Family The other type of benefits that women place much greater importance on are family–related. One in ten (9%) of female employees believe it is important for employers to provide some form of childcare or nursery in the workplace, compared to just 5% of male employees. Similarly, while 13% of female employees name the provision of paid parental leave beyond the minimum legal requirement as a priority benefit, just 8% of their male counterparts agree. And significantly more women than men place importance on their employer offering childcare vouchers (9% versus 6%). Unsurprisingly, these benefits are much more popular amongst age groups likely to have a young family or be considering starting one, with employees in the under 35 and 35–44 age bands who consider family benefits important significantly outweighing those in older age groups. “It stands to reason that as employees go through different stages of life, the things that are most important to them change,” said Anthony Vollmer. “Family–related benefits are a perfect example of this – worth their weight in gold to those with a young family but without value to everyone else. This is why employers need to offer a wide range of benefits so employees who appreciate very different things can all derive value.” Socialising Benefits providing some form of social interaction are also more important to the younger age groups. The organisation of team social events or functions is cited as important to 12% of employees under the age of 35, decreasing to 8% of 35–44 year olds, 7% of 45–54 year olds and 6% of those aged 55 or older. A similar pattern is found with regard to the provision of socialising space within the work environment, such as games rooms or chill–out areas, with a higher proportion of under 35s valuing this benefit (9%) than in any other age group.
Other benefits Not all benefits fit under the categories described above. Indeed, some of the most important and innovative benefits sit elsewhere. Professional development and training is hugely important for many employees, lying in fifth place on the list of most important benefits to employees of SMEs (cited as important by 20%). It is particularly important for those at the earlier stages of their career, with 29% of employees under 35 naming it as a priority, steadily decreasing to 25%, 23% and 19% as we move through the age brackets. Employee Assistance Programmes , which give employees access to services such as counselling on personal issues, are named as important by 7% of SME employees, substantially less than the 18% of large company employees citing them, though this may be due to a greater level of awareness of these programmes within larger companies. Across all businesses , these programmes are more popular among female employees (14%) than male employees (10%). This may be because women are in general more likely to open up and discuss personal issues. These programmes are becoming increasingly popular as companies start recognising their value to employee satisfaction as much as their own CSR goals. Employees are becoming increasingly socially– conscious and want their employers to share their values. While just 3% of SME employees cited this kind of scheme as a priority (compared to 8% in large companies), across all size of company community leave is again more important for women (7% versus 4%). Community leave is the ability to take paid time off to volunteer to help a charity or community cause.
Whitepaper – The Engaged Employer 21
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