24 Nov 2022

How to be people-centric and develop a family friendly culture

From improving work-life balance to coping during the cost of living crisis, employees expect more from their employers

To be people-centric, an organisation needs to embrace a culture of support towards the individuals driving its business. A product or service might be an organisation’s USP, but people are at the heart of its success and employee wellbeing needs to be a priority.

The demand for a positive workplace culture and work-life balance is growing, especially for employees with families or dependents. No longer considered a ‘nice to have’, it’s a key decision maker for job seekers and boosts employee wellbeing and productivity.

One way to create balance is by offering flexible contracts, allowing employees to have a say in their working hours and location.

According to research, 65% of job seekers would reject a role that didn’t offer flexibility. While every employee has the right to request flexible working, it can make a significant impact on working parents. Statistics show that 47% of working mothers often feel burnt out, affecting their physical and mental wellbeing in the workplace and at home.

Offering flexibility in the workplace is the first step towards adopting a family-friendly culture. The next is to support employees and their households with a mindful approach towards benefits and rewards.

Employee benefits and discounts

Employees need more than a cash bonus in their wage slips that may get swallowed up by the monthly bills. Implementing a benefit and discounts platform will provide continued savings on everyday essentials and experiences the whole family can enjoy.

Due to the cost-of-living crisis, 49% of people surveyed in the UK are cutting back on eating out. Family time is about quality: incorporate an employee benefits platform into your organisation and your employees will have access to a host of savings, including chain restaurants, holidays and theme parks.

Many organisations include salary sacrifice schemes such as cycle-to-work, allowing employees to purchase a top-specification bike, spreading the cost throughout their monthly wage. But that generally only benefits the employee themselves. A discount platform including retailers specialising in cycles means employees can use this saving to benefit the entire family.

Rewards that help money go further

A recent YouGov survey found that as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, 54% of households will be cutting back on luxury items, 42% on non-essential food, and 32% on staple essential food items.

Integrating a prepaid cashback card offering up to 15% cashback into your wellbeing strategy, enables your employees’ money to be spread further.

The prepaid cashback card is a versatile solution that can be offered either as an employee benefit or as part of a recognition strategy and used by the entire household.

Better access to health support

While GP waiting times have reduced, it’s clear there’s still a long way to go. The NHS is under tremendous pressure, yet, only 13% of people in the UK have private medical insurance (PMI), and only 12.6% of employers offer PMI as a benefit. That’s despite 53% of the population being interested in purchasing it.

PMI often includes the employee’s household, enabling the whole family to get medical support more quickly. It’s worth the investment when considering the billions of pounds the UK economy loses yearly due to sickness absence.

There are alternatives to including full PMI as an employee benefit, such as standalone virtual GP services. It can also bridge the gap when a PMI policy doesn't include this service. It’s an invaluable offering considering that with travel and waiting times, 41% of employees use half a working day to attend a GP appointment.

It’s time for businesses to take a holistic view of employee physical, mental and financial wellbeing, incorporating benefits and rewards packages that support employees and their families in the workplace and beyond.