Talisha Smith 

Prof Brille Buckler 

Business 311-1801 

Benefits and what they mean to Employees 

Searching for a job in America can be a tedious thing. You try to find the best pay, weekends off and most importantly a job with great benefits. Benefits are important these days and often determine if an employee will stay with an employer for a long period of time. A lot of employees stay with their companies even when the pay isn’t great because of the benefits and what the job offers such as health insurance, dental insurance and 401k’s. Although those are just the basic ones a lot of companies have been offering way more in order to lessen the turnover rates. 

I work for Northwell healt, one of the biggest health systems in the five boroughs and I am a satisfied employee. My pay is great, and my benefits are even better. I am part of a union called 1199 and they are a great union to be a part of. Because I am a part of this union, I received health insurance and dental insurance and do not have any copayments with my plan. We all know that copayments can be costly and can add up every time you go to the doctor. As a Northwell employee I also have a 401k plan with them in which the company adds money to it as well. I have life insurance with my job, and we also receive raises twice a year. Northwell also offers childcare reimbursement, discounts to care insurance companies, cell phone and cable companies as well as entertainment. My company also pays tuition for people who would like to further their education. Northwell also pays you for your time that you occurred that you didn’t use during the fiscal year. 

Since Covid has been around and we have worked so hard we have gotten more incentives’ such as a bonus, Breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as extra vacation, personal and sick time. Although my company offers all these great benefits only three of them are important to me. I have three children so having health insurance with my union helps a lot because I do not have to pay copayments and I still have a wide spread of great doctors I can choose from. I also enjoy having a 401k so that I have a healthy savings when I retire.  Although I get paid more than most, I would accept a pay cut just to keep my health insurance. I Know that a lot of other companies do not offer the insurance that I have especially at the rate that I pay. Having paid time off is also important to me, I get to go on vacation or even just stay home and still get paid and I never have to worry about losing money if I call out sick. 

Although certain benefits can be pricey and unsustainable for a lot of companies, I think that it is realistic to find benefits that work for the employers that the employees will enjoy. Companies must move and work within a budget that works for them. Offering benefits will decrease turnover while also making employees feel appreciated. I think that companies that offer benefits will have longevity within the company and that it will pay off in the long run   

For Unit 9’s assignment I chose to interview four individuals working at different companies and in different positions.

Maria Lopez
Maria is an Accounts Receivable and Billing Specialist. She works for the law firm Condon & Forsyth.

What type of benefits does your company offer?
We receive medical, dental, vision care coverage, FSA, HSA, 401k, life insurance, Commuter Benefits, workers’ compensation, short-term disability, long-term disability, free bottled water, soda and food. I am entitled to four weeks vacation. I can carry over up to five days into the following year or cash out it out in April of the following year. The company offers multiple types of health insurance plans that employees can choose from based on premium or types of coverage needed. Some of the plans offer 80/20 coverage and others 70/30 coverage but they all have high deductibles. They also give us a MetroCard Stipend of $100.00 per month which you can apply towards the purchase of your monthly MetroCard. Pre Covid, the company would order soups, sandwich, fruit and salad platters for partner meetings, conferences, and depositions. Most of the time the amount of food ordered exceeded what was needed and the employees were invited to partake in the consumption. This occurred at least two to three times per week. In addition, we would receive a birthday breakfast every first Monday of every month to celebrate the birthdays of all the staff members.

Which of the benefits that are offered by your employer is the most important for you?
As an asthmatic the most important benefit for me is my medical, especially now with Covid in the picture. It could mean life or death for me.

Are there any benefits that you would like your company to offer that they don’t offer now?
The firm’s benefit package is pretty competitive and is similar to that of other companies, but it would be nice if they gave tuition reimbursement or pay raises more often. Some of us have not received a raise in over four years. Also, it would be nice if we had plans with lower deductibles.

