Which employee benefits are the most desired?

18. 7. 2017, 11:58

While unemployment drops and employers find it increasingly difficult to find quality staff, requirements of employees for a wide range of benefits are on the rise. Employee benefits will thus be our topic today.

At present, meal vouchers or a flexible working time will not get anyone anymore, and one needs to offer something extra. What are the most important employee benefits? What benefits are most frequently offered by employers? We will illustrate this using several graphs.

The data we refer to have been collected using our salary survey in IT over several past months. In total, more than 1,800 IT specialists participated in it from the whole of the Czech Republic, which we already may consider a representative sample. The survey was divided into several segments, such as Software Engineering, Analytical Positions, and Administrative Positions etc. Here, we will refer to the data for all the segments. Let us take a look at the individual graphs and survey findings.

The first graph shows what benefits the employers effectively provide their employees most often. Flexible working time, the option to wear informal clothes and meal vouchers dominate clearly. More than a half of employers provide their employees with work hardware, such as laptops and mobile telephones also for private purposes. These benefits can further be divided depending on whether the employees can choose their telephone or notebook themselves or whether it is assigned to them. Around 60 % of employees have the option to choose a telephone as they wish, while the rest cannot do so. The situation with laptops is reverse, with 60 % of employees not having the option to choose a particular model.

The option of home office is obviously a frequent benefit as well. Almost one third of IT specialists can work from their home on two and more days a week. Additional 25 % can do so once a week.

What benefits are considered most important and most in-demand by the employees? This is shown in the second graph. The first four ranks show benefits which concern working time and vacation. Obviously, employees have a much greater appreciation of immaterial benefits, which make the work itself enjoyable, rather than financial benefits and material forms of remuneration. It is also apparent that the benefits provided the least frequently also belong to the least important ones, showing that the employers reflect the demand fairly well.

The third graph shows what benefits from the ones listed above are already taken for granted today. Clear leaders are meal vouchers, followed by a flexible working time, informal clothes and telephones and notebooks provided for private purposes. If an employer wants to be attractive for their employees, they should offer something extra. For instance, the option of home office or extra free days, which are in demand, but not everyone offers them.

And what is your point of view? What employee benefits are the best ones for you? Share your opinion with us or join our survey.