Member Article

Bosses ready to call time on unloved workplace benefits, new study finds

The majority of firms are ready to ditch a raft of gimmicky workplace benefits such as office pool tables, at-desk massages and trendy sleep rooms in favour of practical financial support, new research shows.

A study of Britain’s HR directors and managers found that more than 60 per cent think that novelty perks are a waste of time in attracting and retaining staff and would happily axe them.

The research, by household money-saving tool Nous.co, showed that only a third of firms offer financial wellbeing support for staff, although 90 per cent of HR leaders would be keen to provide a non-salary benefit that would make staff better off.

Most-hated gimmicky benefits include pool tables (64%), free company-branded clothing (38%), free after-work drinks (32%), free breakfasts (30%) and free massages (28%).

The study found that more than half the benefits offered by companies are actually taken up by less than 10 per cent of the workforce, despite costing time and resources to implement and administer. One in three HR leaders think at least some of the benefits they offer are gimmicky and useless.

At the same time, they are acutely aware of the effect on their staff of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Almost three-quarters say they have seen increased levels of stress and 42 per cent report increased sick leave because of financial pressures.

More than a third of firms say they have given below-inflation pay rises this year, while 74 per cent say that pressure to put up wages threatens to damage their company’s financial stability.

Cost-of-living expert Greg Marsh, Nous.co founder and CEO, said: “Business leaders know that their teams are struggling financially. They also realise that employees’ expectations of how their company should support them in their day-to-day lives are rising.

“Novelty benefits don’t solve these problems. Most people don’t actually use them, and they can seem pretty tone deaf in the current financial climate.

“HR leaders need to focus instead on solutions that deal with the problems that really matter to their workforce, and can make them genuinely better off. This kind of support makes employees feel valued, as well as helping them stay on top of the rising cost of living.

“At Nous, we see just how much the vast majority of us are overpaying on our household bills, and how much of a positive impact companies can have by providing practical support. Nous saves households around £500 a year – that’s the equivalent of a 2% post-tax pay rise on a typical salary.”

Several major firms are now offering Nous membership to their employees to help with the rising cost of living and boost their financial wellbeing.

For IAG Loyalty, which offered Nous membership to its 600+ employees, Nous was able to find savings opportunities worth an average of £485 per employee.

Helen Miller, Chief People Officer at IAG Loyalty, said: “Here at IAG Loyalty, supporting colleagues to maintain a happy and healthy lifestyle is at the heart of our approach to wellbeing - it’s a large part of our culture and something we take very seriously.

“We offer a number of services to assist our people with their physical and mental health, and now we’re able to offer Nous membership as a way to support them with their financial health too. It’s fantastic to see that Nous is finding such significant savings opportunities for our people.”

Gimmicky benefits firms hate most

• Office pool table (64%)
• Free company branded clothing (38%)
• Free after-work drinks (32%)
• Free breakfasts (30%)
• Free massages (28%)
• Allowing pets in office (16%)
• Office exercise classes (14%)
• Summer Friday extra hour off (12%)

Most taken-up workplace benefits

• Private health/dental care (58%)
• Extra holidays (57%)
• Enhanced pension contributions (55%)
• Free office food and drink (51%)
• Flexible working (50%)
• Shopping discount vouchers (46%)
• Enhanced maternity pay (44%)
• Enhanced paternity pay (41%)
• Free/cheap gym membership (32%)
• Mental health support (28%)

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Business News .