unlimited leave & work from anywhere?! ️

Hi zesties!! 🍋 I talk a lot about compensation and benefits due to the nature of my work and have also noticed that more people are starting to assess compensation and benefits as a whole rather than just harping on base salary itself. At times, some are even willing to take on a job with a lower basic salary if the benefits are highly attractive. Having started my full time job and enjoying some of the special perks, I realise how important these are in one’s decision to consider external opportunities as well.

Here’s some of the perks that I am glad to have working in my current company! 😚

⏳ 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞

I feel like more companies are starting to adopt more flexible leaves including unlimited paid leave/time off, although still rare. This is probably one of the best perks!! I don’t really have to plan out my leaves in advance because it’s unlimited 🤪 Of course, there are conditions such as not exceeding XX number of days at any one time but there’s room for negotiation depending on the situation/holiday plan! However, this comes with ownership!! While you have unlimited leaves, you are still expected to own your targets and results! 😌 Honestly this would be the benefit that I’d find very hard to let go if I were to move to another company with a cap on leaves 😅

🌏 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞

Another one of my favourite perks!!! While most companies are implementing full or 3 days of WFO, we’re still very hybrid/remote! There’s an office but no obligation to WFO!! We are allowed to work remotely from another country for not more than 3 months a year as well, so some of my colleagues were working out of Bali, Tioman, China, EU, etc. Really love this perk as it reflects the flexibility! Some days I’d decide to work out of cafes for a change in environment. I find this very empowering and motivating!

🖥️ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬

My company rolled this out to provide support for the hybrid work arrangements. The subsidies can be used to purchase keyboards, mouse, ergonomic desks or chairs, webcams, headphones etc. As I already own an ergonomic desk and chair, I decided to use this benefit to purchase a PRISM+ monitor instead because I was facing some issues with my old monitor. Plus point is that it doubles up for personal use as well 😚

💰 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬

Basically hard cash! Thankful that I can claim my ClassPass subscription fees haha. This can be reimbursed on a monthly basis or accumulated till the end of the year to claim the full amount. I also have the option to use this for a variety of other things including therapy, massages, facials, fitness, home gym equipment, and even Apple Watches 🤩

рџ’ЄрџЏј 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 рќђ“рќђ«рќђљрќђўрќђ§рќђўрќђ§рќђ

Because investing in your own people is the way to go! We have an annual skills training amount that we can leverage to upskill ourselves! This can be used for online courses on platforms such as Udemy, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, SkillsFuture or to obtain certifications from Google or AWS and more! The only catch is that it has to be relevant and value-adding to your work + a short presentation to the team on your learnings!

🧘🏻‍♀️ 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

We have premium subscription to the self-care application, Intellect. The app provides self-guided exercises such as breathing techniques, journalling, mood trackers, and rescue sessions. Tele-health services such as 1:1 counselling are also available! Bigger organisations may have the luxury of providing EAP services but given that I’m working in a startup, having premium access to Intellect is considered not bad for me!

While the overall benefits package isn’t as comprehensive as big tech companies, it’s definitely competitive and attractive for a startup! Many people have asked me about the feasibility of unlimited PTO. That’s a very valid question! It’s important to understand how the policy works and what’s the uptake of it to gauge just how comfortable people in the company are with utilising this benefit as it says a lot about the culture!!

☁️