Gina Pacheco
Gina is a part-time Paralegal. She works for the law firm Pasternack, Tilker, Ziegler, Walsh, Stanton & Romano, LLP.

What type of benefits does your company offer?
I am a part-time employee who works less than 30 hours per week. As a result, I am not eligible for many of the benefits offered by the company. The only benefits that I can partake in are workers’ compensation, short-term disability, long-term disability, Profit Sharing and 401k. Fortunately, as a part-time employee I qualify for coverage under the Marketplace. I also do not get any PTO time and can only accrue 1 hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 sick hours per year.

If you were a full-time employee, what benefits offered by your company would you participate in?
I would definitely participate in the medical insurance. I have several medical conditions that require consistent care and maintenance visits to the doctor.

Are there any benefits that you would like your company to offer that they don’t offer now?
I would like for the company to offer more incentives to employees like gift cards, free MetroCards, etc.

David Maldonado
David is a retired doorman and a former 32BJ Union member.

What type of benefits did your company offer?
The company offered workers’ compensation, short-term disability, long-term disability, and medical, dental, and vision coverage at no cost to employees. I had 5 weeks paid sick/vacation time. The company also gave us the option to enroll in 401k and I also get a pension from the union. I was also eligible to other perks and benefits through my union. I could enroll in any trainings offered at the union free of charge and received gym reimbursement. In addition, there would be an annual raffle for employees’ children to receive tuition grants provided they maintained the required average.

Which of the benefits that are offered by your employer is the most important for you?
The most important benefits were my medical and 401k. I have diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol problems so I need to have medical coverage and medications all the time.

Are there any benefits that you would have liked your company to offer that they didn’t offer when you were employed?
The company would contribute to your 401k but they only contributed less than 1% of your earnings which was approximately $360.00 per quarter. I wish they would have at least matched my contributions.

All three of the persons interviewed considered medical coverage the most important benefit. The only one who gave an equal amount of importance to his 401k benefits was David Maldonado who is a retired doorman. I also consider medical coverage to be essential. Medical visits, medications, and hospitalizations can be very expensive. Illness and accidents can happen at any moment and it is a relief when you know that you won’t have to spend your savings to cover these expenses. However, for me I also consider PTO and sick time to be essential benefits as well. This is a benefit that some people take for granted. I know there are places where PTO is limited to 1 or 2 weeks maximum per year regardless of the amount of time you work there.

Jean Muy                                                                                                        Professor Buckler

BUS 311 – 1801                                                                                              April 11, 2021

When having any sort of job, receiving any sort of benefits is something that can really help you out throughout the course of your life. From paid vacations, sick leave, health/dental insurance and retirement plans is possibly something that is big when it comes to benefits. With all of these things that can become available to you, it makes the workers feel important that they are aware of all these assets to them. Many companies set out their benefits to a point that makes workers set out what they want and making sure they are receiving the right number of benefits.

From what I like with receiving benefits, my current job at Target has a good amount when it comes to benefits and pay to their fellow employees. It comes with a 10% discount that you can use whenever you are shopping at any Target, paid vacation, sick leave, 401 K plan, family leave, health/life insurance. When I think about it, these types of benefits is something that either me or anyone working at any local Target should ever be taken for granted because not much companies offer up these types of things to their fellow employees. This job can be something that you can start from the bottom and reach to a good point for the company, earning a good amount of pay along with the benefits that were stated. Employees have to understand that showing their significance towards the workplace is something that can bring good energy but also the ability to earn their benefits on a good note.

From all of the available benefits that a company brings to the table, it makes sense that health insurance or 401 K plan is something that makes the most important benefit of them all. After you’re done working for a long, period of time, you would love to live a life where you just want to enjoy the rest of their life. Your health within your life is something you want to be aware of especially when you grow older in life and both of these benefits allow you to get your health to be in tact as long as you’re living well with your life. Having a nice life after retirement is something that everyone looks forward to when it comes to working for their entire life and once reaching to that point in your career, benefits can be a huge asset having those.

