A recent survey of 1,200 employees and employers by MetLife UK - a financial and investments company - has found that 50 per cent of employees would be prepared to sacrifice part of their salary in order to get more personalised employee benefits.
In addition, 74 per cent of workers stated that they would work harder for their employer if they received benefits that were tailored to their needs.
The study showed that 67 per cent of employers surveyed confirmed that their current employee benefits packages are changing to support the needs of their employees - whilst 64 per cent stated that they had been promoting benefits more both during and since the pandemic.
Just under forty per cent of workers stated that if they had intended to change jobs within the next 12 months, they could be persuaded to stay in their current work if their employer showed more care for their mental wellbeing - with 73 per cent saying they would work harder for an employer that cared about their wellbeing.
An important purpose of the report was to understand how workers priorities have changed since the pandemic - giving employers the tools with which to rebuild their employer/employee relationship.
Samantha Johnson - Policy Lead at the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals - said that the needs of employees were now paramount, but she noted that individual benefit packages would come with ‘complexities in administration and compliance’.
She added:
“It is now central to a payroller's knowledge to understand how to ensure benefits in kind, salary sacrifice and expenses are implemented effectively and correctly.”
A further significant influence for employees was financial protection - with pensions being ranked at 7.78 out of 10; income protection 7.27 out of 10 and critical illness 6.95 out of 10.
The least important benefits were found to be season ticket loans and gym memberships.
More than 60 per cent of employees would like the ability to form their benefits package together with their employer and 48 per cent stated that they were in discussion with their employer about benefits.
Charles Cotton - Senior Policy Adviser on performance and reward at the CIPD - stated that that employee benefits did not come in ‘one size fits all’. He suggested that employers who were looking to change their offers should start “conducting a review of what they currently offer and speaking to staff about what they value the most”.
He added:
“Taking time to invest not just in employee benefits but also in how you provide and communicate these benefits can improve employee retention, engagement and wellbeing so it’s well worth getting right.”
Adrian Matthews - EB Director at MetLife UK - commented:
“For years businesses have believed that higher pay and job security was the answer to a multitude of problems for employees and while they both remain vital, priorities have changed. Employees are now looking for a much more holistic approach to their benefits package.
Talk of a four-day week and flexible working had started to make their way into our corporate vocabulary before the pandemic but in practice they were largely left to smaller SMEs or start-ups to introduce. Fast forward to 2022 and we’ve seen a seismic shift in the way we work and where we do it. During the pandemic with social venues closed, the ‘softer’ benefits such as gym memberships and Friday drinks became obsolete and while many of us look forward to socialising after work with a colleague again, more functional benefits such as income protection are proving to be more worthwhile to employees going forward.
Ensuring that the benefit packages employers offer suits all members of the team is crucial to protect productivity and encourage loyalty for the long term. Our research found that more than two thirds of employees ‘will work harder for an employer who provides employee benefits that support my individual needs’. Employers must recognise how the needs of their employees will have changed in the past 12 months and work with them to find practical solutions that can be introduced quickly.”
