Salary Upgrade Over Non-financial Benefits
In your professional life, you will on occasion find yourself in a position to negotiate the rewards you will receive in return for your work. Generally speaking these rewards, or better said—incentives—come in either financial or non-financial form, and deciding which one to reach out for can be a bit more complex than it seems.
In terms of financial appreciation, we can talk about bonuses, retirement benefits, allowance, or – the most common one – a salary raise. While many would argue in favor of the straightforward logic that more money = good, others would tell you that money is not the only motivator and it is not always a motivator. A bigger salary can prevent job dissatisfaction; however, it does not provide “on the job satisfaction”. In other words, a bigger paycheck does not necessarily make you like your job more. That being said, aiming for the highest possible pay is a perfectly valid career decision, and you may opt for this strategy if you want to quickly accumulate financial means for making personal investments, like quitting your job and travelling for a while.
Non-financial benefits can include anything from more flexible scheduling, vouchers, gift cards, to being given greater responsibility or free training (e.g. a language course paid by your employer). Your supervisor’s public praise of your achievements would be considered a non-financial incentive, too. While it may seem that all of these are just a cheap way for the company to avoid giving you a proper raise, an experienced HR manager would probably tell you just how powerful non-financial incentives can be.
For example, if you are a worker who is comfortable with their salary or if you have been in the position for a long time, you may like the option of working from home two days a week much better than a minor raise. Or if you are an executive working at the higher level, you may prefer being given greater responsibility, as it will make your work more challenging. On the other hand, if you find yourself in a situation where you are struggling to make ends meet, a pat on the back from your boss is probably not what you were hoping for in return for your hard work.
The bottom line in this case would be the old “know thyself”. Be aware of what it is that motivates you and what would make you happier/more productive at your job. Also, you might want different things in different stages of your life and that is okay. Whichever it is, you want to make sure that your employer knows it too, so that you can work on that give-and-take quality that every healthy relationship is based on, also the professional one.
By Veronika Bacova