show me the money and / or equally awesome things

December 16, 2014 8:05 AM

in midst of a contract negotiation, and am looking for things to negotiate when pay and vacation are inflexible?

i am currently negotiating a contract for a gig i am super excited about. yay!

let's assume that employer has 0% flexibility with salary, vacation time, or educational allowance. what other things might i negotiate that would be of value?

i've done a lot of work identifying my own interests, and the three other things i can think of are (1) ability to work remotely X% of the time in co-working spaces relevant to my org, (2) X% of time on the job dedicated to self-driven projects, which are still of benefit to the org, and (3) work 10hr days with fridays off (i am less excited about this option, but still interesting to consider).

have you negotiated other interesting things? what else might i encourage movement on?

what kinds of innovative things are other organizations / staff doing in their contract negotiations?

posted by crawfo to Work & Money (10 answers total)

Training (some companies will pay for you to get an MBA), sabbatical month off after 5 years.
posted by Dragonness at 8:06 AM on December 16, 2014

-Technology budget (i.e., ability to select own equipment)
-Flexible hours
-Paid lunch
-Pre-tax commuter benefits
-401K matching
-ESPP
-Life insurance
-Gym membership
-Bring your dog to work
-No dress code or relaxed dress code
-Paid volunteer days and/or donation matching

Based on your profile, I think you may be outside the US, so adjust accordingly for the things above that are US-centric.
posted by melissasaurus at 8:44 AM on December 16, 2014 [3 favorites]

Funded attendance at 2-3 interesting professional conferences.
posted by mercredi at 8:44 AM on December 16, 2014

... in interesting places, with a plus-one guest also funded.
posted by feral_goldfish at 9:41 AM on December 16, 2014

A flexible schedule day to day -- allowing you to come in at 6am and leave at 3pm, for example, if that's something that would make commuting etc. easier. Also, depending on your commuting tendencies, things like parking or bus passes if not already included. Other things might be industry specific -- for example, if you are traveling a lot, the ability to book travel on your own credit card and get reimbursed, earning you points, can be a nice fringe benefit. Or if you're writing for an outdoor magazine, keeping demo skis etc.
posted by craven_morhead at 9:54 AM on December 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

When Max Tishler moved from the pharmaceutical industry to academia, he had already made a small fortune and thus required no salary. He instead requested, and received: (1) a parking spot marked with his name, and (2) ample space in the science building's foyer for his exotic, beautiful, giant potted plants.
posted by feral_goldfish at 9:58 AM on December 16, 2014

+2 to a transit pass or parking.
posted by stellaluna at 12:39 PM on December 16, 2014

Work at home n days per week.

Window office.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:03 PM on December 16, 2014

4 10s can be a little harsh but working an extra 35 minutes a day and then getting every third Friday off is a glorious perk. Especially if you can bank a day or two.
posted by Mitheral at 6:38 PM on December 16, 2014

Oh, job title!
posted by Dragonness at 8:15 AM on December 17, 2014