Three ways to use employee benefits to support working families
On average, employees who are most satisfied with their workplace benefits are up to a fifth more engaged than those who are least happy, found Benify’s Employee Happiness Index (2018). While Sodexo’s Move, Mould, Motivate paper found that 82% of engaged employees go above and beyond what is expected of them.
Having an engaged and happy workforce can result in staff feeling good about their work, leading them to put in extra effort throughout the day.
The data from the Index also suggests that it’s not just quality but also quantity that can make a big difference. Employees who receive more than twenty benefits are, on average, 17% more engaged than those who receive fewer than 10.
Social benefits
Research carried out by Thomsons Online Benefits in October 2019 found that 17% of employees rank lifestyle, including eating out, socialising with friends and going on holiday, as their most important personal priority – above their physical and mental wellbeing and financial stability.
Organising, for example, bring a pet to work day, group exercise classes or even monthly lunches can boost social interaction and engagement amongst colleagues. Monthly lunches, for instance, were valued by 63% of employees and even more so by 18–24 year olds (72%), according to the research from Thomsons Online Benefits.
Broader social benefits support
Here are three ways employers can support employees and their families:
- Offering discounts for the weekly shop can enable staff to save money and plan their weekly meals before going out for food shopping.
- Providing staff with incentives/discounts on days out to places such as cinemas, restaurants and theme parks, is a great way to get families to spend time together doing the things they love.
- A 2018 Glassdoor survey found that two in five employees only took up to half of their annual leave entitlement. On average, UK employees take just 62% of their holiday, while only 43% of staff took between 91–100% of their annual allowance. Everyone, will no doubt, need a break from work at some point, so offering employees discounts on holidays is a great way to support them and their families in getting away. This enables employees to relax and feel refreshed on their return to work.
The more opportunities you can create to get employees to interact and engage, the better it can be for the organisation, for your employees and their social wellbeing.
This article is provided by BHSF.
Want to know more?
Read more on how to support working families.
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Contact the Associated Supplier to discuss workplace benefits.
