Time off to look after your new puppy is the best incentive to offer your employees to boost productivity.
This is according to Flexioffices, the flexible workspace experts who found that 41.17 per cent of workers see ‘pawternity’, time off taken to look after your new puppy find themselves to be more productive when offered this perk.
Yoga came in at a close second with 41.13 per cent of workers saying this reward leads to a rise in productivity. Free childcare came in third with 39 per cent saying it helps their productivity.
Under half (40 per cent) of employees who receive those three perks say the perks their job offers them are ‘great’.
See below the number of people who would consider quitting if their favourite perk was taken away:
- 36 per cent of people who receive ‘pawternity’
- 28 per cent of people who get workplace yoga
- 23 per cent of people who have free-alcoholic drinks
- 25 per cent of people who have free sweets and chocolate
- 17 per cent of people who get to do team-building exercises
- 15 per cent of people who receive rewards and recognition
Joe Wiggins, director at Glassdoor said:
While benefits are a great way to make employees feel appreciated, businesses should not rely on them alone to keep employees satisfied enough to stay with the company in the long-run. Rather, they must look at all elements of their offering – from training and development, through to career progression and opportunities – and regularly refine their offering based on employee feedback.
Michael Dubicki, business director from Flexioffices said:
Our research indicates it’s not always the traditional perks like personal development and bonus pay that provide the greatest return on investment, and it’s time companies start looking outside the workplace and look at how perks can have a positive effect on their employees lives in general.
For employee engagement and well-being, employees want to have fun and be able to relax – after all work is where we spend most of our time.
The industry landscape is changing for employee benefits, providing more tangible perks that have a direct and sometimes instant impact on lives are what people want.
In October 2019, Purina, a company that produces and markets pet food, found that 81 per cent of workers hold the opinion that a pet-friendly office is a happier place to work in. Also, it found that three-quarters (75 per cent) feel that a “canine colleague” could help diffuse stressful or difficult situations at work.
Flexioffices spoke to 2,000 UK workers to get these results.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
