As employees’ thoughts turn to the Christmas season and a gradual wind-down towards the end of 2015, many are also gearing up for a brand new working year starting January 4 and thinking about what they want employers to provide beyond salaries and bonuses.
According to independent research amongst UK employees undertaken by specialist recruitment firm Robert Half, there is a significant mismatch between what employees want and what employers think they would like.
Topping the wish list for employees is more holiday/annual leave, ranked most popular perk by almost four-in-10 (40%) respondents and ahead of more flexible working hours (28%), more training or professional development opportunities (16%), home working/telecommuting (12%) and other corporate services such as ironing services or fitness centre (3%).
The findings are in complete contrast to views from employers, who believe that the number one perk in demand from employees is flexible working hours, cited by 56% of finance directors surveyed by Robert Half – exactly twice the proportion of employees who actually want flexibility.
Less than a quarter (23%) of CFOs believe that extra holidays top employees’ wish list, while 9% think employees would rather work from home and 5% think employees would like to have more corporate services. Interestingly, half the proportion of CFOs (8%) as employees (16%) thought that more training and professional services would be most in demand.
What employees want next year:
- More holiday/annual leave (40%)
- More flexible working hours (28%)
- More training or professional development opportunities (16%)
- Home office/telecommuting (12%)
- Other corporate perks, such as ironing services or a subsidised gym (3%)
What employers think employees want:
- More flexible working hours (56%)
- More holiday/annual leave (23%)
- Home office/telecommuting (9%)
- More training or professional development opportunities (8%)
- Other corporate perks, such as ironing services or a subsidised gym (5%)
