April 10, 2003

Reap the hidden harvest of specialized benefits
Posted by jbutler@bostonworks.com">Jason Butler at 8:12 AM -

The Wall Street Journal reports on how to take advantage of the hidden benefits.

At a time when companies are increasingly embracing a wide array of expensive, specialized benefits, employees often don't even know about them, let alone use them. But with businesses tightening their belts by freezing or cutting salaries, workers can and should think of other ways a company can reward them.

The percentages of companies offering newer benefits such as flexible work schedules, elder care, adoption assistance and even pet insurance has continued to edge up during the past few years, according to the 2002 Benefits Survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, Alexandria, Va. A few companies have trimmed them in the downturn, of course.

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