Over half of employees agree that they would choose a company that cared about their wellbeing over a company that pays 10 per cent more.

Employee wellbeing has been a top agenda point for HR for some years but the results of the recent research by Reward Gateway show that employees still aren’t getting what they need from their current wellbeing programmes.

Over half of employers agree that their company shows they care about employees mental, physical and financial wellbeing, while only 14 per cent of employees say that their company couldn’t do more to show they care about their mental, physical and financial wellbeing.

Employers are correct in caring as more than half of UK employees agree that they would choose a company that cared about their wellbeing over one that pays more.

The findings demonstrate a demand for wellbeing initiatives in the workplace and place an even higher urgency on closing the gap.

33 per cent of respondents said that their company currently offers no wellbeing programmes at all. There was also a clear disconnect between the amount of companies that offer physical wellbeing programmes (29 per cent) over mental wellbeing programmes (22 per cent).

The initiatives in place could also be sitting idle due to communication issues as another discord can be found in the fact that almost 1 in 2 (48 per cent) employers think their company communicates the wellbeing solution they have well, but almost a third of employees don’t know what wellbeing programmes their company currently offers.

Lucy Tallick, Head of Wellbeing at Reward Gateway said,

“Employee wellbeing is not about crisis management and fixing problems. It’s about helping your people live better and feel better by facilitating sustainable lifestyle changes that really make a difference.

“Employers should take into consideration that everyone has unique desires and needs, and, in order to gain buy in, it’s much better to give the employee solutions that provide choice and flexibility. By creating an inclusive programme, you’ll also hugely increase your engagement.

 

 

 

 

 

Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.