More than two in five employees want their employer to prioritise offering increased flexibility and choice in their benefits package.
While feeling that they’re being heard and supported by employers are high on the agenda, underpinning access to flexibility and choice of benefits.
This is according to the WTW 2022 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey, which also found that order to make the most of benefits packages, 40 percent of employees who wanted greater help said that having access to online tools that help them understand different plans and how their pay would be affected would be beneficial.
A further 37 percent of employees said it would be useful to speak to a benefits specialist and 36 percent of staff said they would like to use tools that compare different plan options and features.
Choice of flexibility and benefits
The research also found that there is greater appreciation for benefits when greater flexibility and choice is offered.
In fact, where a fully flexible benefits fund was implemented, 78 percent of staff said that their benefits packages met their needs, versus only 25 percent of employees with no choice in their core benefits.
Typically, employees who have access to fully flexible benefits are more likely to assess their benefits as being of good value, easy to understand and easy to use. Whereas those who aren’t given a choice are more likely to say their benefit package isn’t important to them.
Having a greater choice of benefits has proven to build more trust between employers and employees. This is evident, as 64 percent of employees with full flex benefits say that their employer has provided effective support when they’re deciding on benefits. Also, 61 percent of staff say that the communication they receive from their company is relevant to their personal circumstances.
Yet these figures only stand at 25 percent and 17 percent for employees with no choice in their benefits.
“When employees are given more choice, they build greater trust in their employers. But that trust is only built when employers listen to staff needs and offer them choices as a response. It creates a more open dialogue, where employees feel that they are being looked after and are therefore more willing to hear their employer’s recommendations around somewhat personal topics such as health and wellbeing,” says Flexible Benefits Expert at WTW, Rebekah Haymes.
Mental health
While strong retirement benefits are still of prime importance to employees, topics such as managing emotional and physical health, improving community and social responsibility and improving diversity and inclusion are also of concern, reinforcing the growing trust in employers to deliver solutions for more personal issues.
Almost a third of employees (31%) would like their employers to focus on supporting mental health management, through offering mental health days, stress and resilience management activities and a wider range of mental health professionals. While 30 percent of staff would like further support around maintaining physical health, through health screenings and risk assessments, and more generous health care and dental plans.
“Building mutual trust is the first step to having a more open narrative between employees and employers. It paves the path for stronger employee experience, through taking a shared responsibility for wellbeing,” argues Ms Haymes.
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.