With all of my own experiences at work and asking fellow people that work alongside with me concludes that not many people focus on the pay, whereas they just focus on their respective work fields and continue doing what they are supposed to do. No matter at what workplace you’re at, it’s always sensible to know what sort of things you’re receiving back when you are staying committed to a spot for a long time. Benefits or not, it’s always important to find out what sort of those are being given out by the company you are seeking to work for. With many companies having these sorts of benefits across the board, it’s something that people really don’t have a concern for but the main concern is which ones are they going to receive when the time comes for it.

Nelson Sanchez

BUS 311-1801

4/11/2021

Benefits & Services Interview

• Interview a friend or family member (or multiple people) who work for different companies and ask them to describe the benefits they are afforded, and which benefits mean the most to them and why. This can be recorded on video, or transcribed with questions and answers. Then, reflect on these benefits and determine whether you agree or disagree with your interviewees’ opinions.

Over the spring break I decided to interview my father Cesar. He is an HVAC technician and he works for a big HVAC company called Altech Services which its headquarters is located in New Jersey. I asked him a few questions about the benefits he receives at the company. Please view the Interview below.

What type of benefits do you receive at Altech?

“Well I receive 401k, Health insurance, Life insurance, Paid time off (PTO), and Pay increases from time to time.”

Can you go into further detail about your benefits?

“For my Health insurance and Life Insurance I was offered a choice for single insurance for just myself or family insurance. I chose family insurance which gives us full coverage for medical, dental, medicine, vision, etc… Of course in return I need to provide my services to the customers like I usually do in order to receive these benefits.”

Out of all your benefits, which benefit means the most to you?

“I would say the family health insurance means the most to me because I am a family man and my family comes first and I make sure that my family has the best health care. Without you all I wouldn’t be anything. Before I went into Altech, I made it clear to them that I am a family man and that if they can’t accept that then I couldn’t work for them.

Do you feel like you are being treated fairly when it comes to receiving benefits alongside your co-workers?

“I can safely say yes because the company makes sure we are all treated equally and my boss has a no man left behind mentality. He makes sure all of his employees receive nothing but the best when it comes to benefits and he cares about our families because he has a good heart plus he is very religious.”

This concludes my interview with my father. By him telling me more about his company and what they are about it opened up my eyes to see that the world is evolving and the workplace is evolving with it. Little by little workplaces are changing their structures and making their environments a better place to work in. My Father’s company make sure they follow all the rules and regulations under the state law. They make sure that their company is very friendly and they always look for feedback to make improvements from time to time. I agree with my Father’s opinions because he broke it down into detail about his reasons for working hard for the benefits and why he pushes forward everyday to keep the benefits. I also agree that his company is providing him with the most necessary benefits under the states labor rules and regulation laws.

There were a couple of examples that I saw in this assignment where I interview close friends or relatives and asked them about the job they are currently in and the jobs benefits.

Esteban is a worker that has been working in target for about 1 year and 3 months.

 What benefits are you offered in your workplace?

Answer: I get 10% off everything I buy, I get vacation, national holidays, personal days and well-being time. Adding on to that I have always been told about short term and long-term disability insurance. I’ve never used this, but I get dental insurance, daycare flexible spending account that I haven’t used at all. And what’s called “Life Insurance”. These are all benefits I am allowed and receive but I haven’t really used any but the 10%.

What benefits mean the most to you and why?

Answer: I would say maybe the dental insurance and the “Life insurance” because it shows that the company obviously cares about you and want what’s best for you in the company.

Do you enjoy working at your workplace?

Answer: Yes, I do enjoy working here, although it doesn’t seem like the best job, I actually enjoy being here and feel cared for, and respected as a person.

How come you haven’t used any of the benefits given except the 10% one?

Answer: To be honest I haven’t really needed any except calling off for a week over a personal problem but other than that never really needed to use them. I am thinking about using some in the future if I am still working here.

