Different generations of workers (often) want other things. As each generation is in a different stage of their lives, it’s no surprise that they tend to appreciate different types of employee benefits. After all, young Millennial parents have other priorities than a close-to-retirement Baby Boomer.
The Benify study separates employee benefits into categories that employees find most important and those they most appreciate. Let’s see what the overview looks like per generation.
Two things immediately stand out when we look at what benefits people find important.
The first and perhaps the most obvious one is that pension plans gain importance as the generation gets older. This makes sense as graduates who just entered the workforce probably won’t be thinking about their retirement in 40+ years.
The second thing worth noticing here is skills development. Unsurprisingly, the development of new skills is more important for younger generations, as they will be more affected by technological developments than for Baby Boomers.
Regardless of their age, something that tops almost every employee’s list is working hours and leave.
When we look at the benefits employees most appreciate, the top 5 per generation look slightly different. Suddenly, things like food & beverage and mobility pop up on various lists. However, the number one among pretty much every generation is health & wellness.
It’s interesting to see that financial wellness is something that the youngest generation in the workforce, Generation Z, has in its top five. As companies will increasingly hire people from Generation Z, financial wellness will probably become a more important employee benefit.
Benify, Employee Happiness Index 2019. Click here to read more