Benefits bring happiness to the workplace, according to report
Workplace benefits – other than salary – improved employees’ overall happiness, according to 93% of those questioned for Aviva’s 2023 Working Lives Report: Fit for Future survey. This is up from 2022 (88%) and 2019 (86%).
Almost three quarters (74%) of the employers surveyed plan to improve their workplace benefits package, with one in five (20%) planning to do so within the next 12 months.
There is also ongoing emphasis on ensuring employees benefit from collaboration in offices and central workplaces.
According to research by Global events company Hyve Group, in collaboration with Professor Barbara Sahakian of the University of Cambridge, 60% of professionals expressed concerns about the long-term negative impacts of the Covid-19 lockdowns on their mental wellbeing and function.
‘Quiet qutting‘
A quarter (25%) reported feeling more disengaged with their work post-pandemic, with 15% admitting to “quiet quitting” as a consequence of remote or hybrid working arrangements. More than half (54%) reported feeling more energised when meeting colleagues, friends, family, or networking in person.
Workplace nurseries help make central offices an attractive place to return to, now that “72% of companies globally have mandated a return to the office” according to remote workspace company Unispace. The same article goes on: “Software company Salesforce has started a scheme in its American offices which donates $10 to local charities each day employees come in between 12 June and 23 June.”
Alongside such schemes, salary sacrifice schemes for workplace or near-site nurseries mean employees make substantial tax and National Insurance savings as well as saving employers NI contributions.
Life stages approach to family life
Attendees at the Reba Wellbeing Congress responded with great recognition to the proposition that the way we see family – and hence family support – has radically developed over recent decades.
Employers have been embracing more stages of family life by adding virtual tutoring to Back-Up Care, which is inclusive of parents of older children. Since launching its partnership with Explore Learning in August 2021, Bright Horizons has supported more than 2,100 children of client families, and its Back-Up Care Operations team has recorded a 179% increase in use of this service January to May 2023 compared with same period 2022.
As one parent put it: “A fantastic staff benefit that makes me feel valued as an employee. As I now feel more in control, I feel less stressed about home issues, which in turn allows me to focus more on work as I have fewer distractions and worries.”
Another family life issue recently covered in the media is parental leave for men. Joint research by the Centre for Progressive Policy, campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed and Women in Data shows the societal and economic impact of paternity leave. It found that countries with more than six weeks’ paid paternity leave have a 4% smaller gender wage gap and 3.7% smaller labour force participation gap.
Closing gender employment gaps in all UK authorities would increase economic output by £23bn.
According to recent research by Code First Girls and TTC, half of women in technology drop out by age 35. Recommendations for empowering women to continue their careers include a better supported parent transition and ongoing support for families.
As The Times Top 50 for Gender Equality list is released, employers are continuing to place emphasis on supports that empower gender equality for women. Among them is menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace, on which The British Standards Institute has introduced a ground-breaking workplace standard.
The new guidance (BS 30416) “offers practical recommendations and strategies to help employers meet the needs of individuals going through these natural processes while retaining their experienced and talented staff.”
Talent attraction and retention, together with diversity, equity and inclusion and wellbeing top the list of employer focus, according to insights from Bright Horizons’ Peer Council breakfast round-tables.Cost of living tends to sit slightly lower down the list.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, Bright Horizons Work+Family Solutions
Bright Horizons is dedicated to providing the best in class work+family solutions.