Pablo is my cousin that works as a bar tender in Rainhas Churrascaria which is a well-known Brazilian bar, has been working as one for about 2 years and about 5 months at the local.

What benefits are you offered in your workplace?

Answer: Well as a bar tender I have benefits such as paid holidays and vacations, since our restaurant is big, we receive health insurance, sick pays and every day is pay day if I am being honest.

What benefits mean the most to you and why?

Answer: If I am being honest the benefits that mean the most to me would be that we get health insurance and that every day is pay day. Simply because of the tips they receive with not only the people at the bars but in general. I wouldn’t say famous people come but people that are wealthy show up and eat here and we have to obviously treat them good, not saying we don’t treat our customers good in general but obviously you try to impress the wealthier.

Do you enjoy the position you work as?

Answer: Yes, I do enjoy it, I genuinely enjoy working as a bar tender, I love making the drinks or just pouring them and doing it well, it’s always fun seeing new faces and for the people that come here a lot we kind of catch up on life since we know each other. Especially if its sports, the fan base we get here is funny sometimes.

Has covid changed any of your benefits or affected your workplace?

Answer: Well, covid affected everyone so we weren’t alone, there were times in the summer where the bar was completely empty, and it would only be 3 or 4 workers here working and it was tough with the tips and as a whole, but we are back on track as of recently.

I had no idea the amount of benefits my friend Esteban had, he only uses the 10% one obviously because it is in store and maybe the best one, I believe. But the benefits they receive aren’t bad, my friend should maybe start and using them while he has a chance to be honest. I feel like jobs started being more precautionary and in a sort of way started caring more about their workers because of covid in my opinion which is good and make them feel safe and cared for. As for my cousin Pablo his benefits are really good as well such as health benefits and the pay day every day. Both the people I interviewed really enjoy working in their positions and have good benefits that are really good. They are well respected and cared for in both jobs, but some workers have more valuable benefits then others, pay could possibly be the most important aspect for some but no all.

Interview with an employee from a Not-for-profit corporation

This corporation though it is a not-for-profit they had avenues that create funding for the company. They try to offer their employees benefits, encouraging them to stay due to their salary not as competitive as other companies. They offer things like working from home some days, assistant with job search upon leaving the company; this includes resume development help and job search tools. They also offer medical, pay for education/tuition reimbursement, paternity and maternity leave, including two weeks the second year for working mothers and fathers, 401K, medical for employees and their family, continue of health coverage (Cobra), and uniform to some departments.

The interviewee’s most important benefit was tuition reimbursement/pay for education and working from home and medical for both them and the family. The ability to advance oneself educationally is crucial. Knowing that the company will take that financial strain that having a degree has allows ease of mind. Having to pay for medical especially when having a young child or children, could be costly. Knowing that those costs are covered gives peace of mind and causes less worry about what will be done if something happens to any family member. Working from home allows someone to have minor wear and tear on the body and vehicle. It also allows the ability to spend more time with the family. Just knowing that you are close by to help your spouse with the kids is very important. It allows one to have more time to build a family relationship.

Looking at the things that my interviewee values, I see his point into what is essential. Having that educational option to advance one’s career could help with promotional ability, opening anyone for more pay, and building more management or leadership experience. Medical bills can be a strain on any and everyone. Even if I have to pay a co-payment, having that bill paid is better than paying the total cost that many medical bills cost. This will allow me to have more disposable cash and let my family have preventative care, allowing us to work on any issues our body may develop. Working from home for me is something I know I will personally enjoy. Having more time to spend with my toddler will be beneficial for me. I can use the extra time when I am home used to travel, and even the hours spent at work, I can have my child close to me while I work. I know it can be a bit distracting, but spending more time with my family will be great. One thing which was not mentioned that I value is 401K. Having the ability to save towards retirement is very important for me. Knowing that the money is taken out allows me to know that the disposable income that I have I do not need to take out to save towards retirement.

