With the new year in full swing, you should also keep yourself up-to-date with the latest work rewards and benefit trends. To save you time, here are 5 global reward and benefit trends your company needs to know about.
1. Hybrid work
Although the covid-19 pandemic has shown signs of decreasing, businesses still have had to keep some safeguards in place. Working from home has become the norm and some experts say that returning to the office will never happen for some sectors. Research backs this claim up. The Future of Work report found that 59% of people in Denmark wanted to work from home in the future, and PWC’s survey found 41% of a group of remote workers wanted to stay fully remote.
It’ll mean some companies will have to adapt their rewards and benefits for their employees. This might include office equipment for the home (e.g. raisable desk, ergonomic chair) or critical communication tools such as a reward and benefits platform or mobile app. The need to communicate with employees whenever and wherever they are has never been more acute.
2. Employees matching companies to them
Following on from hybrid work is the fact that employees have started to match their needs to what an employer can offer or provide. This is intrinsically linked to what’s been hailed as The Great Resignation where people quit their jobs en masse, especially in the USA at the beginning of 2021.
The reasons for the exodus of employees in 2021 may differ from what is now happening at the start of 2022. Employees who have now got used to working from home are now looking for companies who offer better rewards and benefits, and working hybrid has meant that some have moved location if remote work is going to become the norm.
Therefore, employees are looking for employers who offer freedom to work from home, and this also means employees can also consider moving to more remote locations to work. Companies who offer this kind of flexibility also find it easier to retain their employees.
3. Employee engagement through digital tools
It’s critical for companies to have the best communication tools to reach their employees, especially when they are working remotely. With a reward and benefits platform or mobile app, you can communicate online events or special offers to everyone at your organization, specific teams, or specific individuals.
Employees can also see their total value through a platform, for example, how much health and wellness contribution they have or how much their pensions are worth or how much holiday they are entitled to. When HR is streamlined through digital tools, employees are engaged and motivated for the work ahead of them.
4. Health & wellness
The OECD reported that mental illness was costing the UK £94 billion a year when costs for treatment and social support are factored in, and figures from the World Mental Health Day suggest that 60% of workers leave their job due to the same reason. With the pandemic also causing some people to feel isolated, employers need to offer their employees not only health and wellness benefits but also other benefits, such as relaxation and spa treatments.
This is where digital tools are engaging with employees. More and more companies are offering their employees generous health and wellness contributions through their total rewards platform to tackle mental health issues head on. Companies that offer health and wellness contributions can reduce the amount of employee absences caused by mental illness.
5. Work-life balance
With our homes having also become our offices, work-life balance today means going for a run in the middle of the day, reminding ourselves to take breaks, and switching off at the end of the day to spend time with our families.
But finding the perfect work-life balance is difficult. According to the OECD’s Better Life Index, 33% of people in Turkey work very long hours compared to Russia which has the best work-life balance with 0.1%. Employees working very long hours in the UK is 12.2%.
In the Future of Work Report, work-life benefits were the most important to people in the Netherlands and Denmark, and ranked in the top three for every other country. If you combine this with hybrid work and offering employees flexibility in their working day, work-life balance is a trend that is easily managed with a total rewards platform where employers can gauge each employee’s health and wellbeing, as well as targeting tailor-made benefits at them.
Find out what 39,000 employees really want from their employers in The Future of Work Report: Employee Benefits and Work Trends in Europe.
