Canadian employees – especially Millennials – are placing more importance on employer-provided benefits plans, a new study by RBC Insurance found.
The company’s survey found that nearly three-quarters of young Canadians aged 18-34 (73%) and 35-44 (69%) would be likely to leave their current employer for another that is offering better benefits.
RBC Insurance also looked at what makes one benefits plan better than the other for employees. When asked which features would make a benefits plan desirable, most survey respondents chose support for mental health (88%), a health spending account (80%), and options to add additional coverage (79%) to better meet their personal or financial objectives.
These results align with how younger employees are feeling, RBC Insurance has noted, with 61% reporting lower levels of overall well-being (down three points since 2021) and 58% indicating that they had a decline in mental health (down five points since 2021).
"Given our collective experience since March of 2020, it's not surprising to see a range of worries and stressors reported by working Canadians" said RBC Insurance head of group benefits Julie Gaudry.
Gaudry added that the tightening labour market had led to flexible and tailored employer-provided benefits more desirable to many – which also happen to be big selling points for the younger generations.
RBC Insurance prefaced that there are approximately 70% more job postings and 6% fewer available workers compared to pre-pandemic levels in Canada; it has been suggested that employers may have to put more thought into their benefits plans if they want to attract and retain talent.
"With heightened competition for talent, it's critical that organizations develop or refine benefits plans as a key component of their offer," said Gaudry. "We need to pay particular attention to this younger cohort, which already makes up a significant proportion of the workforce and continues to grow. Employers must ensure the right support is available to this younger generation."
