Percentages indicate proportion of male and female employees that believe this is important for their employer to provide... Female flexibility: How female employees attach more importance than male employees to flexible benefits
Our findings echo this sentiment. Beyond the top financial rewards, it is flexibility that holds most appeal for employees, with four of the top eight most attractive benefits offering some form of flexibility or improvement to work–life balance. Flexible working or remote working is viewed as the third most important benefit overall, cited by one in four SME employees (26%). The option of working a four–day week is named as important by 24% of respondents, and performance–based leave is prioritised by one in ten (10%). Nine per cent say that the provision of holiday buy, sell or trade schemes are important for employers to offer. Yet while attitudes to most financial benefits are fairly uniform across ages and genders, there is greater disparity in the attitude of different demographics to some flexible benefits. This is most striking when it comes to flexible and / or remote working, which 39% of under 35s and 38% of 35–44–year olds believe is important, compared to 28% of 45–54–year olds and just 19% of those aged 55 or over. Women place significantly more importance than men on benefits that allow flexibility – particularly flexible and/or remote working, which is cited by 35% of female employees compared to just 26% of male employees. A greater proportion of female employees name every flexibility–related benefit as a priority in comparison to their male counterparts, including holiday trade schemes (15% versus 12%); and performance–based leave (13% versus 10%).
Flexible Pay
male 4%
female 5%
Holiday buy, sell and trade schemes
female 15%
male 12%
Four–day working week
female 28%
male 27%
Flexible and/or remote working
female 35%
male 26%
Performance–based leave
female 13%
male 10%
Whitepaper – The Engaged Employer 20
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