Employees looking for boost in benefits

Burnout, changing employee demands and the ongoing war for talent are some of the key challenges keeping employers occupied these days, according to a survey by Sage.

More than half (56 per cent) of 786 decision-makers tabbed burnout as a major concern -- up from 47 per cent in March. And 40 per cent of 1,506 employees said the same, up from 32 per cent in March.

“About two-thirds of those workers are also looking for help with those day-to-day [concerns, which means]… getting other staff on to help them because there’s just too much pressure,” says Steve Ryujin, vice-president for Canada small business at Sage in Vancouver.

And employers are reacting proactively, with 61 per cent of employers investing in mental health resources, he says.

“Whether it’s working more hours for dealing with especially customers, it’s changed in terms of what customers are demanding and it’s hard on the workforce.”

This focus on mental health is particularly acute among younger workers, says another expert, who regularly visits post-secondary institutions to speak with graduating students.

“The number one question on campus last year, was not ‘What’s your top 10 clients?’ ... Now, it’s more ‘What’s your wellness benefits?’” says Denis Trottier, chief mental health officer at KPMG Canada in Ottawa.

Boost to benefits wanted

However, there are disconnects: 65 per cent of employees want more self-care benefits, and 64 per cent want more days off.

And while 61 per cent of employers have invested in knowledge resources around this, only 25 per cent have boosted benefits and 32 per cent have upped the numbers of self-care days allowed.

This seeming divide points to a continued “challenging” time for employers, says Ryujin.

“Whether it’s trying to increase the compensation and recognition with the employees, or whether it’s trying to get some help to get more staff to help support the employees in the business as well, it is a challenging time and we’ve definitely seen businesses are trying to take action. Having said that, there’s still more work to be done.”

Retention was also singled out as a particular stressor for employers, found the survey.

“We did see worker satisfaction actually declined by about eight per cent and almost half the workers [47 per cent], they’ve considered looking at other opportunities,” says Ryujin. “It does support some of those findings that we are hearing out in the market in terms of that ‘great resignation;’ there is definitely some indicators supporting there is some challenges out there.”

Nineteen per cent of respondents have changed jobs in the last six months, and that’s particularly dire in Quebec, says Trottier, as 45,000 jobs in retail and hospitality companies remain unfilled.

“If you’re not going out of the gate with good benefits, and you’re not walking the talk around mental health and caring for your employees, you’re going to be left behind.”

Mental health supports

For HR professionals and leaders, addressing the issues is key to helping solve the dilemma, he says.

“It’s about culture, it’s about putting this on your agenda, and not being afraid to say, ‘Who’s running too hot? Who do we need to put the cooling suit on?’ … It’s about] creating a milieu where people are comfortable bringing their whole selves to work. If organizations start making their folks more comfortable to ask for help, you’ve got to make sure that the resources and the help is there.”

Using technology to track employee behaviour around vacations and benefits is also key to managing mental health stressors, says Ryujin.

“From an HR and people perspective, [it’s about] being able to track time off, whether it’s planned or unplanned, what benefits are being taken, what benefits are being used. And also looking at what other proactive things are being done from a company perspective, and being able to track against that, is even more critical because you do want to, as an HR professional, be able to know, proactively, what’s happening with employees, and technology can do that.”

For small employers that may not be able to afford gold-plated benefits plans, there are resources, says Trottier.

“Invest a bit of time to scope out and learn and know all these various resources that are free. That can make a big difference because… once they find out what these various tools are, and then just communicate them to their teams, it can make a world of difference.”

Stress is seen as one big factor in why employees are leaving their jobs, according to another survey, while benefits are becoming more important to new hires, found another survey.