You can list every line of your benefits package, and half your team still could not tell you what they get beyond salary and holiday. That is the real problem with most perks: they are paid for, filed away, and forgotten. Non monetary benefits for employees only work when people notice them, value them, and would miss them if they left.
This guide is a practical breakdown of how to build a non-cash benefits package that earns that kind of attention. It covers what these benefits are, why they drive retention and engagement, the categories worth investing in, and the one perk most companies overlook that people actually talk about.
If you want a benefit that doubles as a culture and values signal, the simplest to add is an impact-led employee gift that plants a real tree for milestones. We will come back to why that one lands.
Key Takeaways
- Non monetary benefits are the non-cash parts of an employee’s package, perks, flexibility, growth, wellbeing and values-aligned extras, that shape daily experience more than the salary number does.
- They drive retention because they speak to belonging, autonomy and purpose, which are stronger reasons people stay than incremental pay.
- The categories that matter most are flexibility, health and wellbeing, growth, culture and connection, and meaningful impact perks.
- An impact perk like a planted Tree Gift works as both a culture benefit and an ESG signal, because it is real, trackable and worth sharing.
What are non monetary benefits for employees?
Non monetary benefits for employees are the parts of a compensation package that do not arrive as cash: flexible working, extra leave, learning budgets, wellbeing support, recognition, and values-aligned perks. They sit alongside salary and bonus, but they shape how it actually feels to work somewhere day to day.
The reason they punch above their cost is simple. Salary sets the floor for whether someone considers a job. The non monetary layer decides whether they enjoy it, recommend it, and stay. A competitor can usually match your pay. It is much harder to copy a package of benefits that genuinely fits how your people want to live and work.
Why do non monetary benefits drive retention and engagement?
They drive retention because they meet the needs that keep people committed once pay is fair: control over their time, room to grow, support for their health, a sense of belonging, and the feeling that the company shares their values. These are the things employees mention in exit interviews far more than the salary figure.
The cost of getting this wrong is enormous. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace estimated disengagement drains around 8.8 trillion dollars from the global economy, with only about 23 percent of employees actively engaged. A well-built non monetary benefits package is one of the most cost-effective levers you have to move that number, because most of these perks deliver outsized value relative to what they cost the business.
The categories of non monetary benefits worth investing in
Think in categories, then pick the few that fit your people best. Spreading thinly across everything is weaker than going deep on what your team actually values.
Flexibility and time
Remote and hybrid options, flexible hours, compressed weeks, and generous or unlimited leave policies. For most modern teams this is the single most valued category, because time and autonomy are things money cannot easily buy back.
Health and wellbeing
Mental health support, gym or wellness stipends, wellbeing days, and a culture that genuinely protects boundaries. These benefits signal that the company sees employees as people, not just output, which builds the trust that underpins loyalty.
Growth and development
Learning budgets, mentoring, conference access, and clear progression. High performers stay where they keep growing, and this category is the clearest way to show you are investing in their future rather than just renting their present.
Culture and connection
Team experiences, recognition programmes, social events, and the small rituals that make a workplace feel human. Connection is the glue, and it is often the thing people miss most when they leave a good team for a slightly better-paying job.
Meaningful and impact perks
Benefits that align with your people’s values and let them feel part of something bigger: volunteering days, charitable matching, and impact rewards like planting a tree in an employee’s name. This is the category most companies underuse, and it is increasingly the one younger talent looks for when choosing where to work.
Why a planted Tree Gift is a benefit employees actually remember
Among impact perks, a Tree Gift stands out because it does two jobs at once: it strengthens culture and it stands as a visible ESG signal, all from a single, memorable gesture. ForestNation is a corporate tree gifting company that has helped more than 500 businesses plant nearly 2 million trees in Tanzania through verified reforestation programmes, and it pioneered the plant-a-tree-per-purchase model almost twenty years ago.
As a benefit, it works because it is real and personal. The employee gets a verified tree planted in their name in Tanzania, which they can track and share. Unlike a generic perk that blends into the package, a Tree Gift becomes a small story the person tells, on their desk as a Tree Kit, on LinkedIn, at home. And it tells your wider audience something true about the company’s values without a single greenwashing claim.
The impact is measured, not vague. ForestNation’s Working Trees field study recorded 0.025 tonnes of carbon absorbed per tree per year across five GPS-tagged sites in Tanzania, with a conservative 30 percent uncertainty discount applied. The full method is on the impact methodology page. Tree planting here is a contribution to verified reforestation and community livelihoods, never a claim to cancel out a footprint.
You can add impact-led employee gifts to your perks, or create a single message free at giftstory.ai to see how the experience feels before you build it into your package.
How to build the package
Survey your people before you spend. The fastest way to waste benefits budget is to guess. Ask which categories matter most, choose two or three to do well, and make sure employees actually know what they have. A benefit nobody remembers might as well not exist.
For the recognition and reward layer that sits inside this, the wider topic is covered in our hub on non monetary incentives, with specific reward ideas in our guide to non monetary rewards and the operational side in building an employee gifting programme.
Research and References
- Gallup (2023). State of the Global Workplace: 2022 data, $8.8 trillion cost of disengagement and 23% engagement. gallup.com
- ForestNation Impact Methodology. Field-measured CO2 per tree, five Tanzania sites. forestnation.com
- Open Forest Protocol. ForestNation’s preferred verification standard. openforestprotocol.org
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a non monetary benefit for employees?
Anything of value in a package that is not direct cash: flexible or remote working, extra leave, learning and conference budgets, wellbeing support, recognition programmes, team experiences, and values-aligned perks such as a tree planted in the employee’s name.
Do non monetary benefits really affect whether employees stay?
Yes. Once pay is fair, people stay for autonomy, growth, wellbeing, belonging and shared values, which are exactly what the non monetary layer provides. Exit interviews consistently surface these reasons over salary alone.
Which non monetary benefits do employees value most?
Flexibility and time tend to top the list for most teams, followed by wellbeing support and growth opportunities. The right mix depends on your workforce, which is why surveying before spending matters.
Can a tree-planting perk work as both culture and ESG?
Yes. A ForestNation Tree Gift gives the individual a personal, trackable reward while contributing to verified reforestation in Tanzania, so it strengthens culture and supports your sustainability story at the same time, without any unsubstantiated green claim.
