Eight in ten employees feel more motivated by a good company benefits package, and according to a new study, these benefits are greatly on the rise since the start of the pandemic.
The study by Easy Offices, looked at areas of what employee benefits were commonly offered in the UK, the most popular since Covid, and those in highest demand and the results clearly highlight that companies are trying harder than ever to promote employee satisfaction and better mental wellness in doing so.
It was found that since Covid, 79 per cent of companies are offering free drinks in the office, 76 per cent are offering employee assistance programs, 74 per cent offering paid sick leave, and 48 per cent are offering financial support for those in isolation.
Alongside this:
• 76 per cent of companies are now offering employee assistance programs since Covid
• 35 per cent of employees rated virtual mental health counselling as one of the most valuable benefits
• 34 per cent equally rated mental health insurance, support groups and mindfulness tools as most valuable benefits
• 82 per cent of employees offer paid bereavement leave
• 78 per cent now offer training and career development
• There has been a 22 per cent increase in companies offering physical fitness since the start of the pandemic.
The pandemic took its toll on everyone, especially in regards to mental health, and it comes as no surprise that many people are still feeling the effects. Due to this the study has found that mental health related employee benefits are in highest demand.
These are the wellbeing benefits that are most valuable to employees:
Benefit per cent employees that rated these benefits as highly valuable
Virtual mental health counselling 35 per cent
Insurance to reduce cost of mental health treatment 34 per cent
Tools to help build mindfulness and resilience 34 per cent
Virtual support groups 34 per cent
Tools for training on how to help others with mental health problems 32 per cent
A recent YouGov poll revealed that only 57 per cent of employees have been told about the benefit schemes at their work. Even fewer (53 per cent) have been given information on how to access their benefits, and only half know how their benefits could help them.
This points to a crucial way for employers to improve employee engagement and create productive benefits schemes. Beyond just investing in attractive benefits packages, employers need to shout about them and inform their teams of everything on offer in their workplace too.
