Forget about the wage: employees are looking beyond their salary and are increasingly ­looking at benefits.

“The i-gaming sector has brought about new concepts of fringe benefits – and ones that are new to Malta, such as a vending machine allowance,” Misco consultant Maria Zahra said.

“Many people no longer bring food with them from home... And since the i-gaming companies have very flexible hours spread across the day – and sometimes even round the clock – a canteen is no longer the best option.”

To lure and retain the best talent, other companies are going to have to match or exceed these benefits – and as workers’ expectations rise, companies in other sectors will also start to feel the pressure.

“Packages are definitely getting more complex. Before we used to see packages for particular sectors which were similar but now there is so much specialisation within sectors like financial services and i-gaming that each package tends to be tailor-made,” Misco partner Lawrence Zammit said.

Employees are expecting this individual approach to reflect on other aspects too, like their car.

“Instead of a car, more and more employees are opting for a car allowance as this will allow them to drive the type of car they want,” Misco head of HR Ritienne Xerri added.

The recent Salaries and Benefits Report published by Misco found that 90 per cent of companies now offer fringe benefits – although as this is only the second time that benefits are being included in the report, it is too soon to be able to determine trends.

Health insurance was at the top of the list, with 70 per cent of employers offering this benefit, with a communications allowance next.

Almost half – 46 per cent – offer family-friendly measures such as flexible working hours.

Times are definitely changing. Netflix recently introduced a policy allowing salaried staff to take leave whenever they want for as long as they want, which was later copied by Virgin. And Google is famous for its work culture and perks (see box below).

“The world is like a village. People read about the working conditions at Google and begin to ask themselves why this culture should not be disseminated. Why should they work nine-to-five? Why shouldn’t they be able to take more or less leave?

“This is going to pose a real challenge for employers,” Mr Zammit said.

The Google way

Fortune Magazine and the Great Place to Work Institute named Google as the 2014 ‘Best Companies to Work For’, the fifth time that the company topped the list. Here are a few of the perks that make it stand out from the crowd.

• Employees can schedule an on-site haircut free of charge.

• To work off all calories, employees can head over to a gym filled with equipment.

• Google also provides swim-in-place swimming pools.

• Google employees can take a break and play a quick game of pool or foosball.

• Google has laundry facilities available to employees on site. The company even offers dry cleaning services.

• Google’s healthcare plan includes on-site medical staff.

• Google allows its employees to use up to 20 per cent of their work week at Google to pursue special projects.

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