Poll Results: Why Don’t Companies Offer the Benefits Employees Want?

Previously we asked readers what benefits, not including health, they valued most from employers.

The Results

Having a flexible work schedule led the pack with 17.57% of the vote, while generous/unlimited vacation time and opportunities to work from home/remotely followed in second and third, with 12.83% and 11.85%, respectively. The rest of the results were as follows:

  • Access to Training/Certification Classes:10.18%
  • Casual Dress Code:9.76%
  • Profit Sharing/Stock Options:8.23%
  • College Tuition Reimbursement:6.56%
  • Opportunities to Travel:5.02%
  • Company Gym/Membership Discount at Local Gym:4.74%
  • Other:3.07%
  • Cafeteria Programs:2.79%
  • Community Service/Volunteer Opportunities:2.79%
  • Professional Organization Memberships:2.51%
  • Child Care:2.09%

These are the benefits that jobseekers are looking for. But which benefits do employers actually offer?

Benefits Offered by Employers

In a separate poll conducted by Express’ leadership blog, Refresh Leadership, employers picked from the same choices shown here, with one small twist—instead of being asked which benefits they valued most, they were asked which benefits they offered.

Although there was a bit of overlap, the results were quite different from the Job Journey study. Causal dress code topped the list with 16% of the vote, while access to training/certification classes came in second with 14% of the vote. Flexible work schedule came in third with 9% of the vote.

The second most popular benefit choice for job seekers, generous/unlimited vacation time, only got 4% of the employer vote. Opportunities to work from home/remote, third in our jobseeker study, was similarly unpopular, only netting 6% of the vote in the employer study.

Why the Disconnect?

Why don’t employers offer the benefits that job seekers crave? There are as many answers as there are companies. Some companies are unable to provide a flexible schedule, unlimited vacation time, or at-home work opportunities due to heavy deadlines or numerous team projects. Other companies deal with sensitive data that cannot be taken home. Still, other companies simply have a company culture that relies on professionalism, meaning that relatively full attendance is required to show clients how seriously employees take their jobs. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of this is changing.

Thus, jobs seekers may need to accept a position that doesn’t have all their dream benefits to find employment.

Anything else you want to know about benefits offered by employers? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

 

Comments

    1. Post
      Author
      Movin' On Up Staff

      Hi Mark,

      This poll covered benefits other than health (since we’ve previously found health to be a huge priority for many workers that can skew the results). Thank you for the comment!

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