Aviva unveils which employee benefits attract and retain talent

More workers were attracted to their role due to work-life balance (41%) than their salary (36%) in 2022, a switch in rankings compared to 2019 (40.97% and 41.02%, respectively), according to Aviva’s latest research.

The report delves into the top employee benefits that attract and retain talent in their role – with work-life balance ranking first, while perks ranked second to the last next to “others.”

This year’s top benefits are:

• Work-life balance: 41% versus 40.97% in 2019;
• Salary: 36% versus 41.02% in 2019;
• Location (including parking and transport links): 31% versus 36% in 2019;
• Career progression: 24% versus 22% in 2019;
• People and culture: 19% versus 20% in 2019;
• Company reputation: 18% versus 19% in 2019;
• Workplace benefits package (beyond salary): 13%, the same percentage in 2019;
• Level of pension contribution: 12% versus 11% in 2019;
• Bonus: 11% versus 8% in 2019;
• Perks (i.e., free pool table, free fruit, etc.): 8% versus 6% in 2019; and
• Others: 4% versus 5% in 2019.

However, more male employees still said they were attracted to salary (43%) over work-life balance (34%) compared to female employees who picked work-life balance (44%) over salary (33%).

Laura Stewart-Smith, head of client engagement in Aviva, said it would have been difficult to imagine a time when employees picked work-life balance over salary before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the pandemic has emphasised the significance of juggling family life, exercise, and whatever activity or lifestyle.

“Getting this balance right for employees and employers is a tricky one, but if successfully achieved, it can often mean a happier and more productive workplace,” Stewart-Smith said.

Nearly nine in 10 employees surveyed (87%) said they wanted to see improvements to their workplace benefits package over the next 12 months, up from 2019 (82%). However, the report found that more than half of the employers this year (53%) said they struggle to offer competitive workplace benefits, up by 11 percentage points from 2019 (43%). Meanwhile, nearly two in three SME employees (62%) with between 50 and 249 employees find it challenging.

“Given the economic challenges, making the most of what already exists is important. Employers can only get the best return on investment if employees fully understand and utilise the benefits available to them, and [the] key to achieving this is good engagement. It is important when communicating the workplace benefits package to be sensitive to the financial challenges people might be facing in the current climate and employee case studies of those who have benefitted may be a useful tool in bringing to life what a workplace benefits package can do for other colleagues,” Stewart-Smith said.

“Employees may be able to help improve their situation by taking up the benefits which are on offer. It might be a surprise to some what their employer has on offer – for example, financial education seminars, salary sacrifice, higher pension contributions, low-cost loans, or childcare vouchers.”