What non-monetary things could I ask for in my contract re-negotiations?

December 3, 2009 1:00 PM

What non-monetary things could I ask for in my contract re-negotiations?

Due to some contractual inefficiencies that aren't worth getting into, I have been asked by my boss to suggest some non-raise ways of increasing my employment package. I have a basic idea or two (more vacation time, built in raise at the end of the year of X%), but am looking for some more suggestions.

About my job: Have been on contract for 1.5 years; new contract will be Jan 1 to Dec 31. Work for a large publicly traded communications company in a senior-ish role. Can't get a permanent role until someone leaves, which, for reasons that aren't worth getting into, will almost definitely not happen before Jan 2011 at the earliest.

posted by anonymous to work & money (14 answers total)

A better office. Perhaps a new and improved job title.
posted by exogenous at 1:04 PM on December 3, 2009

Paid conferences. Stress relief, continuing education and networking all in one.
posted by rokusan at 1:05 PM on December 3, 2009

I was going to suggest a better office, computer, or have them subsidize any courses you'd like to take. Also, the conferences being paid for is good as well.
posted by bluefly at 1:08 PM on December 3, 2009

Conferences, definitely. See if they can get you a new computer, laptop, phone. Maybe some 'factfinding missions' to the movies. Flowers for your mother on her birthday?
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 1:10 PM on December 3, 2009

Is it the kind of job where you could work at home some of the time? I would give up huge chunks of my salary if I could do that. In my opinion that and more vacation times are the best thing you can do for your quality of life.

I wouldn't ask for "raise X by date Y" because even with the best of intentions circumstances may prevent them from being able to give you that raise on that day, and then it turns into "but you promised me!" and everyone is unhappy.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:11 PM on December 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

More vacation time is a standard non-monetary thing. It doesn't cost them more, and to a large degree, a happier, well-rested employee is more efficient to the point where it makes up for the lost time. Definitely ask for that.

Additionally, if tele-commuting is possible for your position, and appealing to you, maybe you could ask for that. Avoiding the daily commute even once a week is a nice perk!
posted by explosion at 1:11 PM on December 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Flexible hours / telecommuting. More vacation time. Title bump.
posted by Perplexity at 1:23 PM on December 3, 2009

I would say vacation time! It depends on the nature of your role and your corporate culture, (I've heard that Americans don't often take very long vacations.)

Recently I wasn't able to get an already promised raise because of a company wide freeze on salaries, so I traded my "raise" for vacation days at 80% of pro-rata. Damn fine deal if you ask me.

caveats: I work in a project focused role, so as long as I plan my vacations months in advance I can take arbitrarily long ones without affecting my job performance adversely. If you're in a line manager role then this might not be possible, in that case ask for a job title change. Even if this "promotion" doesn't come with any additional money, it'll be good to show steady progression on your CV.
posted by atrazine at 1:30 PM on December 3, 2009

I'll assume "nonmonetary" means no additional direct drain on the budget, not paycheck-same-size.

"communications company"

Free use of what they make. Phone line, intertubes on nice pipe, prepaid calling cards.

First dibs on equipment they're discarding. Ebay!

"publicly traded"

Stocks. Not options. Stocks.
posted by cmiller at 1:31 PM on December 3, 2009

* A stronger title. Sometimes it matters, but these days I think recruiters care about job duties not job titles.
* Newer, better office equipment.
* Corner office.
* Paid professional organization memberships, like IEEE
* Oddball insurance policies, or better deals on the existing coverages.
* A personal parking space
* Employee discounts
posted by pwnguin at 2:34 PM on December 3, 2009

It's worth trying to see if you can get benefits ordinarily given to employees but not contractors. For example, health insurance or retirement benefits. If that's too much of a stretch, cheaper benefits like free/discounted public transit, employee discounts, non-health insurance, childcare assistance, and the like might be an option. Benefits may be accounted for separately, making it easier for your bosses to provide these instead of a raise, and the end effect will be less you need to pay for out of your own pocket.

Also consider quality of life stuff at work: fancy chair, laptop you can take home, a second (or larger) monitor for your computer, office furniture, etc...
posted by zachlipton at 3:04 PM on December 3, 2009

Flex hours.
posted by stoneweaver at 5:12 PM on December 3, 2009

I assume a bonus is off the table? How about better benefits - 401k, better health insurance, vision/dental coverage, short term disability insurance, etc?

I have a friend who, in a similar situation with her job, negotiated "early Fridays." She calculated that if she received the same amount of pay while working N fewer hours per week, she would find that to be an acceptable raise. So every Friday she leaves the office at noon.
posted by ErikaB at 6:30 PM on December 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Structured mentorship arrangement with your favorite role model at the company.

Nthing vacations/flextime/sabbaticals/telecommuting.

Adding a new responsibility to your job *that you want*. Example: if you've been wanting to learn about social media and it's not currently part of your job, ask if you can present to the board about social media strategies in 6 months (and take the appropriate amount of time to research it between now and then).

And of course tuition/conferences/equipment/professional education.

Good luck!
posted by brainwane at 7:18 PM on December 3, 2009