<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">... and let your indulgent employer foot the bill</span><br /><br />From simple family picnics and office parties to dating allowances and theatre workshops, corporates are going the whole hog in providing unusual incentives to make employees feel special and happy. Just like jobs are no more confined to the nine-to-five deadline, companies are thinking out-of-the-box ways to boost the morale of the generally stressed, overworked employee and express appreciation in more personalised ways.<br /><br /></div> <div align="right" style="position:relative; left: -3"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="right" border="1" width="43.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" e6e6e6=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">* </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Annual foreign trips</span><span style="" font-size:="">: It''s the MNCs and marketing companies which offer this as a perk to encourage employees to take a break from work.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Stress-buster rooms</span><span style="" font-size:="">: To let people go in and vent frustration and get back to work with a clear mind.
</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Meditation and Art of Living workshops</span><span style="" font-size:="">: To help de-stress the average over-worked employee. It''s mainly offered by the call centres and industries who operate in a 24X7 environment.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Dating and birthday allowances or even a holiday on one''s birthday</span><span style="" font-size:="">: It''s the IT and software sector which provide these as incentives to make an employee feel special. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">River-rafting, trekking expeditions</span><span style="" font-size:="">: To put the team in difficult situations as a team-building exercise. Popular in foreign banks</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Training modules abroad</span><span style="" font-size:="">: The company sponsors you to learn while working. It''s again offered as an incentive to IT and software professionals.</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">These incentives may not be monetary in nature. Rather, these could range from birthday bashes at work to river-rafting expeditions; ''team-building'' and ''de-stressing'' seems to be the mantra behind all such efforts. Explained Subhashish Das, senior vice-president, HR, Bengal Ambuja, "We have a stress-buster room in our office where people can go and relax. If he is frustrated with his boss, he can just box the punching bag to give vent to his feelings."<br /><br />So, if there are meditation and Art of Living workshops in some companies to ease the level of anxiety of workers, then there are novel initiatives like dating and birthday allowances in many call centres and IT companies. At NIIT, Kolkata, along with a dating allowance a birthday voucher is presented to the employee. Even a premium car is sent by the company to take out the spouse on the day of the marriage anniversary. But in most multi-national companies, sending the employee on trips abroad is the most ''in'' thing now. "Money doesn''t attract a person after a certain point and so the initiatives have become more esteem-oriented. The company then encourages an employee to go on a foreign holiday, or even send him on a technical training programme where the cost and all arrangements are taken care of by the company," said Samit Mitra, Kolkata-based regional sales manager, Goodyear India. <br /><br />Another form of incentive gaining currency is of companies letting employees continue studying while working and even encouraging them to go on training modules abroad. For example, at Tata Martrade, if the company observes an additional interest of an employee outside his domain of expertise, then he could be sent on a short training to cultivate that particular interest. Even the hospitality industry is not lagging behind. In a city five-star hotel, a big cake is cut in the office on an employee''s birthday. The cake-cutting is followed up with playing fun games and presentation of gifts. If a client has appreciated a particular employee, then the client''s comments are put up on the notice board for everybody to see. In some companies, parents wanting to visit their child studying away from home are given an allowance. In most places, the idea is to come up with inexpensive but attractive and thoughtful ways to show that you care. <br /><a href="mailto:madhurima.nandy@timesgroup.com">madhurima.nandy@timesgroup.com</a><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic=""><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></span></div> </div>
