From wellness programs and career coaching to flexible work schedules, the evolution of employee benefits is changing. Employers are also adapting the trend to meet the different needs of their employees. Below are employee benefits trends that are making waves in 2024.
Professional Development
If an employee feels that there is no growth or professional development within an organization, they will shift to another organization. Instead, employees will move to other businesses that allow them to upskill. As a business leader, you should understand the need for employee professional growth and development within an organization.
To remain relevant and competitive in the ever-changing trends in employee benefits, employers should assign employees new roles or improve their skills through training to help them perform better. Employers can only do this by offering job rotations, training and workshops, job expansions, and career coaching.
The Rising of Remote Work and Its Flexibilty
Despite the pandemic causing jitters and loss of jobs, it has also led to many online careers like article writing, copywriting, virtual assistant jobs, and data entry jobs besides traditional jobs. Due to its flexibility, many individuals are flooding the digital world. As a result, employers are also considering extending the same and allowing some of their employees to operate from home. Employees can either work full-time or partially.
Employers are setting up hybrid offices, or allowing flexible work schedules to accommodate the trend, which plays a vital role in employee retaining. Otherwise, employees will shift to other employers who offer them flexibility.
Employers can also introduce policies to guide employees working remotely and in the office. Employers should not only consider flexibility for remote workers but also consider the onsite employees by allowing job sharing, flexible work schedules, or sharing work hours. Doing this will retain employees.
Improved Financial Benefits
Employees are looking for companies that offer job and financial security. The pandemic affected businesses to the extent of closing down, and employees lost jobs, which led to financial struggles. Since then, employees have been looking for employers who can meet their financial needs. Employers considering financial wellness for their employees are well off to retain the top talents in their companies.
Employers can offer financial benefits to their employees by offering packages like retirement plans, student loans, and debt repayment programs.
Any financial support that can help employees toward their financial goals is a win for the company.
Financial Well-being
Inflation has been on the rise since 2023 and has affected many employees. Since then, many have been living paycheck to paycheck, depleted their savings, and surviving on credit card debts, which led to more financial stress like debt. Yes, employers can increase employee salaries, but inflation is on their neck.
So, apart from pay increases, employers are helping their employees with financial education like budgeting, savings, debt repayment, and other financial support.
According to experts, financial wellness is becoming a priority for employers. As a business leader, jump into this trend to attract and retain the best employees.
Mental Health Wellness
Many employees are suffering from mental health issues. Some are going through financial stress, alcoholism, and other life issues that are affecting productivity at work. Because of this, employers are now introducing mental wellness programs to help the affected employees.
Also, individuals seeking jobs are researching employers to understand how they handle mental health issues, especially Gen Z, mostly working in small and medium businesses. If they find that your company offers mental health support, they will likely apply for a job in your organization. For the employees working in your company, they’re also likely to stay. So, to retain top talent in your organization, consider introducing a mental wellness program to your business to help employees whenever they face mental issues and other life difficulties.
Increase in Healthcare Costs
In 2024, companies are facing inflated healthcare costs, which has been a major challenge for years. There has been a higher demand for weight loss drugs, medical inflation, gene therapies, and the availability of new medications are increasing healthcare costs. Of course, employers are adamant about passing this high cost to their employees, making it a priority to manage it.
As a way of controlling this cost, employers are using various methods like telemedicine and advanced wellness programs. However, different companies utilize different approaches to manage healthcare costs.
The Use Technology
Employers are using technology such as digital platforms and apps to offer personalized health recommendations, wellness tracking, and virtual healthcare services, which is a game-changer since employees can use it to monitor their health.
Besides health benefits, employees are utilizing technology for financial planning, which plays a pivotal role in employees’ financial management.
Personalized Benefits
Each employee has unique needs and preferences, and offering a one-size-fits-all benefit will not work in 2024. Besides their salaries, employees are seeking other benefits like ID theft protection, healthy lifestyle programs, career coaching, financial counseling, and insurance packages such as pet insurance, cancer, and life.
As an employer, you should understand the type of benefits employees look for in a company’s benefits package so that you can personalize benefits tailored to each employee’s needs and preferences.
To learn and understand each employee’s needs and preferences, employees can apply various methods such as running employee surveys, current benefit audits, and others that can yield results in getting what each employee is looking for in a benefits package.
However, in 2024, companies are accommodating this trend to create a personalized benefit package to meet different employee’s preferences. Another way is for employers to allow employees to choose benefit packages that suit their specific needs.
Providing customized benefits is a sign of employee concern and commitment to employee well-being and work-life balance. If you’re missing the point, if you’re still offering an obsolete one-size-fits-all benefit.
Conclusion
Employee benefits are ever-changing and companies are adapting the change to meet the changing needs and expectations of the workforce. From career development to financial wellness, employers should consider investing in employee benefits trends to stay competitive and relevant to the ever-changing workforce.
