{"id":3470,"date":"2023-05-15T12:49:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-15T12:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/?p=3470"},"modified":"2023-05-26T15:37:51","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T15:37:51","slug":"the-new-perks-and-benefits-employees-really-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/the-new-perks-and-benefits-employees-really-want\/","title":{"rendered":"The new perks and benefits employees really want"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perks and benefits are becoming an increasingly important way for companies to attract and retain great talent. But away from headline-grabbing perks like ‘pawternity’ leave or free Netflix subscriptions, are employers actually offering the benefits workers want?<\/p>\n

Recently, we also looked at the end of hustle culture for employees,<\/a>\u00a0with employees striving for a better work-life balance, recognizing the impact burnout is having on their mental health and searching for more flexibility in the way the work. As employers battle for top talent in a tough hiring market, we look at the benefits companies are offering to stay competitive in this market.<\/p>\n

Based on an analysis of 25.9 million job ads posted on Adzuna, we took a snapshot of benefits offered in February 2020, February 2021, February 2022 and February 2023, looking at the trends in benefits being offered and which perks really matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Growing emphasis on families and fertility health<\/h3>\n

The first positive pick-up we noticed is that benefits around fertility health in the workplace are expanding. Our data found that more job postings are advertising benefits that support fertility care and building a family. <\/span><\/p>\n

Looking at year over year research, we saw more job postings advertising fertility benefits, egg freezing and IVF in February 2023 (3,477 job ads) compared to February 2022 (2,587 job ads).<\/p>\n

Employees interested in adopting children are also seeing increased support from employers allowing them to take leave after adoption takes place. 8,874 job postings advertised adoption leave in 2023 compared to 3,513 in February 2022 – a +150% increase.<\/p>\n

Also, new benefits in this space are starting to be advertised more, such as leave for those who need to grieve a miscarriage and surrogacy leave.<\/span><\/p>\n

Table 1: Job ads supporting fertility care and building a family<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Year<\/th>Fertility Benefits, Egg Freezing, IVF<\/th>Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Leave<\/th>Adoption Leave<\/th>Surrogacy Leave<\/th>Pregnancy Loss Leave<\/th>Childcare Support<\/th>Menopause Support<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
2020<\/td>59<\/td>13,469<\/td>526<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>49<\/td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2021<\/td>365<\/td>44,352<\/td>1,443<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>203<\/td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2022<\/td>2,587<\/td>260,752<\/td>3,513<\/td>2<\/td>11<\/td>132<\/td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2023<\/td>3,477<\/td>275,374<\/td>8,874<\/td>646<\/td>695<\/td>733<\/td>312<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

 <\/p>\n

More support for mental health and wellbeing<\/h3>\n

The next trend we spotted was around mental wellbeing. Awareness around mental health in the workplace has skyrocketed due to the pandemic and remote work, causing <\/span>81% of individuals<\/span><\/a> to now look for workplaces that support their mental wellbeing. With burnout on the rise, this area is under the spotlight.<\/span><\/p>\n

The number of job postings offering free therapy or counseling has fluctuated over the years but this is also now becoming a top priority. Our data shows there were 4,025 more job postings advertising these benefits in February 2023 (4,127 job ads) compared to February 2022 (102 job ads).<\/p>\n

Mental health days are also becoming more prominent, as well as companies giving employees <\/span>the day off for their birthday. In February 2023, 16,791 job ads included birthday leave in their job postings compared to 2,668 the year before – a +530% increase. <\/span><\/p>\n

Table 2: Job ads supporting health and wellbeing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Year<\/th>Free Therapy & Counseling<\/th>Mental Health & Duvet Days<\/th>Birthday Leave<\/th>Gym Membership or Subsidy<\/th><\/td><\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
2020<\/td>5<\/td>16<\/td>490<\/td>6,554<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2021<\/td>467<\/td>502<\/td>3,874<\/td>20,577<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2022<\/td>102<\/td>862<\/td>2,668<\/td>62,930<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2023<\/td>4,127<\/td>1,598<\/td>16,791<\/td>69,234<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

 <\/p>\n

Rise in flexible working<\/h3>\n

Other benefits appearing more on job ads compared to previous years include volunteer days, with 11,814 postings promoting this perk in February 2023.<\/p>\n

As more jobseekers consider becoming digital nomads, more employers are offering ‘work from anywhere’ schemes in 2023, cited in over 12,000 postings. We’ve even spotted a big uptick in companies offering both paid and unpaid sabbaticals as a tactic to retain staff.<\/p>\n

