The Most Unusual Office Benefits In The Philippines

When you’re applying for a job, you must carefully consider the job offer. While most people simply look at the basic pay, you should also consider what office benefits you will get. For most companies, benefits only cover how many vacation and sick leaves you get, how often bonuses arrive, and when promotions or appraisals are. But some Filipino companies offer some unusual benefits that could be worth more than any of these.

Company trips

Some companies, advertising agencies in particular, offer free yearly trips for all regular employees. These are not your regular company outings to Laguna or Batangas, but all-expense paid international trips to Korea, Egypt, or London.

Perfect attendance incentive

Commonly practiced in call center companies, there are incentives offered for people who never get sick and are dependably punctual. Typically released every month, this rewards perfect attendance with money and/or other gifts like Starbucks cards.

Flexitime

On the other end of the spectrum are companies that offerflexitime and telecommuting possibilities. Some companies offer a work-from-home day at least once a month, while others allow their employees to tailor their own schedule to match their lifestyle.

Free breakfast/free meals

There are companies that offer complimentary breakfast, or those that offer free lunch once a month or once a week. This reduces employee downtime by making dining choices easier and keeping them in the office for meals.

Rice benefit

Literally, isang kaban ng bigas, once a month, for regular employees.

Clothing allowance

If your job requires that you dress to impress, there are companies that offer an allowance to help you augment your wardrobe. You will be representing them after all.

Transportation allowance

An allowance for gas is commonly offered to those with vehicles, but this benefit becomes unusual when offered to employees who don’t own cars. Instead of transforming the benefit to accommodate cab receipts or other forms of commuting, those without cars instead have to get gas receipts from friends to claim it.

Free housing

Another unusual benefit is to provide housing privileges for employees to make it easier for them to concentrate on work. An example of this is the Kalibrr Hacker House that lets developers focus on code instead of how to get home. When you get a new job offer, make sure to ask your prospective employer if they have any benefits that aren’t explicitly included. They may be offering perks that you didn’t expect. So check with the employers and see if you can work in benefits you like during the negotiation stage. Who knows, flexitime or a clothing allowance may be in your future.