Everyone has different things they value regarding their job.

Since everything starts with the benefits package, it is important to define this concept. According to the illustrative video of the course, ‘’employee benefits include all compensation other than hourly wage or base salary”. In other words, employee benefits are “indirect, non-cash, or cash compensation paid to an employee above and beyond regular salary or wages’’. Some benefits seen as “traditional” are mandated by federal and state laws. In terms of traditional benefits, we have social security which comes from The Social Security act of 1935. Employers are required to withdraw funds called payroll to cover retirement compensation and medical benefits. Besides, we as employee benefits, we have workers compensation which allows worker injured on the job to receive financial help, and survivor benefits to depends on workers who died at the work location. Further, Unemployment compensation is a which provides an income to ex-employee facing involuntary unemployment. This program will help them in the process of searching for a new job, improve all so worker skills after a lay off or a retrenchment. Lastly, the FMLA (Family and Medical Leave) helps employees to find an equilibrate scale between their work and some family responsibilities by conferring them to benefit from some unpaid leave for medical and family reasons. This program is also for equity between genders by ensuring equal employment opportunities for men and women.

Obviously, these ‘’traditional benefits” are appealing, seem to be various and protective. However, things are changing. Organizations are going more forward for being more attractive, stricter when it is about providing immaculate benefit packages to employees in order to gain the maximum from them. Popular employee benefits must commonly are: healthcare, paid time off, fitness perks, paid family leaves, student loans, flexible hours… Organizations have noticed that compensation cannot only reflect the factor of money, instead should focus on the relationship between human beings. Now on, it is about individual recognition, and this goes through providing to workers well-being experiences; confidence; satisfaction; and security. Organizations try to be positively present in workers’ family life by providing them support by multiple means and security by allowing them to obtain even shares in the company. These two methods go beyond the basic expectations workers could have toward his employee.

When an organization understands and incorporates the social changes into its human resources management politics, there is a reason why cheer that innovation. This refers to Microsoft which “offers a partial coverage for transgender surgery to its existing health-care coverage”. Microsoft has shown audacity and acceptance to people where many still slippering. This is not all, Microsoft has classified in groups all the elements of its benefit packages. The first group, named wellbeing, refers to medical, dental, and vision care; physical wellbeing programs; on-campus health access; disability support. In this group, the medical, dental, and vision care benefit means a lot because even the worker’s dependents are covered. The second group is called Invest in the future and covers: 401 (k) plan, employee stock purchase plan and loan refinancing, and financial planning and education program. In this group, the employee stock purchase plan is meaningful since it allows employees to become Microsoft shareholders with an extra 10 percent discount. This is means of lifting the employee, pushing him to be more involved in the company, and getting him to work in the best interest of the company. The third group treats the family care and emphasize parental leave, family caregiver leave, family support programs, and college coach program. The parental leave program allows an employee to benefit from “20 weeks of paid time away for birth mothers and 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave for all other new parents, including adoptions and foster placements”. (There are several other more groups, the link mentioned in the work cited heading will lead you to them).

Apple as an example of prosperity and growth. A company feared by its competitors and venerated by its customers have led some arrangements on their employment compensation plans. According to the site https://good.co/blog/apple-careers, here is some benefits and perks of working at Apple:

Discount: Apple employees get 25% off of iPhones, iPads, and computers. Additionally, employees are offered a 50% discount on Apple software. When employees sign on, they are offered either $500 off of a Mac computer or $250 off of an iPad.

Health Insurance: Apple offers dental, medical, and visual insurance for their employees. 

401k: Apple offers a 401k and matches up to 6% of an employee’s salary.

Food: For employees who work on an Apple campus, their meals are cheap and subsidized. The iOS and OS X software teams get complimentary dinner when they have to work after hours.

Transportation: Employees working in the Palo Alto, California location are often shuttled from other parts of the Bay.

