Employees’ Wishes for Benefits

Benefits are the perks that applicants look for while job hunting, and what tenured employees aim to have, retain, or improve in their current companies. Some of these benefits are government-mandated while others are granted at the company’s discretion. Small or big, benefits are forms of appreciation for employees for their hard work. These keep the employees working for the company.

What benefits do employees wish for in their respective companies? Here are some of the most common items on their wish lists.

Healthcare Insurance

Healthcare insurance is a big help for employees as it covers medical expenses for checkups and confinement (in case they would need the latter). Some companies provide HMO insurance for their employees as well as their dependents, and most HMO insurances require Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) coverage.  Having health insurance provides employees with a certain level of peace of mind because they worry less about hospitalization and consultations, knowing that these are covered. 

Leave Credits and Offsetting

The Labor Code allows a certain number of days for different leave credit types. There is the standard 5-day service incentive leave with pay, maternity leave, paternity leave, and solo parent leave. There is also the 10-day leave with pay allotted for female employees who have been victims of abuse, and a two-month leave with pay after surgery to treat gynecological disorders (for those who have worked in the company for at least 12 months). Other companies have special leave credits like birthday and study leaves. 

Employees wish for sick leaves that can be taken for mental health “breaks” (especially for those afflicted with mental disorders and burnout, which has been recently deemed an official diagnosis by the World Health Organization) as well as for dysmenorrhea and other menstrual-related illnesses for women. The last two are now being practiced in some foreign companies but are still yet to be realized in the Philippines. 

Offsetting work hours, or work schedule adjustments to make up for leave or undertime is also allowed by law. If offset work hours are made after regular eight-hour shifts, they should be compensated as overtime hours. These also should not affect workers’ paid leaves.

Allowances

Part of the de minimis benefits or those given to employees on top of their compensation and not subject to withholding tax are allowances for clothing and laundry, transportation, medical care, and meals. Clothing and laundry allowances are usually given to workers who wear uniforms and transportation allowances are given to those who own cars, but several companies grant these benefits to non-uniformed and commuting employees. Some companies also give out rice subsidies, either in kind or in cash.

Other firms provide laptop subsidies for workers who travel while working or do their jobs at home—or even buy one for them. While this benefit is usually granted to freelancers, corporate employees wish their respective companies would consider granting them such assistance.

Seminars and Training

Rank-and-file employees aim to level up to supervisory levels and one of the requirements is that they develop their knowledge and skills. Hence, aside from providing in-house training and seminars, employers should also sponsor and encourage their staff to attend out-of-office seminars. Such training gives employees the chance to mingle with peers in the same industry or other industries and allows them wider exposure to people and experience in the process.

Performance Incentives

Incentives are common in Business Process Outsourcing or BPO companies. When employees go the extra mile in providing their clients a no-compromise, high-quality service, their hard work is rewarded with pay-for-performance (P4P) incentives, which may be in cash, in kind, or both. Unlike all the other benefits in this list, however, P4P requires the management to check employees’ performance records before granting rewards. John South, a back office technical administrator, soberly observes: “I think companies in the BPO industry should reinstate the performance appraisal. Most BPO vendors nowadays had killed it.”

Free Meals

Who would not want free food? Aside from meal allowances, some firms provide free meals for their employees, usually a complimentary breakfast or lunch once a week or once a month. This way, workers save up on money and time—they will not have to book a delivery or go to that monotonous fast food chain across the company premises. Just to clarify, though: this free meal does not refer to that treatment as a hearty meal by your boss—that is their personal choice to feed you.

In conclusion, employee benefits are big investments that aim to keep employees working for the company. Granting employee benefits is one way of appreciating and recognizing their efforts. 

Can We Make a Wish?

Employees are wishing for these benefits:

• Healthcare. Alam mo yung may discount na sa hospitals? —Rina, teacher

• Free HMO for up to 4 dependents and free lunch. —Sarah, a technical support representative

• More SL/VL [credits], food and transport allowance, 14th month [pay]! —LZS, writer, and editor

• It would be good if companies can somehow aid employees in saving up which will eventually help them in the future. Some companies are already practicing this by matching how much employees are willing to contribute to a fund that will only be given to the employee upon separation. The amount entitled to be paid to employees upon separation will depend on their tenure—the longer you stay, the more you contribute, which means the larger the benefit. Companies should be able to find a way to diversify a portion of their funds and utilize it in a way that will truly be beneficial for employees not only for their present needs but also for their future lives.” —Ervic, marketing analytics research analyst

• I think, yung tamang mga benipisyo such as SSS, Pag-ibig, [at] Philhealth, ayos na ‘yon for us na workers.” —Mary Joy, service custodian

• Computer benefit: subsidized or free laptop so you can do work at home. Free training/seminar benefit: You can choose to learn stuff, either related or not related to your job; e.g., learn a new language, online marketing, etc. Offsetting of overtime hours: For example, if you [have] incurred 8 hours in OT in total for the week, then you can have 1 day off.” —Lyanna, analyst

• Some of the things I wish every company has for its employees: A fair salary package, proper overtime pays, birthday leave (I’m lucky because my company has this, but I think it should be given to everyone), 12 days’ sick/vacation leave (one per month of the year), menstrual leave (maybe 1-2 days for women with the extremely heavy flow or at least, allowed sila mag-work from home kung meron, at malakas), at least one company outing/party per year, [and] retirement benefits.” —Jilian, content producer

• Birthday VL. I-allow ka [na] mag-VL for your birthday. Not that it [has] to be free (If it’s free, then, good; pero I find it unreasonable pag ganon); yung mismong pag birthday mo lang, mapapayagan ka sana mag-VL [and have] time for yourself. For wellbeing din kasi. Sa iba, [a birthday is just an] ordinary day; aminin man natin o hindi, we always expect something good sa araw ng kapanganakan natin eh. Not that inaabangan natin [na] may magregalo, but special treatment kahit papa’no.” —Hades, contact center representative

__________________________________________________________________

Note: This article was previously released in our printed issue of The Corporate, Guide and Style for Professionals Magazine