend to work 21% harder than those who don’t.
But what does work-life balance really mean?
In the recent past, many companies have interpreted this to mean that employees wish to save time by having services they need on location, such as a gym, health care facilities or a dry cleaner. But the truth is that only about a quarter of employees in most companies tend to take advantage of facilities like these. And they cost the company a lot of money.
More astute companies have come to realize that what many employees really want is time. Specifically, many employees tend to value the ability to manage their own schedule – to be able to get the job done on their own terms.
Companies Tailoring Work Life Policies to Suit Employee Preference
The most clever companies – maybe yours, for instance – are beginning to actually ask their employees what work-life balance means to them and then develop a work-life balance policy based on what they hear. They are not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, but because it gets better results for them, both in the short and long term. In the short term, they get happier, more productive employees, per the point in the opening paragraph. In the long term, these employees stick around. This saves the company a lot of money in recruiting, hiring and training costs, which are notoriously expensive endeavors.
If someone from HR asks you the question “What does work-life balance mean to you?” what will you answer? It’s a question worth asking yourself, because more and more companies are doing it. Why? Because as we dig our way out of the Great Recession, smart HR departments are realizing that their workforces are weary. They have been downsized and asked to do more with less for a long time. It is time to refresh, renew and reward them. And now you may be able to work with your HR department to shape your company’s work life balance policy. And if no one is asking you the question, maybe you could drop them a hint.
So make a savvy career move and give it some thought. Here is a video to get your brain going on the subject. (A 15-second ad precedes the video content.)
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Everybody loses perspective on their work from time to time. It happened to me all the time when I worked in the corporate world. I would get so deeply involved in the marketing plan or the budgeting process or whatever was going on that I would be convinced that I had to arrive at the office at 7:30am and stay till 9:00pm every day, just to keep up. Then I would go in on the weekends, “to catch up.” Right.
What I thought would happen if I didn’t do this, I’m not sure. But I am no richer for it and nobody pulled me aside and told me how wonderful I was for doing any of that. All I got was a bunch of take out menus piled up in my desk drawers and a late start on motherhood. When things got too serious within our brand team at my last job, and it was 7:30pm and none of us had eaten yet, one of us would inevitably yell “Hey, people! We’re not trauma surgeons, here! We’re marketing juice!” And it worked.
So unless you are a trauma surgeon, like my friend Jack, you can borrow that line at your work place any time you want to remind people to lighten up. In addition to that, here are some tips to help you to regain your perspective when you start to take your job (and maybe yourself) a bit too seriously.
Stop Working at 5:30.
Really. Even if you can’t go home at that time, stop working and take a break. Even if you really can’t take a break. Why? Because you have been working all day and your productivity has begun to plummet, even though you don’t realize it. It is time to stop staring at the page, the spreadsheet, the email, the database, or the problem and get some fresh air. When you come back, you may have a new perspective. Or even better, you may have gained the good sense to realize that it is time to go home.
When You Take Your Break, Go Outside
Even if you have stubbornly decided to stay at your dank office building, go outside and walk around the building. Look at some trees. Breathe some fresh air. Focus your eyes on a faraway place so you don’t go blind looking at your computer screen all day. And if you were smart enough to go home, go outside and get some exercise.
Spend Your Break With the People You Love Most
They are the reason you are working in the first place, are they not? Are you really working so that you can afford that cold, dead automobile in your driveway, or that warm, glitter glue covered goofball in your home? How about having a conversation with your spouse? Remember how funny he is? Why not cook a meal together while the kids push themselves around in a laundry basket or listen to iTunes in the living room?
Remember, you work to earn money to live. So don’t forget that last part.
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Like you, I am a modern parent. For better or worse, I rely much more than previous generations did on the findings of scientific research and what I learn online to inform my parenting and to maintain a work-life balance. This works for me 94.6% of the time.
But I have learned that sometimes it is completely appropriate, and really, really wonderful to break the rules.
Also like you, I am trying to balance the demands of my work with the demands of our family’s lives. Sometimes it’s more challenging than others. For example, just last week the Mihm household had to juggle the following:
One toddler sickness
Two school fundraisers
One school project that included bringing fruit for the entire classroom
One toddler refusing to nap (starting at onset of aforementioned sickness) and rising at 5:30 every morning
One minor surgery on one adult
One minor injury to the other adult
Typical work schedules for both adults
Typical school schedule for one child
As you can guess, we were totally wiped out by Friday
And as you probably know, the scientific research says it is best to eat together as a family, at the dinner table. Scientific research has also shown very clearly that parents should strictly limit television watching in children under the age of 2.
We ordered a pizza that night, ate it in front of the TV, and you never saw 4 happier people in your life. Sometimes the best thing you can do to maintain that precarious work-life balance (and your sanity) is to break all the rules.
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Use Benefits You’re Entitled To
What Does Work Life Balance Mean to You?
Working Moms: Take a Break!
Parents: Maintain Sanity By Breaking the Rules!
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