15 Best Benefits for Remote Employees: Tips & Examples

There are many benefits for remote employees that make working from home increasingly more attractive than working from an office.

Remote work has exploded in popularity among working professionals over the last decade. But because of the growing number of remote jobs, simply offering the option to work from home might soon be not enough.

Find out what benefits you can offer to your remote workers — from providing them with a work computer and an ergonomic chair to childcare benefits and training opportunities.

The best thing to do is to be ready and learn how to attract the best remote talent from all around the world.

Remote work today

Despite the fact that businesses are reopening offices following a two-year quarantine, many are considering a hybrid work model that allows staff to operate remotely post-pandemic.

These companies include major large organizations, like Dropbox, Coinbase, Quora, Reddit, and even Meta (formerly known as Facebook).

According to a survey by FindStack, 16 percent of enterprises around the world are already entirely remote. And this number is expected to grow.

With the increasing popularity of remote working, the real question is how can companies keep employees satisfied, motivated, and loyal; even if the workers are miles away?

Well, for starters, remote workers earn $4,000 more per year on average than regular workers. That alone hugely contributes to keeping workers motivated.

But, of course, there are also other benefits that employers can offer remote workers to keep them satisfied.

Why should you provide benefits to remote employees?

If you're an employer, you probably worry the most about the pitfalls of the remote hiring process. No wonder. Advertising and finding the ideal candidate for a remote position is often a costly and time-consuming process.

However, it's equally (if not more) important to be able to retain remote employees. Companies can't afford to lose staff who have the necessary expertise and talent.

That's why making employees feel happy with their jobs is in every employer's best interest.

And that's not particularly easy during the Great Resignation of 2022, when:

• 73% of workers intend to quit their present job
• 4.3 million Americans departed or changed employment in January of the year 2022 in the U.S.

But there are solutions to high turnover! One of them is offering the option to work from home, as remote work is one of the biggest talent magnets. Valued and recognized employees are 44% more likely to thrive, making a remote work option a valuable way to show employees they are appreciated.

There are also other unique staff packages to assure loyalty to the organization in order to tackle this challenge.

But at the end of the day, remote workers, like on-site employees, require the same level of support from their employers because they have their own demands.

Let's take a closer look at what are the top 15 perks, advantages, and benefits available to remote employees.

1. Fitness & well-being benefits

We've all heard the phrase "health is wealth." And often, wellness is, indeed, near the top of every company's employee benefits package.

Regardless of the fact that workers work remotely, businesses should still ensure that they receive help when it comes to their general well-being.

Some businesses pay a monthly fee for fitness apps like Fitbit, Headspace, or Grokker. Other add gym memberships and so on.

On the other hand, you probably don't have to go as far as Pinterest, for example. They offer their employees meditation, yoga, and weekly dancing classes via Google Hangouts.

Or Zappos, the online clothing store. They provide their remote employees with free herb-gardening kits. (Which, to be hones, actually sounds kind of nice.)

2. Training and development opportunities

Both employees and employers benefit from professional development.

Training opportunities may be even more crucial for remote professionals who tend to feel more isolated and have fewer opportunities to learn from their senior colleagues in the office.

So it's necessary to satisfy their curiosity and provide them with opportunities to improve and grow their knowledge while they work.

Furthermore, the availability of online courses has made learning much more accessible to everybody.

You can very easily provide your staff access to premium online classes so they can learn about whatever topics they want, as long as they are related to their jobs.

This could include courses from Udacity, Udemy, Skillshare, or other popular learning platforms.

3. Insurance plans

This benefit is a no-brainer. Health, life, and disability insurance are among the key motivations for job candidates to accept an offered job. 

Especially, if these (remote) employees live in the U.S.

If you offer this benefit, you'll be looking at stress-free and loyal employees, who will think twice before accepting a new job offer.

And low employee turnover is what every employer wants, after all.

4. Childcare benefits for remote employees

Remote employees, especially those with children, struggle to balance work and home life because being a parent is another full-time job.

So, providing assistance to workers with childcare costs could have a positive financial impact on families.

And not only that! Childcare benefits not only attract top people but also ensure that the team remains productive.

A newborn baby bonus is among remote work benefits, alongside au-pair coverage, and other employee benefits for parents.

Twitter, for instance, used to provide a variety of educational streaming activities for children. They also offered webinars for parents, where they could listen to psychologists and other specialists.

5. Food and drink packages

Free (or discounted) food and drinks are one of the most common bonuses that companies offer to their on-site employees, but it's also something that remote workers rarely ever get.

And some companies take this even further.

For example, Google maintains local/seasonal menus at all of its cafes and recruits top chefs who cook for their on-site employees.

The question is — shouldn't remote employees receive the same treatment? Even if they eat their lunch on the other side of the globe?

Well, probably not to that level but you can still offer to reimburse them for some of the costs of coffee or snacks.

6. Financial equity or stock options

Financial employee stock options are a type of equity remuneration firms give to their employees. Rather than issuing shares of stock, the corporation instead offers derivative options on the equity.

Equity options are a type of derivative that only trades stocks as the underlying value.

In other words, employees are given a "slice" of the company on top of their paycheck. 

This benefit works great because offering equity or stock rewards and promotes a sense of ownership.

