When negotiating a job offer, salary is just one piece of the puzzle. Non-monetary perks such as flexible working arrangements, professional development opportunities, and health benefits can significantly impact your job satisfaction and work-life balance. Here’s how to confidently negotiate these essential benefits in your employment package.
“Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.”
John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. President
Beyond Salary: Negotiate 6 Non-Monetary Job Perks and Benefits with Confidence
Salary isn’t the only thing to consider when reviewing a job posting or negotiating a job offer. Widen your scope to include the non-monetary perks and benefits that could come with the position. Flexible hours and the ability to work from home, health and wellness benefits, tuition reimbursement, or assistance with relocation costs may be more valuable to you than a salary bump.
“Perks play a surprisingly powerful role in how you’ll feel about the job—in the end, they can make a seemingly average salary offer quite tantalizing. Beyond that, employee benefits often signify how much a company really cares about its employees,” Sarah Woehler writes in Beyond Salary, How to Negotiate Your Benefits Package.
Let’s look at six non-monetary perks and how you can negotiate them into your employment package should you be offered a job.
1. Professional development
It’s hard to tell from a job posting if the employer budgets for staff professional development, but this benefit is essential. Research the employer’s benefits package and culture and be prepared to negotiate this perk should you land an offer.
“Professional development opportunities can help you acquire new skills, expand your network, and advance your career goals. … Continuing your education might be critical to your career,” according to the LinkedIn article, What are Some Non-Salaried Benefits to Negotiate When Starting a New Job.
One of my employers sent me to the expensive, week-long South by Southwest Interactive Conference, but I missed a few key sessions and had trouble focusing while attending others. Why? I had to respond to work emails during the conference and dashed into the office a few hours every day to keep up with my work.
A hefty professional development budget can be wasted if your employer doesn’t support you truly taking time away from work to attend the training. This is worth researching and negotiating once you’ve received an offer.
Perhaps you’d prefer mentoring or coaching, or you want your employer to pay for your continued education. Then these will be important perks to seek during your job hunt and to include in a job offer negotiation.
2. Flexible working arrangements
Other priorities for greater job satisfaction may be the ability to work remotely at least part of the time, and the freedom to set work hours that fit your personal obligations and match your preferred focus times. If you must work on-site, you might try to negotiate your way out of a cube farm and into a private office with an actual door and window.
Wait until the job offer comes before you bring up flexible working arrangements and then be prepared to make your argument.
“A flexible work schedule can work successfully for all parties. You need to negotiate your case, reassure your employer that you are working and contributing to his best interests, and find ways to measure and publicize the success of the arrangement,” writes Susan Heathfield in How to Negotiate a Flexible Work Schedule.
3. Health and wellness benefits
Health and wellness benefits are a significant financial perk. If it’s noted in the job posting, great! Better yet, do your research to learn if your benefits package includes health insurance, including mental health resources, and offers wellness programs such as a discounted gym membership, on-site yoga or fitness classes, discounted purchase of a fit-bit or other smart watch, wellness challenge programs that promote healthy eating and exercise, and an ergonomic assessment of your workspace.
Find out if the office culture and company budget support employee participation in the wellness programs provided. That yoga class is worthless if you can’t leave your desk or your employer should pay for a new chair or track ball if that’s what the ergonomic assessment recommends.
“Health and wellness benefits are not only important for your physical and mental well-being, but also for your financial security,” according to the LinkedIn article. “To negotiate this benefit, you should research the market value of these benefits, compare them with your current or previous benefits, and express your needs and preferences.”
4. Start date
Many jobs offer only two weeks of annual leave, and new employees often earn leave at a slower rate and can’t use it until completing a probationary period.
Whenever I negotiated a job offer, I tried to push my start date at least two weeks out from leaving my previous position. Why not take advantage of this break between employment to work on personal projects or to travel? I often took a vacation that I’d otherwise have to wait a year or more to enjoy while I built up leave in my new position.
5. Relocation costs
Covering the costs of relocating to another city for your new job is a perk your new employer may provide.
Don’t limit yourself when itemizing your list of expenses. Relocation costs can extend beyond moving you, your family and your stuff. You can also ask your employer to pay for at least one house hunting trip, to cover your temporary housing until you can get settled, and even seek their assistance selling your previous home.
“Knowing what is in your relocation package is important because the moving process can be strenuous and expensive for transferees,” writes Jamie Birt in What Should an Employee Relocation Package Include. “By taking the time to review the contents of your relocation package and identify areas where you need more support, you can properly approach your employer and negotiate the terms of your package to best fit your needs.”
6. Additional leave
If the employer’s vacation policy is particularly skimpy, you can try to snag extra leave as part of your hiring package. Perhaps receiving an extra week of vacation beyond the standard leave granted is more important to you than money. If so, offer to take a reduced salary in exchange for a bump in your annual leave, or seek a certain number of days off each year without pay. If you’ll be expected to routinely work over 40 hours a week inquire how you will be compensated. In some positions, employers would rather give you time off than pay you overtime.
Whatever you negotiate, get it in writing. I learned this the hard way after accruing 200 hours of overtime in a job where my fellow employees said, don’t worry, you’ll be granted equal hours of leave. There was no formal written compensation policy, so I wasn’t.
“Taking time off for vacation or a mental health day is incredibly important and will help make you a better employee in the long run,” Korn writes. “Find out the company culture around taking time off.”
Identify your priorities and prepare to negotiate
List the perks and benefits most important to you in order of priority and keep these in mind when researching job postings. If a particular perk is essential, ask yourself whether you’re prepared to reject the offer if it’s not part of the hiring package.
“… do your homework by researching the company online to get a feel for the company culture, and see if there’s any mention of workplace perks and benefits,” writes Ashira Prossack in How to Negotiate for Non-Salary Benefits.
Reach out to your network to find someone who works there. Meet over coffee to get their take on office culture. This is an important step that can help you both early in your job hunting process and as you prepare for your negotiations should you receive an offer.
“Don’t get fixated on money,” writes Harvard Business School professor Deepak Malhotra in 15 Rules for Negotiating a Job Offer. “Focus on the value of the entire deal: responsibilities, location, travel, flexibility in work hours, opportunities for growth and promotion, perks, support for continued education, and so forth.”
In addition, prepare to explain in great detail the value of the skills, experience, and particular abilities you bring to the position and how you will benefit the company as you negotiate your salary and the prioritized perks in your entire package.
Liz Carmack is an award-winning writer, editor and author of two nonfiction books published by Texas A&M University Press. She has worked as a communications professional for almost four decades.
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