A Censuswide survey of 2,005 British workers has found that more than one in four are not making the most of their workplace benefits.
This is despite 91 percent of respondents being aware of the benefits on offer to them – pointing to a disconnect between what workers want and what they are being offered.
Commissioned by Juno, a platform democratising employee benefits, the survey found that the vast majority of respondents were aware of all the employee benefits currently offered by their company (although awareness tails off amongst over-55s).
The uptake of benefits
But a significant gap emerged between the awareness and uptake of benefits. Asked whether they made use of their benefits, just 28 percent of respondents answered ‘always’, whilst 27 percent answered ‘no’.
Uptake also declined consistently with age, and was lower amongst women.
Evolving workplace benefits have become essential ammunition in the war for talent and can help individuals offset living costs and save for the future. But it’s clear that current schemes, which tend to remain fixed and inflexible, are failing to keep pace with the needs of staff.
Ally Fekaiki, founder of Juno, comments:
“The gap between awareness and uptake of workplace benefits points to a worrying disconnect between employees’ needs and the support available to them.
“Despite most people knowing what’s on offer, the majority aren’t always using them. That’s a massive waste of investment for the companies, as well as a missed opportunity to engage with and support staff.
“Individual employees know best what serves their health and happiness. Empowering staff to choose their own benefits is the best way to ensure optimum take up, minimise waste, and maximise employee satisfaction.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
