Work Perks – Free Food And Entertainment

We often joke in my team at work that you can eat for free at Monday to Friday if you play your cards right, and this week seems to be no exception.

There are over 300 people on my floor so there seems to be a birthday at least once a week or so, sometime more, so that equals free birthday cake. There are 3 scheduled this week alone. One of the perks of having Marketing and Sales on the same floor, I've no doubt; there’s always money for cake!

If there’s a launch of a new plan or product that equals a launch party so there’s at least cake, but the last couple of launches provided not only cake but hot food as well! If it's a bigger launch we'll usually get free chocolate bars or cupcakes as well.

Yesterday we had our monthly treat delivered to our desks, which were small packets of biscuits (cookies for the non-Aussies). In previous months it’s been instant soups, nuts and raisins, and fancy instant coffees (yuck, I don’t do instant).

There’s always free Twinings tea available in the kitchens on every floor, both Irish Breakfast (the CEO is Irish - coincidence?) and Green varieties.

I've got a team lunch today as our product was just voted the best in Australia (yay us), so the big boss is taking us all out for lunch at a local steak house, so free lunch (steak at that!) today.

Tomorrow I've off to a free screening of the new Batman movie The Dark Knight, at the cinema that’s right across the road from where I live, which also includes free choc tops, popcorn and drinks, a huge saving from an entertainment perspective.

I won a bet with my boss about how well a campaign would perform, so that’s another free lunch tomorrow for me – hurrah!

On Friday we've got a team off site that’s fully catered, so that’s a total of three free lunches this week, and better ones than I’d have packed for myself, so I've got to be happy with that.

Last week we had the top four dancers from So You Think You Can Dance come to the campus and put on a show ahead of their tour around Australia.

Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch!

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Employee Of The Month – Me!

We had our monthly team meeting last week, and I was awarded employee of the month for leadership and work I’d done of a couple of projects. Go me!

The award gives you $150 to spend on anything you’d like, and you then expense it back to work. I thought it best to not spend the lot on flavoured Absolut, might send the boss the wrong message when he approves the expense claim! *lol*

What to do with it then? I spent some time over the weekend trying to think of something to buy with it and it was the weirdest thing, I couldn't think of anything I want!

I can’t take in a credit card statement and expense $150 of it even if I wanted to, it has to be on something. I did think of that one though.

I was thinking I might splash out on a haircut and colour at a posh salon, but I’m perfectly happy colouring my own hair and just getting the haircut wherever is convenient (I have a very simple haircut).

I could spend it on books, but I’m trying to get rid of all the books I already have and don’t read as it is, and I have an excellent library I go to where I can get everything I want to read for free, so that’s out.

Possibly a new pair of sneakers to jump start my health and fitness efforts? Since I cancelled my never used gym membership a while back I've been meaning to get more walking into my daily routine.

I also wouldn't mind a thermal walled coffee press. As I live on my own, being able to make two cups at a time and keeping that second cup hot would come in handy, especially on weekends.

Maybe new bed linen once I get my new bedroom suite?

Go extreme and take myself off to BridgeClimb? Not too much fun to go on your own though, that's a shared experience I reckon.

What do you think? I’m open to suggestions on what should I spend this windfall on, it was given as a reward for my efforts, so I’d like it to be worth it, but not waste it on clutter.

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Work Perks – Volunteer Leave

I'm really excited about this one. My company has recently implemented a policy that allows all permanent full time and part time employees a day of paid volunteer leave in each calendar year.

The purpose of the volunteer leave is to encourage us to provide assistance and support to a charity or not-for-profit organisation with their charitable and/or community activities.

I'm particularly excited as this will allow me to get involved in something I'm really passionate about, children's literacy. I really believe that helping a child to not only learn to but enjoy reading, opens up a wealth of opportunities and possibilities for them.

I get paired up (with another volunteer) and matched with a year five or six student to provide one-on-one reading mentoring and support. Every week, we will alternate visiting the school and reading with the student for an hour. So I’ll visit the school once a fortnight for the whole school term.

My police check (required when working with children of course) is all through, so I'm now just waiting for the training to kick off and we start in May with the kids.

I'm so excited! This something I've wanted to get involved with for years, but due to school hours being shorter than my working hours I've never been able to find a way to do it, and now I can with my companies endorsement! Even better is that due to my living so close to work, it's one of my local schools so I'm really helping my local community.

Does your company offer or get involved in anything similar as part of their corporate responsibility programs?

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I’m A Uni Student!

I’ve just completed enrolment for the next semester. I'm enrolled for two subjects, Marketing Theory and Practice, and Introduction to Management.

The subjects cost $710 each for the semester, so $1420.00, plus an additional $231.02 for the textbooks (including delivery). I’ll get 50% of this back from work as part of my paid education perk, and the rest once I complete the subjects with at least a pass grade.

I’m really looking forward to studying again. It’s been a while, and as the course is so targeted at what I’m doing at work, it’s going to be helpful as I learn, not at the end of it all. Not to mention it’s a great reason to be at home on the weekends studying, instead of going out and blowing all my money!

A question now. Is it ethical to sell on those textbooks at the end of the semester if work has actually paid for them, or not? What do you think? I believe I could get 75% of their value back from what I’ve seen around the University online forums.

I wonder if I should eat 2 minute noodles (ramen) every night as well, to experience the full student experience. ;-)

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