Parental Leave: Apple employees are offered maternal and paternal leave.

Education: Apple offers up to $52,00 a year for you to continue your education.

Furthermore, like Microsoft employees, Apple workers have the opportunity to become Apple shareholders. Apple considers all employees eligible for stock grants and discounts when purchasing Apple stock.  

Since employees are not looking only for money, compensation packages are reducing the turnover rate in companies. Employees are being more incentive to stay in their role and this is preventing an organization from expenses related to turnover. It is evident that the non-traditional benefit packages are motivating employees. With these programs employees are constantly targeting greater heights. Overall, employees’ performances and efficiency have significantly evolved with all these compensations offered by organizations.

Well-being is a motivating factor and perks have evolved certainly. When employers are thinking about perks such as “dog-friendly workplace”, gyms or other fitness benefits, paid paternity leave… it is evident that employers are introducing innovative means of uplifting employees’ spirits. However, in my opinion, money is meant to provide well-being, therefore, if the employee benefits package is consistent, I won’t mind receiving a lower rate of pay.

Work cited:

https://www.apple.com/jobs/us/benefits.html

https://good.co/blog/apple-careers/#:~:text=Benefits%20and%20Perks%20Of%20Working,iPhones%2C%20iPads%2C%20and%20computers.&text=Health%20Insurance%3A%20Apple%20offers%20dental,6%25%20of%20an%20employee’s%20salary.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unemployment-compensation.asp

https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/usbenefits

For this assignment, I interviewed a couple of my close friends to ask them about their job benefits and which ones they felt were most important for them.

Ana, Flight Attendant with JetBlue Airlines

Yaritza: What benefits does your job offer you?
Ana: My job offers me free flying on domestic flights, buddy passes, only paying taxes on international flights, health insurance, PTO and of course, getting to see different cities, states, and countries.
Y: Which benefits mean the most to you and why?
A: The benefit that means the most to me is getting to explore new places because it opens my mind and allows me to do new things.
Y: Can you describe an experience that opened your mind?
A: Once I stayed in San Francisco near the water. I jogged on the beach and that is something I do not get to do at home in New York. Another time I stayed in Puerto Rico and got to visit the beach very often which helped me feel at peace.
Y: What new things were you allowed to do?
A: I got to taste foods from different cultures. I liked mofongo from Dominican Republic and coconuts from Puerto Rico. I loved drinking the coconut water and then eating the coconut. Tacos taste better in Mexico and in Thailand, I tried fried rice with a fried egg on top. I also had a huge, steamed fish in Colombia by the beach which was delicious.

Amarelis, Research Assistant with Columbia University

Yaritza: What benefits does your job offer you?
Amarelis: My job offers me health and dental insurance, a 401K, life insurance, classes at Colombia with tuition reimbursement, PTO, free COVID testing, personal days off, sick leave, paid time off when serving jury duty, and vacation days. My job offers more benefits, but these are the only ones I qualify for because I don’t have kids.
Y: So, if you did have children, what benefits would they offer?
A: I think they offer health insurance for dependents, maternity leave, money for childcare, and help with college funds for my dependents but I’m not too sure on the specifics because I don’t have children. The benefits I named are just something along those lines.
Y: Which benefits mean the most to you and why?
A: Health and dental are most important to me because I can try different providers and clinics. I think it’s cool to have life insurance because I never had it before and very grateful to have been offered it. But the biggest benefit so far has been the free COVID vaccine because of school affiliation. I was the first in my family to get vaccinated and when they all got COVID I was able to take care of them knowing I had some kind of protection.

What is interesting about these answers is that none of my friends mentioned their compensation as a job benefit. This led to my conclusion that pay is not the most important aspect of a job. The most important aspect is the benefit of a better way of life. Whether it is the ability to travel to new cities for free, the opportunity to have life insurance or the protection against COVID, all these have one thing in common. They would not have been possible without the benefits of their place of employment.