Employees are happy with your efforts to improve their well-being

Good news! While employees think it’s an employer’s responsibility to help them improve their overall well-being, they also think you’re doing a good job of it!

Specifically, 31% believe their employers’ efforts have increased since the start of the pandemic, and 60% believe they’ve stayed the same. That’s according to The 2021 Workplace Wellness Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research.

When it comes to emotional and physical well-being, 50% say their employers are doing an excellent or very good job. As for financial well-being, you get props there too, with 46% saying the same thing.

But maybe this is the most important statistic overall: 75% trust their employers to help them improve via quality benefits and offerings.

Take a minute to let that sink in, because that’s a big number.

Not surprising, health insurance was the top chosen benefit (87%). But what you may not know is it’s the benefit that employees say helps them feel financially secure.

The other top benefits:

• Retirement savings (79%)
• Dental insurance (76%)
• Life insurance (75%), and
• Vision insurance (71%).

Interesting finding

While 69% of employees said they understand their health benefits extremely/very well, that drops for other benefits:

• Financial well-being benefits (55%)
• Emotional well-being benefits (54%), and
• Voluntary or supplemental benefits (53%).

They aren’t bad percentages, but it does show there is some room for improvement.

Dip down

One area that experienced a drop in satisfaction is work-life balance. Currently, 48% said they’re satisfied with their work-life balance. In 2018, however, it was 60%.

The study pointed out that due to the pandemic, caregiving is one aspect of employees’ lives that is affecting work-life balance. Sixty percent said trying to balance their caregiving responsibilities with work responsibilities is challenging. They also noted it adds to their stress because they don’t feel they have enough time for their loved ones.

This is another area where you may be able to increase your support. Only 33% indicated they have paid time off for caregiving. And 20% said having more caregiving help would “add value” to their company’s benefit offerings.

One thing 68% of employees really want, but only 23% have is an emergency savings account using payroll deductions. Reason: The only emergency account most employees’ have is their retirement saving. Just something to think about adding, that could help retain and attract employees.