Top employee benefits to re-invigorate the workforce and improve employee engagement
For most people, 2020 saw our work lives changed, with entire workforces working from home due to the pandemic. While the dust is still yet to settle, remote working and greater work flexibility are set to be the new norm. Our How HR Has Been Affected by the 2020 Pandemic research surveyed 900 HR leaders about whether they intend to allow employees to continue working from home even when it is no longer necessary, 77% responded “yes”.
2021 provides employers with the chance to hit reset, implement new strategies, reinvigorate employees, and put things back on track. This includes employers reviewing their existing employee benefits and revising their offer.
New year, new benefits
To reinvigorate employees and improve employee engagement, it’s essential when reviewing their benefits offer that employers remember that our work lives affect our personal lives and vice versa. Therefore, it’s important to offer benefits that support the whole person, especially when so many of us are working from home, part-time, or full-time.
So, what exactly are the top employee benefits for 2021, and what benefits do employees want? Our The Benefits and Engagement Report surveyed approximately 5,000 participants aged 18 and older to find out. This year, we see two clear benefit trends: greater flexibility and an increased focus on employee wellbeing.
Although work-life balance and employee health had been gaining traction in recent years, last year’s events have made them the top priority for employers everywhere. If you’re wondering if employee benefits really create employee engagement, read this blog post.
Flexibility and wellbeing
Our survey results reveal that, in the UK, work flexibility is the most important benefit for all age groups except those over 60.
Bonus and profit sharing is the second most important benefit for all age groups except those over 60, where it is considered the most important. One way to interpret employees’ emphasis on the importance of bonus and profit sharing could be people’s increased need for financial wellness given the effects of the pandemic, including lay-offs, reduced working hours and less job security.
To be engaged in our work, we also need time for the other things outside of work that are important to us. As one article in Harvard Business Review alludes to, studies have shown that people who find joy in non-professional activities see benefits in both their careers and personal lives.
On work flexibility and employee benefits that support the whole person, Katie Goodwin, head of client Relations international at Benify, believes that the meaning of flexibility has changed.
“Flexibility pre-Covid-19 meant working from home, making sure your work could fit around your life, and that’s even more relevant now. Work and home lives are now blurred lines, and juggling your family commitments, elderly care, children and being able to go for a run in the middle of the day takes a different level of flexibility.”
Happiness, productivity and engagement
When people feel happy in their lives in general, they’re also more likely to be productive and engaged in their work. A University of Warwick study found that happiness led to a 12% spike in productivity, suggesting that human happiness has large, positive effects on productivity.
A Fast Company article that references to this research also shares that low employee engagement rates are “an opportunity for companies to boost their productivity by investing in employees’ welfare and workplace happiness”.
The freedom of choice
Flexibility isn’t only about working hours or working location; flexibility also reveals itself as choice. In the case of employee benefits, flexibility means employees are given the ability to choose how to spend their benefits budget and choose the employee benefits they need.
The best way to give employees the option to choose their own benefits is through a flexible benefits plan. This enables employees to make their selections from a range of pre-tax benefits up to a set value to create a customised benefits package. Don’t miss the top five reasons to offer flexible employee benefits.
In 2021, reinvigorating your workforce and increasing engagement means supporting employee wellbeing both at work and at home, which today, is very likely to be one and the same place for many employees.
This article is provided by Benify.
Original article: Top Employee Benefits to Reinvigorate the Workforce in 2021.
In partnership with Benify
Benify offers the market's leading global benefits and total reward platform.
