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The demand for support with issues experienced outside of work
To find out, Epoq commissioned research company, Opinium, to survey UK employees to get their views. In total, 1,234 employees completed an online questionnaire which asked if they would like their employer to help them deal with a range of issues encountered outside work. The results revealed the areas employees most want help with, as well as some interesting differences in gender and age groups.
The demand for support
Overall, 66 per cent of employees said they would like their employer to help them deal with certain problems or issues encountered outside of work, with more women (71 per cent) than men (63 per cent) saying they would like support.
When looking at the areas employees want help with, family and mental health issues in particular stand out, with 39 per cent saying they would like help to deal with the illness or death of a family member, 38 per cent said dealing with stress, depression or other mental health issues, 25 per cent wanted help with childcare arrangements and 21 per cent sought help to look after elderly parents.
Demographic differences
The results by gender show that, perhaps unsurprisingly, more women than men would like help in these areas: illness or death of family member (45 per cent women compared to men at 34 per cent), mental health issues (43 per cent women compared to men at 33 per cent), childcare arrangements (28 per cent of women compared to 21 per cent of men) and looking after elderly parents (25 per cent compared to men at 16 per cent). Women are also more likely to want help with looking after as sick pet (12 per cent) compared to men (six per cent).
The differing needs between age groups is also quite pronounced with, on average, 21 per cent of people in their 20s saying they would like help from their employer, but only eight per cent of people aged 60+ feeling the same need. Overall, on average of 15 per cent of employees in their 30s and 40s would like some help, with only 12 per cent of people in their 50s seeking support.
And, as to be expected, the younger generations want help with financial matters more than their colleagues in their 40s, 50s and 60s. 19 per cent of employees in their 20s want help in this area with 10 per cent of people in their 30s; nine per cent in their 40s, five per cent in their 50s and three per cent in their 60s.
Help with health and wellbeing
Staying with financial matters, although help with retirement planning is similar for men and women at 28 per cent and 27 cent respectively, and consistent across people in their 20s, 30s and 40s at nine per cent, it drops to five per cent for people in their 50s and 60s. This may suggest the employees in these age groups have sorted their retirement plans earlier in their careers.
When it comes to losing weight or getting fit, 30 per cent of employees in their 20s would like help from their employer compared to 21 per cent of people in their 50s and eight per cent of people in their 60s. The rate for people in their 30s and 40s was 19 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. Perhaps employers could do more to make their fitness benefits more attractive to older workers?
Complete support
I believe this research highlights the broad range of needs in an increasingly diverse workforce. It is clear that employees do look to their employer for support in a number of areas and that these will vary according to the age and gender of the employee. It’s therefore essential to tailor benefits and give employees the tools to help them deal with matters on their own alongside direct support where necessary as part of a well-rounded and modern wellbeing model.
Read the complete Employee Benefits Research 2018 findings.
Author is Andrew Walker, commercial director at Epoq.
This article was provided by Epoq.
