Remote employees are entitled to benefits packages just as employees that are in the main office. If you want your business to have employees that work remotely, they should be given the opportunities that fit their lifestyle. Flexible hours are built into remote work, and a work-life balance is essential to keeping employees healthy and happy. 

Providing employee rewards that actually benefit your employees creates a positive work experience and can reduce turnover within the company. Some benefits that remote employees are most interested in include:

Access to Health and Wellness:

Just as on-site employees, remote employees need access to health and wellness programs. Health insurance coverage is often difficult for small businesses or individuals to afford and will give remote employees motivation at work.

Health benefits are more than just insurance. Subsidies for gym memberships or wellness classes give your employees added benefits at little cost to the employer. By including these in the benefits packages, remote employees can stay more active and healthier, lowering overall insurance costs. 

Offering dental and vision insurance, in addition to medical coverage, is a further incentive for employees to stay with the company, as many other employers only provide medical coverage. 

Retirement and Insurance:

Planning for retirement is essential for every employee. Matching 401k contributions encourages employees to start saving for retirement. There are opportunities to help employees learn about the tools for retirement and to plan for the future. This encourages employees to stay with the company in the long term and grow their retirement fund. 

Life Insurance adds a sense of security to employees and helps them protect their families. 

Learning opportunities:

Online classes are an excellent method of helping employees learn something new while continuing their training within your company. These classes allow employees to grow within the company creating a better work environment and better-skilled workers. 

Your employees would be able to learn new skills as a team or choose their own online webinars or classes that interest them. Employees that are not able to learn and grow do not perform as well as those interested in their work and can learn new skills. 

These can be adaptable to any business, whether part of an online video series, a set of eBooks, or a subscription to an online class service. The possibilities are endless, and it adds value to the benefits package.

Benefits for Childcare:

Many remote employees work from home so they can spend more time with their families, and they often have children to take care of, and having options for child care could have an impact on the amount of work they can do in a day and the amount of focus. 

When children come home, work often stops until they go to bed, or another adult can take care of the kids. Offering a certain amount dedicated to childcare for employees with families will improve their productivity and give them the opportunity to get more work done in a shorter amount of time.

Paid Time Off:

Everyone wants to be able to take a vacation. Individuals who own their own businesses cannot afford a holiday due to the loss of income. Remote employees want vacation benefits just as if they were working in an office at a 9-5 job. 

Generous vacation benefits can boost the morale of the workforce within your company more than a pay raise or other benefits. Additional perks are being able to cash out vacation after so many hours have been accrued. 

Paid personal time off is helpful to employees with no explanation necessary to assist with mental health. A lenient paid sick time offer is another incentive for remote employees to stay with your company. 

Business expense allowance:

Working from home can be expensive, having to buy supplies that are needed for everyday business. Many offices supply these to their employees, and they are an added benefit to those working remotely. Creating a business expense allowance allows every employee to tailor the allocation for their own needs. 

Business needs vary and can include office furniture: desks, chairs, and filing cabinets. General office supplies: pens, paper, paper clips, etc.; 

Office technology: computers, printers, and keyboards.

Company Events:

Remote employees are often secluded from other employees, only knowing others by an email address or a phone number. To build a team environment, company events are essential for meeting other employees and getting to know one another. 

If your company is widespread enough to make in-person meetings with the full company impractical, smaller areas with multiple employees can have their own gatherings to promote team building. 

Company retreats are another option for larger companies that can fund the trip for their employees. These trips give employees the opportunity to meet new people in their company and get out of the office.

Corporate Discounts:

Having the privilege to make purchases through a company website or company-sponsored site helps employees buy the items they need for work or personal use at a discount. These programs are offered through websites such as Vantage Circle. Corporate offers can change at different times of the year to provide employees with the best discounts. 

Conclusion:

Remote employees need some of the same benefits as on-site employees, but there are critical differences in how they are provided. Business allowances for purchases of office supplies are often the same cost as they would be in the main office, but it is on the individual level.

Benefits provided to employees give them the added perks to work for your company and create a favorable opinion of your company that they will share with others. These perks can be offered individually or together as a package deal and can increase the longer an employee is with a company. 

As a bonus benefit, learning about your employees’ families and sending out thank you or happy birthday cards to the kids of the family or a spouse. This is a simple way to demonstrate to your remote employees that they matter for more than just their work.