The past 5 years has forced many organizations to rethink the way they support their employees’ lives outside of work, especially in the wake of the pandemic. The shift toward remote work has made it easier for employees to manage their personal and professional lives, but it has also increased expectations for family-friendly benefits to ensure employees can get the support they need to work from home.
In this new working environment, many employees are looking for more support to navigate their growing needs — needs that a basic benefits package won’t meet.
Here’s three reasons why you may be seeing employees leave their jobs in search of better benefits.
1. Changing demographics
With more women-identifying people entering the workforce and having children later in life, there is a greater need for family-friendly benefits that can help employees balance work and family responsibilities. In addition, the aging of the population means that many employees are also caring for aging parents or other family members, further increasing the need for flexible work arrangements and end-to-end caregiving support.
2. Increasing cost of child care
In many parts of the world, the cost of child care has risen significantly in recent years, making it difficult for many families to afford. As a result, many employees are looking for companies that offer benefits such as subsidized child care, flexible work arrangements, and paid parental leave. Having family benefits can support employees who are navigating both increasing costs and child care difficulties.
3. Increased focus on work-life balance
Since the pandemic made remote work a new standard, employees continue to seek opportunities to find a better work/life balance. By offering benefits that help take care of some of their responsibilities at home, employees can find better balance and more time for their personal lives.
The shift in the workforce towards family-friendly benefits is a trend that is here to stay. Benefit leaders and companies must understand this trend and take steps to ensure that they are able to attract and retain top talent by offering family-friendly and caregiver-friendly benefits that meet the needs of caregivers. In doing so, they can create a more engaged, loyal, and productive workforce that is better able to balance work and family responsibilities.
“It used to be you needed to offer a health plan. Now you need to offer family-friendly benefit plans. You need to give your employees and families a variety of offerings to be competitive in the marketplace.”
Becky Bailey, Sr. Director of Global Benefits & Wellbeing, ServiceNow