Who really benefits from employee benefits? Maybe no one does.

Chris Burrett
Jul 27, 2017 · 3 min read
Should your office be empty at lunch time?

Employee benefits do not always benefit the employee

I was at a conference a few weeks ago where a speaker was extolling the brilliance of certain company in the way it treats its employees, largely through the benefits that it conveys upon the people. At that same conference was a speaker who was describing how he lost the work-life balance and wanted more quality time with his family, so decided to get out of the corporate world and into the SME. What have those two have in common? Well…

…I find it ironic when a company offers loads of ‘free’ or subsidised things to their employees to attract and retain and, at the same time, make their lives a whole lot lovelier whilst the are collaborating there — there’s a rarely mentioned dark side that people tend to ignore, gloss over, or not care about:

· Free, or subsidised, breakfast incentivises people to come to work earlier, and spend more time in the office with their co-workers at the expense of their families and friends.

· Free, or subsidised, coffee, or coffee making facilities, encourages people to walk a few metres and break from work for only a couple of minutes, instead of walking a hundred metres and having a decent break.

· Free, or subsidised, lunch encourages people to stay in the office, surrounded by their co-workers, instead of getting out and about — moving, and breathing something other than recycled office air

· Free, or subsidised, dinner incentivises people to stay at work later, and spend more time in the office, with their co-workers, at the expense of their families and friends.

Why not take a different approach? Outsource to outside.

· Give your employees gift cards or tokens to use in the local cafes — encourage them to leave the office and get a proper break, more ‘exercise’ (more steps on their step counters), and fresher air

· Partner with a home food delivery service to send healthy breakfasts and dinners to your employees’ homes — prepared, or part-prepared to save them time so that they can spend less time cooking and more time relaxing

· If you’re ‘out of town’ and don’t have local establishments, then partner with food vans or pop-up stalls (you have a car park, grass, or roadside, don’t you?)

…I am sure you can think of more.

Most importantly of all, it must be affordable, and scalable, because the negative impact of taking the benefit away is far greater than the positive benefit of having it — this even impacts new employees who have never experienced the “good ol’ days” because they will be reminisced about over-and-over again by those who lived through them. I know. I have experienced this before. From both sides. And different benefits for different sites? That too breeds resentment.

If you can’t achieve that, then give them what they really need — a sense of purpose. A feeling that they are contributing, and that they know what they are contributing too. Revisit the lost art of vision and mission statements that are easy to learn and repeat, and that haven’t been turned in to catchy marketing slogans — and to take it one stage further, encourage each department and team to have a vision and mission statement that meets the same standards, and fits with the overall strategy.

PS. This article is less than 600 words. See previous article for why I am telling you this, and check this article out.

Chris Burrett

Written by

Marketing consultant, and occasional entrepreneur, in the world of mobile, IoT, and all things connected over the air Digital nomad and realistic optimist.

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