When negotiating with an employer, it doesn’t always mean that you have to ask for more cash. There might not always be cash there for you to negotiate for, or you may even value other benefits more than cash.
Many times, benefits are worth much more than a monetary raise. Usually there is only so much of a raise that you can ask for, but with benefits you may have more of a chance to improve your overall salary/benefits package
Before you negotiate, there are always tasks that you should accomplish first and questions that you should ask yourself. Are you a good worker? How did your last work review go? What do others in a similar position to you make? What kind of benefits do those people have? How is your company financially doing?
After you figure out the answers to the questions above and determine that negotiating for benefits is what you want, here are possible benefits that you could ask for.
Ask for health insurance.
If you don’t already receive health insurance, then you may want to ask for it. Usually employers can get it for cheaper than an individual. You may even be offered better insurance than through an individual plan, and it can really pay off.
Ask for more days off.
Many people want more days off. If you have a very limited amount of vacation and/or sick days, then you may want to try and negotiate for more. Always be realistic though – asking for 3 more months of vacation when you only receive 2 weeks each year currently is probably a lot to ask for.
If you know that you want children, you may also ask for paid maternity or paid paternity leave as well. If you are in the U.S (paid maternity/paternity leave is not a requirement in the U.S.), you know how much this is needed!
Days to work at home.
I really value a flexible schedule, and if an employer will allow for that, I am pretty much in love with them. You could ask for days to work from home instead of commuting to an office. Or, you could ask for a more flexible work week – such as working 4 ten hour days instead of having to do 5 eight hour days each week.
Have you ever negotiated for benefits instead of money?