Table 3: Other key benefits in job ads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Year<\/th>Volunteer Days<\/th>Four Day Work Week<\/th>Work from Anywhere<\/th>Paid Sabbatical<\/th>Unpaid Sabbatical<\/th>Tuition Reimbursement<\/th><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
2020<\/td>796<\/td>199<\/td>1,002<\/td>1,215<\/td>1<\/td>139,115<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2021<\/td>2,523<\/td>594<\/td>9,750<\/td>964<\/td>13<\/td>156,288<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2022<\/td>6,749<\/td>253<\/td>17,487<\/td>2,854<\/td>1<\/td>507,073<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2023<\/td>11,814<\/td>1,320<\/td>12,254<\/td>4,700<\/td>53<\/td>557,088<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

 <\/p>\n

Which benefits do employers still need to look at?<\/h3>\n

Despite movement in the right direction, our data also revealed some areas where benefits still need to be re-examined. In particular, we found that over 96% of U.S. companies are failing to support women in workplace.<\/p>\n

Despite <\/span>recent research<\/span><\/a> showing 1 in 10 women aged 45-55 leave the workforce due to symptoms of menopause, only 312 job ads mention menopause support. A survey from <\/span>Biote<\/span><\/a> found 40% of women said menopause interfered with their work performance at least weekly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shockingly, only 10 U.S. job ads offered menstrual leave. <\/span>Research<\/span> by ResumeBuilder has found 78% of Americans are in favor of the introduction of menstrual leave legislation, with 79% of women under 45 saying they would use such a policy. Further research from the <\/span>BMJ<\/span><\/a> also highlights the link between menstruation and loss of productivity at work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some countries are waking up to the huge negative impact this has on women in the workplace: Spain has recently introduced legislation allowing three days per month of state-paid menstrual leave for those with incapacitating periods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Only 275,374 ads promoted enhanced maternity or parental leave, and just 14,705 postings offered some kind of support with childcare costs (including on site daycare or backup childcare).<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, only 304,093 of the 8,461,033 job ads available in February 2023 (less than 4%) cited perks aimed at retaining women in the workplace and supporting them to thrive. <\/span>Keeping women in the workplace is key to filling skill gaps, so introducing benefits that help attract, support and ultimately retain women makes sense from a business as well as a societal perspective.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Benefits by sector<\/h3>\n

Where should you look if you want a certain perk and does it vary by sector?<\/p>\n

We found jobseekers who want jobs that will still allow them to work from anywhere today should search for opportunities in Customer Services<\/a> (2,532 job ads advertise this perk), IT<\/a> (2,479 job ads), and Accounting & Finance<\/a> (2,043 job ads).<\/p>\n

If you’re passionate about giving back, look for work in IT (2,566 job ads advertising volunteer days), Accounting & Finance (1,958 job ads), and Sales<\/a> (1,031 job ads).<\/p>\n

We recommend avoiding looking for jobs in Property<\/a> and Travel<\/a> if childcare support is a leading factor, as there are very few to none job postings advertising this benefit in these sectors. But if fertility benefits are important, start looking for jobs in Healthcare<\/a>, IT and Sales.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Key takeaways<\/h3>\n

Companies that win are recognizing that benefits which used to be offered as nice-to-haves are now must-haves to keep employees satisfied and retain great talent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Employers are increasingly offering benefits supporting milestones in their employees\u2019 personal lives, and that alleviate workers\u2019 mental-health struggles, in addition to providing more flexible work environments.<\/p>\n

There’s more to be done, but with the increase in job ads advertising benefits such as fertility assistance, free therapy, etc., our findings show companies are reassessing and listening to what their employees need support with in their personal lives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in the market for a new job, look for companies offering perks and benefits that can support you. Try using our Adzuna advanced search<\/a> to find roles that suit your lifestyle.<\/p>\n

\n

\"?\"\u00a0Read more: <\/strong>The states most guilty of posting large salary bands<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perks and benefits are becoming an increasingly important way for companies to attract and retain great talent. But away from headline-grabbing perks like ‘pawternity’ leave or free Netflix subscriptions, are employers actually offering the benefits workers want? Recently, we also looked at the end of hustle culture for employees,\u00a0with employees striving for a better work-life Continued \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":3483,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[148,135],"tags":[140],"class_list":["post-3470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-job-market","category-pay-benefits","tag-featured"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}