I believe that one of the things that lies between me and the jhanas is how much I desire them - sometimes it almost distracts me from the breath.
So I thought that if I come up with a list of reasons why meditation benefits me and, almost most importantly, the people around me, even if I don't go into jhana, that might make me more content and jhanable (see what I did there? ;D ).
My practise is mostly inclined towards concentration. It goes very much like this
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/breathmed.html

So, could you help me to come up with a few ways pre-jhanic meditation benefits me and others?

Well first of all ... I feel ya' brother.
I'm getting a bit caught up in the sign posts of progress too.

But having said that my big reason for;  meditation, morality training, and Dharma study ... is the beneficial effects it has on interpersonal relationships.

When one comes to understand that any unpleasant feelings or results that we would normally attribute to the actions of someone who wronged us... should really be attributed to our internal reaction... getting control of that internal stuff becomes important.

It really boils down to being able to notice thoughts early enough that one can make a decision as to the skillfulness of following through on them.

Would saying that actually help anything?
Would going there promote a compassionate form of progress?
Am I getting wrapped up in an emotion here?... cause that's my problem not theirs.

It has had the following positive effects in my experience:

• I'm much less quick to "score a point" or say some "perfect" thing to win.
  • Others are less inclined to play that game.
  • Which leads to less conflict.
• I'm much more calm in the face of conflict that does arise.
  • This leads others to stay calm.
  • This de-escalates the situation much faster.
  • Which leads to less conflict.
• I'm able to talk about upsetting situations from a lovingkidness point of view
  • Others are more likely to listen as oppose to plan their next retort
  • Which leads to less conflict.

Your milage may vary. And I'm no expert.
But that's been my experience.

Thank you, that sound really logical although that has not been my experience lately. Since I have started worrying less for consequenses, I have had more of a tendency to say provoking things which gets me into trouble.

Another one: Increasing ones concentration skills helps one with pretty much everything, including listening to others

Why not try meditating on that feeling of desire.  Go into it and let go of the need to change it.  Just want jhana with all your mind and body - you might find it's intensely pleasant. Jhana happens in the now - so whatever is happening now is okay. If you say, "I will only get to jhana when I'm not wanting jhana," then you aren't here and now, you're looking off in the future. This idea that you can't want cool things to happen in meditation simply isn't a part of reality - it's your aversion to the desire that's a problem. Trying to change how you feel is incredibly distracting. Be excited, plan a party for when you finally reach jhana. Make a vow. Do whatever you want! Be free of your inhibitions, haha, just let your crazy mind do what it wants. When you meditate, give yourself permission to be exactly what you are in that moment.

But to answer your original question, I think any kind of concentration practice can, itself, be pleasant for its own sake. When I used to practice mindfulness, I was approaching it as, "ok, I need to concentrate on the present so I can get to a mindful state and experience that lovely panoramic sensory field." But this would always mean getting past a hump where I was forcing my attention "back to the present" and there would always be lots of aversion to get past. It was very off-putting and felt like work. Then one day I noticed that there was nothing you needed to "try" to do. If you aren't focusing on something, and you suddenly realize you have't been, that itself is the attention - it does it without your help. I started rewarding myself for those moments, and then concentration practice became very rewarding - like a game. Every time I realized I wasn't on the object, the mind did a little celebration, so it wanted to keep going back.

Interesting point, it is the opposite of what this guy says:

http://www.jhana8.com/meditation-tips/meditation-tips-for-advanced-students/

but what you say makes more sense to me.