If you have a multi-generational workforce, chances are you're catering to various employee needs and want to offer a comprehensive benefits program to cover them all. While older generations favor traditional benefits like health insurance and retirement accounts, younger generations want something more "non-traditional." If you're looking to attract and retain more talent, consider these five non-traditional benefits.
Financial wellness support
With today's economic conditions, employees are more concerned about their financial wellness than ever. And they're expecting their employers to help. As an employer, you can help your employees through education, benefit programs, and other total rewards. Whether it be saving for retirement, building emergency savings, or managing their day-to-day finances, employees want guidance on how to keep themselves financially healthy. By offering an excellent financial wellness program, your employees can achieve their financial goals, address their most pressing concerns, and not let financial stress hinder their productivity at work.
Company-mandated PTO
Americans are notorious for not taking their PTO. So, one solution employers have tried to encourage their workforce to take some much-deserved R&R is company-mandated PTO, which requires workers to take a minimum amount of time off every quarter, half-year, or year. This benefit works exceptionally well for companies looking to help employees mitigate burnout, stress, and worker satisfaction. The goal of company-mandated PTO is to remove any barriers around taking PTO and to promote a culture of rest. If you're trying to fix the culture around taking time off at your company, consider a company-mandated PTO benefit for your employees.
Life planning accounts (LPAs)
The "Great Resignation" and "Quiet Quitting" trends have employees focusing more on their well-being and work-life balance. Employers have responded to that by offering life planning accounts (LPAs). An LPA is an employee spending account that employees can use for various well-being services such as gym memberships, continuing education, commuting, etc. The idea is to give your employees an allowance for non-work activities. It shows that you care about their well-being and life outside work. The best part is that you can personalize the offerings to your workforce to ensure that your employees get the most out of this benefit—and alter them as your workforce evolves.
Four-day workweek
Since the pandemic, more companies have switched to a four-day workweek, citing an increase in productivity, performance, and employee well-being when working fewer hours. Four-day workweeks aren't about cramming 40 hours into four days but reducing the workweek to 32 hours. Companies have proven that it can be done without sacrificing productivity or revenue by optimizing operations (like fewer meetings). Several companies are already doing some form of this during the summer with "summer Fridays," but now, due to employee demands, more companies are considering a permanent switch. In fact, Maryland is proposing a bill to make four-day workweeks permanent. By offering a four-day workweek, you're bound to attract talent when every weekend is a three-day weekend.
Convertible PTO
Last year, 40 percent of Americans didn't use all their PTO, leaving millions of days of unused PTO on the table. What if you could give your employees the ability to turn that PTO into something that matters the most to them? Convertible PTO is a unique employee benefit as it allows employees to convert unused PTO into student loan payments, charitable contributions, travel, and more. Convertible PTO is entirely customizable so that employees can put it towards their unique concerns. Plus, since your employees are exchanging their unused PTO, they won't have to worry about losing the value of their PTO come the end of the year.
"PTO Exchange allowed me to take advantage of the time I had already earned instead of losing it. Last minute saver.” - Maritza O.
Take advantage of non-traditional benefits
Traditional or non-traditional, the best benefits are the ones your employees use. Feel free to experiment with your benefits offerings, especially if it's something your employees expressed an interest in. Learn more about how PTO Exchange can help you offer convertible PTO to your employees, so they put their unused PTO toward causes that matter the most to them.
Published on Feb 16, 2023 by Josh Reinhard
