There is huge potential in Asia Pacific for employers to differentiate themselves through employee benefits designed to address diverse employee needs. Our 2022 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey found when offered choice or flexibility in their benefits, more employees say that their benefits package meets their needs (Figure 1).1 More and more, employees are asking to be heard and to be better supported in their quest for a balanced sense of wellbeing — physically, emotionally, socially and financially.
Our recent studies across the Asia Pacific workforce revealed that there are events and lifestyle choices shared by employees within a similar life stage, but there are also unique circumstances emerging from shifts in employee behaviour, economic forces and sociocultural perceptions. Future-focused leaders recognise that employees do not come into the workplace completely unlinked from their very own concerns and needs. In fact, these can make or break career-related decisions for many employees.
For example, as more women enter senior positions and boardrooms, menopause will become a major issue for employers to address in the workplace. A recent UK survey found that 10% of women aged 45 to 55 left their jobs due to lack of employer support as they experienced menopausal symptoms.2 Across Asia Pacific today, only 13% of employers have healthcare provisions for perimenopause and menopause.3
Designing inclusive benefits requires long-term commitment – from every level and every role in the organisation – to awareness and continual education. And doing so can reap three major advantages for talent attraction and retention.
01
In some markets, organisations may be compelled to take action due to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) regulations (such as in Australia, India and Japan)4 that look into equitable practices within the workplace. But short-term reactions based on these reasons can cause DEI initiatives to falter quickly.
Achieving strong and positive employer branding in the DEI space should be built on an authentic effort to evolve the leadership mindset5 and to consistently review practices and policies in order to connect employee ‘wants’ with actual needs in a meaningful manner.
Findings from our benefits research shows that employees are more focused than employers on having family and caregiving support, while employers prioritise providing health benefits, career development and insurance benefits (Figure 2).1,6 Employee-level data insights can help organisations to better understand the extent to which this applies to their workforce and then to provide support in a way that is aligned with the organisation’s values, objectives and work processes. For example, employers could look into ‘family forming’ healthcare coverage (i.e., fertility treatment, adoption) and allowing use of caregiving leave not just for childcare but also to look after elderly relatives or sick pets. In fact, our survey found that approximately 20% of Asia Pacific employers would like to extend medical coverage on fertility medicine or Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART).3
02
The latest Benefits Trends Survey found that seven in 10 employers are facing challenges with employee productivity and effectiveness. Other research findings show that those employees who report issues in all wellbeing dimensions are two times more likely to feel burned out from their work, and miss nine more days due to presenteeism (Figure 3), demonstrating that employee wellbeing can be a critical factor affecting employee productivity and engagement.1
| Those who report issues in all wellbeing dimensions are: |
|---|
| 4x more likely to be disengaged |
| 6x more likely to suffer from stress, anxiety or depression in last 2 years |
| 2x more likely to feel burned out from their work |
| 9x more days missed per year due to presenteeism |
Inclusive benefits can improve different dimensions of employee wellbeing. Listening to employees and understanding their wants and needs can give employers insights to take into consideration when developing benefits practices. For example, the health of employee’s dependents can be taken care of, or employees can use PTO for the different “moments that matter”. Employers can allow employees to work from home and avoid presenteeism in the office. This in turn will encourage higher employee engagement and productivity.
03
Compared with two years ago, Asia Pacific organisations have provided more wellbeing resources and initiatives to help employees have healthier lifestyles. However, these resonated with just less than half of employees in most countries – even less with women, LGBT+, ethnic minorities and low-income groups.1
There’s a way for employers to identify a midpoint where they can have the best of both worlds – cost effectiveness and great employee experience. This can be possible through prioritising inclusiveness in benefits design. Employers can focus on what actually matters to employees, thereby driving better decisions for cost optimisation and greater benefits appreciation.
Achieving this starts with identifying the role of benefits in the talent strategy and articulating the goals and objectives of the benefits strategy. Conducting a benefit review will help to zoom into key gaps. And when this is enhanced with the lens of inclusiveness, employers can focus their benchmarking on specific benefits and then leverage these insights as a competitive edge in the talent market.
Across Asia Pacific today, over a third of employers are actively developing DEI goals and objectives, and almost 50% more are planning to do the same in the next two years.6 These efforts could only be sustainable when done for the right reasons – that is, not just to cut costs for the sake of cutting down on spend, but more to optimise the value and impact of inclusive benefits for a long-term workforce strategy.
1 2022 WTW Global Benefits Attitudes Survey
2 People Management magazine
3 2023 Inclusive Healthcare Questionnaire
4 Diversity Council Australia, India’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR), Japan’s Corporate Governance Code
5 Harvard Business Review
6 2023 WTW Benefits Trends Survey
