It takes more than pay alone to keep employees satisfied. Our own Fulfilment at Work report showed that once pay reaches a certain level, employees become more concerned with task rewards and work-life balance, and staff on high incomes are prepared to give up salary to obtain higher levels of non-financial job satisfaction.
The more advanced an employee’s career, and the more they are paid, the less effective financial reward is at increasing feelings of fulfillment.Total reward packages can include a vast array of other benefits, including:
- health insurance
- pension scheme
- free or subsidised parking
- car allowance
- company car
- season ticket loan and employee assistance/loan programmes.
Many employers also provide annual maternity/paternity leave above the statutory minimum, while work-life balance benefits such as flexible working, enhanced leave and childcare vouchers feature strongly.
However - along with career development and training - such non-pay factors are far from universally appreciated as part of a total reward package. With under one-fifth of employers providing total reward statements, poor communication of these benefits is one obvious reason, although the CIPD study also cites a ‘culture of secrecy’ evidenced by more than 25% of their respondents indicating they prefer employee benefits to be a matter between individuals and the employer alone.