As a result, employees are encouraged to strive for success — after all, it's their money that's now at play.

7. Tools & technical benefits for remote employees

No business today can function without technology. However, when it comes to remote work, it would be literally impossible for it to exist without it.

So, if you make the choice of having a remote team, you should think about providing them with a strong Wi-Fi connection, a good computer, and other necessary tools, like a business phone number for efficient communication.

An easy way to do this is to provide each remote employee with an allowance.

Consequently, they can choose those tech devices that will serve them the best in their home offices.

Additionally, providing remote desktop support and technical assistance can foster a sense of connection and support, ensuring that remote employees can seamlessly navigate their work tasks. This level of support not only enhances productivity but also demonstrates the company's commitment to making remote work as efficient and comfortable as possible.

8. Retirement plans

In some countries, such as Australia, retirement funds are compulsory.

In some others, a retirement plan is a key benefit that you can offer to both on-site and remote employees.

You might begin by establishing Provident Fund accounts for your remote employees and contributing to them on a monthly basis.

The effect this decision will have is the same as offering insurance benefits — your employees will be happy to stick with you, so you won't have to fear a high employee turnover.

9. Home workstation support

Every employee, whether in the office or working remotely, delivers better quality output if they have access to all the necessary things they need.

And as we already mentioned, providing them with tech tools is the initial step.

However, you could also help your remote employees set up their own remote workstations.

How can you achieve this?

You can start by offering stipends to enable them to purchase a proper work desk, an ergonomic chair, or a large screen. These are the basic necessary equipment that will keep your employees both happy and productive.

And big companies know this! Employees at Shopify were given $1,000 to set up their home offices, while employees at Indeed were given $500 refunds for their acquired standing desks, chairs, or lights.

10. Travel remote employee benefits

As said before, one of the most difficult obstacles for remote workers is separating business from personal life, as their place of rest is also their place of labor.

Work-from-home-burnout is also on the rise, due to the difficulty of establishing boundaries between work and personal life.

According to Indeed data, the number of employments offering unlimited paid time off increased by more than 100 percent between 2015 and 2019.

And it's obvious why employers do this.

Just 1 or 2 extra weeks off each year can show employees that you care about their well-being.

Alternatively, what you can do is organize a team retreat, which incorporates team-building activities as well as relaxation time, and therefore promotes team and work culture.

It will also allow your remote employees to finally meet face-to-face and get to know each other.

And some companies take this even further. For example, BambooHR, a software solution provider, offers workers "paid vacation"—$2,000 per year to travel as they choose. To help budget for these travels, employees can make use of an online per diem calculator.

11. Milestones and birthday gifts

If one works in the office, it's easy to remember and celebrate milestones such as birthdays, holidays, or corporate successes.

However, it may be harder to stay in close touch and celebrate with colleagues who work remotely.

So it's important to keep in mind that they're still part of the team and too would appreciate being remembered. 

One thing that you can do is send corporate gifts — e.g. desktop accessories, gift sets, or even flowers and snack boxes, as a surprise. You can add personal comments to make this even more memorable

It may be a small gesture, but for a colleague who is physically separated from the team, it's a nice reminder that behind all the email and Zoom calls they can find a real boss made out of flesh and bones.

12. Subscription

A Spotify Premium subscription may be a great benefit for remote employees.

Alternatively, you can even consider paying for a subscription to streaming sites such as Amazon Prime or Netflix.

While this may initially seem like a stupid thing to do (you don't want your employees distracted!), rewinding after work is crucial for one's productivity.

And you can easily provide this form of entertainment for your remote employees!

However, if you're still not a fan of this idea, you may prefer to pay for educational subscriptions in the form of online courses (be it a new language or graphic design).

This way you'll get grateful, yet also better-skilled employees.

13. Company culture

A good remote company culture keeps employees linked and develops trust-building communication. It also makes employees feel seen, even if they work from home.

It's unsurprising that an office employee will feel more connected to the company than a remote worker, and this sense of isolation is a roadblock that you must avoid.

This might be accomplished by building a company that creates a stress-free environment and gives its employees flexibility.

Encourage your employees to work in collaborative teams, foster online dialogues, and set up one-on-one meetings with firm executives and managers.

Organizing team events is another benefit that fosters good workplace relationships. More on that in the chapter below!

14. Team events

Just because your employees are remote, it shouldn't mean that there are no team-building events.

Team events are critical for establishing and maintaining a strong remote corporate culture, especially among employees who don't share a co-working location.

Regular workplace events are a terrific way of building good work relationships between your employees, who will look forward to working every morning. 

You can either decide to plan a real-life teambuilding (and announce it in advance so everyone will have a chance to plan their travels), or a remote one. The latter will be easier and cheaper to plan but may be less fun.

Still, who would say no to a virtual happy hour?

15. Home care services

Cleaning might become a major burden when you have a busy job schedule at home. And boundaries between work and free time tend to get blurred when working from home.

As an employer, you can help with this by offering your staff home cleaning services after a long day at work.

This is yet another fantastic benefit that will make your staff feel great about working for you, as they'll appreciate that you care for their overall well-being and work-life balance!

And that's it! Kickresume wishes you good luck with remote hiring!