The latest Mercer Marsh Benefits (MMB) report, Boosting employee engagement through benefits choice, highlights how the needs and experiences of different groups vary significantly and organisations need to offer a broad range of benefits to meet these needs. The report also reveals what employees want and expect from their employers, what health solutions are most important and which benefits they most value.
According to the MMB study, employees want support in the workplace when it comes to managing benefits around mental health. More than a third (34%) of respondents said they are more likely to stay with a company that has strong mental healthcare provisions in place. There are significant variations in healthcare provisions between what different cohorts of employees want, with 33% of ethnic minorities valuing tools to help build skills, like mindfulness and resilience, to better cope with pressure and 36% of women valuing services to help support others with mental health issues, compared to 29% of men. Almost half (49%) of LGBTQ+ employees say they highly value support with mental health, resilience and personal relationship concerns, compared to 38% of non-LGBTQ+ employees.
The research also found that the broader a company’s benefits offering, the happier, more loyal and more productive their workforce. Employees are now embracing digital healthcare innovations to help address health issues for them and their families. Out of the employees who used virtual healthcare services, the vast majority (72%) intend to keep using them in future. However, the move to virtual care differs by generation, with 30% of Gen X and millennials responding that remote access was important and only 22% of Boomers agreeing.
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