Research carried out by Perkbox has uncovered UK employers’ most promoted perks to attract young working professionals. When it comes to wellbeing perks, the results are quite surprising, and not in the most favourable light.
Through the analysis of 8,700 job advertisements in the country over the last year, the research has found that the perks most promoted by employers primarily to help combat stress issues, are zero to none. Only 18 per cent of employers advertised free or subsidised gym membership on their job specs.
Further, just one per cent used yoga classes as a perk to attract candidates and none at all considered meditation as something valuable enough to add. Other employee wellness perks such as CiC programmes did not get a mention either, signalling, at the very least, a lack of awareness around their existence and/or the value they represent to employees.
Workplace stress affects most of our workforce in the UK and worldwide, with one of the largest known UK studies of stress levels reporting that 74 per cent of people have felt so stressed that they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope. These findings may therefore be revealing the root cause of a serious problem – might wellness perks be undervalued?
If so, this could be an issue worth its weight. Stress left untreated can lead to chronic stress or burnout. Both of these have many physical and mental health implications – which might even help explain why private healthcare, appears to be promoted by so many employers in the job advertisements studied in this research (28 per cent).
What’s more, based on a separate survey of 7,400 employees also undertaken by Perkbox and TalentPool, behavioural trends of our youngest workforce members point towards similarly worrying trends. These include ranking ‘ambition’ over the basic principle of having an employee ‘voice’.
The absence of this can easily spiral into a cycle of unpleasant stress and burnout. Forty-seven per cent of respondents said ‘career progression and promotion prospects’ come before ‘having a say in what they work on and how they work’ (12per cent).
Chieu Cao, Co-founder of Perkbox, said,
We’re becoming more open and aware about the seriousness of mental wellbeing challenges in the workplace and the seriousness attached to them, yet this is in no way reflected on the perks we’re offering as employers, or in the behavioural trends we see from employees. Something is clearly wrong and needs fixing.
Ultimately, the ‘preventative’ side of our well-being as individuals is being underestimated. We must remember that far beyond being employees and employers, we are all human beings and must look after ourselves. Let’s take the time to reflect on this and raise awareness.
Sophie Hudson, Head of Marketing at TalentPool, said,
Although it’s great to see that awareness around mental health is increasing – there is still a long way to go before the stigma is completely removed. We have reached the stage now though where employers can no longer afford to ignore the serious impact of poor mental health on their business.
We need to start an open dialogue in the workplace around mental wellbeing and reflect this in our offering to both prospective and existing employees. Instead of heading to the pub for your team social, start investing in wellness perks (such as exercise or meditation classes), which will pay off in the long run when you have a team with increased productivity, motivation and morale.
Interested in wellbeing? We recommend the Workplace Wellbeing and Stress Forum 2019.
Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!
Aphrodite has had a variety of high profile industry clients as a freelancer, and previously worked for a number of years as an Editor and Journalist for Prospects.ac.uk.
Aphrodite is also a professional painter.
So, an organisation which makes it’s money from the promotion of ‘perks’ is telling us that perks are really important and that companies should do more to adopt and promote them.
And we’re taking this seriously ? – What, really ?
It’s like a carrot importer telling us to ‘eat more carrots’, for little reason other than to line their own pockets.