Planning on heading back to the office?
Slow down. It turns out, not all employees want to give up remote work. In fact, as many as 60% are saying they’ll quit their job over a forced return to the office.
Benefits Employees Feel They’re Giving Up
Remote work has provided many office-based employees with benefits beyond the compensation they’d previously enjoyed. With a Flexjobs survey finding that employees are citing perks like no commute, a cost savings, avoiding Covid-19 exposure, time savings, and not having to get dressed up for the office, it’s evident that remote work has changed the way the office worker thinks about their nine-to-five.
Maybe By Autumn?
One survey found that 27% of employees aren’t ready to return to their workplace before fall 2021, citing ongoing concerns about exposure to Covid-19. There are also issues with childcare as summer vacation approaches. The loss of flexible hours which many remote workers have enjoyed remains a big hurdle to overcome.
But some employees don’t see the point in returning even after Covid-19 risks are alleviated, citing better productivity from home offices, increased collaboration skills, and greater professional success. With a majority of employees preferring remote work to office environments, there’s a real possibility that an insensitive return to work plan could alienate these employees, causing them to update their resumes.
Benefits to Enhance a Return to Work Plan
Employees faced with an unwanted return to the office need to be understood and heard, and their needs should be addressed as much as possible. That’s one thing some employees say they’re currently not getting: 21% of employees told Flexjobs that their employer does not care about their wellbeing. Building return to work plans without taking their concerns into account would definitely back up this opinion, and won’t do your business any favors when it comes to retention.
Many companies are handling the transition through hybrid home/office schedules. Mastercard is bringing employees back to their offices slowly, beginning with two days a week in order to help them manage the inevitable changes to their lives this will cause.
A benefits package which provides for some of the issues employees will face upon the return to the office can address some of your workforce’s concerns. Issues from caregiving to unwanted lunch spending can all be considered additional burdens that employees do not face while working from home. How can your benefits package provide for these issues?
Flexible work schedules, the ability to work from home part-time or on an as-needed basis, and benefits such as employee assistance plans to deal with mental health challenges, along with commuter benefits and childcare benefits are all important.
Building up your benefits package to satisfy the needs of your employees has never been so important. Manage it all with a robust benefits administration platform, which allows your benefits and HR teams to seamlessly engage with everything from payroll to eligibility to communications. Click here to learn more about how Web Benefits Design can help your company offer the best in benefits.