From wellness programs and career coaching to flexible work schedules, the evolution of employee benefits is changing. Employers are also adapting the trend to meet the different needs of their employees. Below are employee benefits trends that are making waves in 2024.
Professional Development
If an employee feels that there is no growth or professional development within an organization, they will shift to another organization. Instead, employees will move to other businesses that allow them to upskill. As a business leader, you should understand the need for employee professional growth and development within an organization.
To remain relevant and competitive in the ever-changing trends in employee benefits, employers should assign employees new roles or improve their skills through training to help them perform better. Employers can only do this by offering job rotations, training and workshops, job expansions, and career coaching.
The Rising of Remote Work and Its Flexibilty
Despite the pandemic causing jitters and loss of jobs, it has also led to many online careers like article writing, copywriting, virtual assistant jobs, and data entry jobs besides traditional jobs. Due to its flexibility, many individuals are flooding the digital world. As a result, employers are also considering extending the same and allowing some of their employees to operate from home. Employees can either work full-time or partially.
Employers are setting up hybrid offices, or allowing flexible work schedules to accommodate the trend, which plays a vital role in employee retaining. Otherwise, employees will shift to other employers who offer them flexibility.
Employers can also introduce policies to guide employees working remotely and in the office. Employers should not only consider flexibility for remote workers but also consider the onsite employees by allowing job sharing, flexible work schedules, or sharing work hours. Doing this will retain employees.
Improved Financial Benefits
Employees are looking for companies that offer job and financial security. The pandemic affected businesses to the extent of closing down, and employees lost jobs, which led to financial struggles. Since then, employees have been looking for employers who can meet their financial needs. Employers considering financial wellness for their employees are well off to retain the top talents in their companies.
Employers can offer financial benefits to their employees by offering packages like retirement plans, student loans, and debt repayment programs.
Any financial support that can help employees toward their financial goals is a win for the company.
Financial Well-being
Inflation has been on the rise since 2023 and has affected many employees. Since then, many have been living paycheck to paycheck, depleted their savings, and surviving on credit card debts, which led to more financial stress like debt. Yes, employers can increase employee salaries, but inflation is on their neck.
So, apart from pay increases, employers are helping their employees with financial education like budgeting, savings, debt repayment, and other financial support.
According to experts, financial wellness is becoming a priority for employers. As a business leader, jump into this trend to attract and retain the best employees.
Mental Health Wellness
Many employees are suffering from mental health issues. Some are going through financial stress, alcoholism, and other life issues that are affecting productivity at work. Because of this, employers are now introducing mental wellness programs to help the affected employees.
Also, individuals seeking jobs are researching employers to understand how they handle mental health issues, especially Gen Z, mostly working in small and medium businesses. If they find that your company offers mental health support, they will likely apply for a job in your organization. For the employees working in your company, they’re also likely to stay. So, to retain top talent in your organization, consider introducing a mental wellness program to your business to help employees whenever they face mental issues and other life difficulties.
Increase in Healthcare Costs
In 2024, companies are facing inflated healthcare costs, which has been a major challenge for years. There has been a higher demand for weight loss drugs, medical inflation, gene therapies, and the availability of new medications are increasing healthcare costs. Of course, employers are adamant about passing this high cost to their employees, making it a priority to manage it.
As a way of controlling this cost, employers are using various methods like telemedicine and advanced wellness programs. However, different companies utilize different approaches to manage healthcare costs.
The Use Technology
Employers are using technology such as digital platforms and apps to offer personalized health recommendations, wellness tracking, and virtual healthcare services, which is a game-changer since employees can use it to monitor their health.
Besides health benefits, employees are utilizing technology for financial planning, which plays a pivotal role in employees’ financial management.
Personalized Benefits
Each employee has unique needs and preferences, and offering a one-size-fits-all benefit will not work in 2024. Besides their salaries, employees are seeking other benefits like ID theft protection, healthy lifestyle programs, career coaching, financial counseling, and insurance packages such as pet insurance, cancer, and life.
As an employer, you should understand the type of benefits employees look for in a company’s benefits package so that you can personalize benefits tailored to each employee’s needs and preferences.
To learn and understand each employee’s needs and preferences, employees can apply various methods such as running employee surveys, current benefit audits, and others that can yield results in getting what each employee is looking for in a benefits package.
However, in 2024, companies are accommodating this trend to create a personalized benefit package to meet different employee’s preferences. Another way is for employers to allow employees to choose benefit packages that suit their specific needs.
Providing customized benefits is a sign of employee concern and commitment to employee well-being and work-life balance. If you’re missing the point, if you’re still offering an obsolete one-size-fits-all benefit.
Conclusion
Employee benefits are ever-changing and companies are adapting the change to meet the changing needs and expectations of the workforce. From career development to financial wellness, employers should consider investing in employee benefits trends to stay competitive and relevant to the ever-changing workforce.
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