Most of the companies offer benefits range from basics like annual leaves and annual medical check-ups to luxurious like exorbitant healthcare for your spouse or annual sponsored overseas holiday trips. However, there are some policies that I have come across in my employment that just doesn’t work the way it should be or rather, does more harm to the employees than good.

Here are 3 policies that I don’t think companies should practice or if they do, tighter rules need to accompany these benefits.

Stay Healthy Benefit

Or better known as No Medical Leave Reward. Some companies I know reward their staff when they stay healthy and not fall sick throughout the year, hence reducing the need to be away from work due to illness. Rewards usually come in the form of monetary bonus dished out once it crosses the last day of the year. The problem is that many employees would want to go to work, carrying diseases, pretending that they are fine, just to qualify for the bonus. I even knew of a colleague who turned up for work even though she is diagnosis with measles just because it is last week of December and she just had one more week to go before qualifying period is up. Measles!!

Sell Your Annual Leave

I know a lot of employees love this one but in my opinion, it actually does more harm than good. Some employees collect their annual leaves as they do to stamp or bottle caps collection, exchanging it for cash at the end of the year. It might be alright for the first year or two but soon enough, their bosses expected their constant presence throughout the year without a break, and a bad habit, a bad expectation is formed. The purpose of having annual leave is to allow staff to rest and recuperate, not to earn extra cash through benefits. If more than 50% of the company staff encashed their leaves at the end of the year, it does send a signal to the Human Resource, perhaps they are too generous with their leave system?

What a Fine System

Whether it is for punctuality or carelessness or even the swear jar, having a fine for crime system within the department is not funny and can cause underlying resentment  at some point or other. Some managers love to do it to encourage good behaviors, using the money in the jar to benefit the team at the end of the week or month but it seems to neither punishing to staff who can’t afford it or for some ‘well off’ staff, another 10 bucks in the jar means nothing to them. If your Human Resource already has a policy in place for lateness, having a fine jar defeat the proper policy and in fact, belittled it.  

So what are some of your company’s policies that you wish that they would abolish? Share with us your thoughts below!