Job Perks Can Be the Deciding Factor

If you are passing through thanks to the Festival of Frugality #123: The Supercapitalism Edition over at Sound Money Matters, welcome. Please feel free to take your shoes off and make yourself comfortable. I am honored to be one of the editor's picks! Thanks!

There are times when what you do for a living or where specifically you decide to do it is chosen more for the perks of the job than for the salary itself. Many people take a pay cut to do what they love, take advantage of benefits that the higher-paying employer does not offer, getting access to free or discounted product from your employer, a location closer to home, or even a more flexible schedule. There are a lot of things to consider.

Health Insurance: A huge cost save here--especially with larger families. Does the employer offer a plan? If so, what type of coverage (medical, dental, prescription, vision, mental, AD&D, etc), how much coverage (80/20, 90/10, 100%), type of plan, and cost to the employee. This is a huge deal although many people take this part of the consideration entirely too lightly in my opinion.

Life Insurance: Many companies offer automatic policies to their employees (1 year salary, 1-1/2 years salary, etc) for free, and still many offer these policies or additional coverage to their employees at rates lower than outside insurance companies.

Retirement Plans: In a time when most companies have stopped offering pensions, many have replaced those pensions with alternative retirement saving plans. Also, many have 401Ks that employees can contribute to. And if you are lucky, they will match a portion of your contribution. That's free money. The younger you start, the more prepared (financially) you will be for retirement.

Holidays/PTO/Vacation: Many companies do offer a certain number of paid holidays throughout the year. Even when employees have to work these days, many others will pay an accelerated amount for the people who work these holidays (my experience is 2x the regular hourly rate). Also, many employers offer PTO (paid time off), or personal time, for their employees to allow them to take time off to hand personal matters (child's school play, handle legal issues, etc). And employers offer vacation to their employees although it varies as to how much and when the employee qualifies for the time.

Location: Sometimes it is worth looking at the location rather than the salary. Are you going to spend the increase of pay on gas? Is your time (spent in traffic) more valuable that the increase in salary? Are you going to need mental care after fighting 5:00 traffic every day? Would you rather walk to work to exercise, save money, and save the environment?

Flexible Schedules: Many people work better from home and therefore need an employer that accommodates telecommuting. Some people are more productive at 9:00 pm than at 9:00 am and need hours that will allow this. Do you get your best ideas while in the shower? You either need to find an employer that lets you work from home (at least part time) or has a shower at the office that you can use!

Extra Perks: Some jobs just come with great bonuses (not the monetary kind, although those are nice too!). Some employers offer free or reduced-price gym memberships to promote the health of their employees. Some even have a gym at the office. Some offices have a child care center on site for working parents to take advantage of. Some have salons on site for a discounted way to allow their employees take care of themselves and not take time off of work to have their hair cut or nails done. Some offer discounts on their services or products for employees (Nespy and I both currently fall into this category--we stay cheap at nice hotels and we have more wrapping paper and accessories than we could ever possibly use). Does the perks that the company offer something that you can really take advantage of?

Educational Assistance: Many employers will pay for your education as long as you continue to work for the company and prove that it is a field that you could use to advance yourself within their organization. Also, my previous employer offered annual scholarships for the children of all of the employees. Definitely could be a huge savings and a great way to grow personally and professionally!

Your Calling: Many people will gladly give up all perks and a cut in pay in order to pursue their passions. If working with the homeless, caring for children, working in some ministerial capacity, teaching (yes, usually a pay cut from other things!), using some artistic talent, or just volunteering for your favorite philanthropic cause is what you desire, you are not alone. Many people prefer satisfaction of making some contribution or difference over an amount of money. They often sacrifice what was once an abundant lifestyle to live frugally and feel fulfilled by a sense of accomplishment in their area of calling.

Basically, there is a lot more to consider than the amount that will show up on the paycheck on payday. Many of the perks are worth far more than the difference of the amounts. You have to consider all of these things in order to make a wise decision when changing jobs!


Just to let you know where this inspiration came from, here is an example from my current life:

Currently Nespy has a big decision to make. He has recently been promoted at his current job (hooray, Honey!). However, before the promotion he had started looking for another job due to discontent at his previous position. He was working as the night manager/auditor at a local hotel. He would sleep during the day while I was at work in order to have time as a family in the evenings. However, although this was better than working during the evenings, it is not ideal. I rarely got to sleep in the same bed (at the same time) as my husband. Also, on weekends either he had to sleep during the day to maintain his schedule (aka--no family time), or he had to get off of his schedule to do things with us (aka--exhaustion). Also, typically he would be awoken by phone calls, deliveries, knocks on the door, or even a moving van outside, as life typically goes on for most people while he needed his sleep. He now has been promoted to Office Manager at the hotel, so it is more of a day job.

However, he is still going to the interview for the other job today although the salary range is lower than what he is currently making as the Office Manager. Why? In the hotel industry, there are no holidays. That's right--when you visit your family for Thanksgiving, there are people working at that hotel you are staying at--that would be my husband. And as Office Manager, he would have to cover shifts when people called in sick or when no one can work on Christmas day. Although it is a "40-hour-a-week" type job, there is never any guarantee of that. The prospective job would definitely be a weekday type operation. Though overtime might be needed from time to time, they will not be calling him in on Christmas Eve. If they offer him a job at the new position, he's got a tough decision to make and I'm praying for him.

Update 04/28/08--Here's a related article from MSN.

Photo credit: MichaelK