Introducing the benefits of balance

Important information: This information is for scheme sponsors’, trustees’, their advisers’, and consultants’ use only, and should not be relied upon by individual investors.

Fidelity’s global workplace research is helping employers discover the benefits of balance, for them and the women that work for them. The right benefits offerings help women create balance with their life inside and outside work.

Our research shows that less than half (45%) of women surveyed said they are very or extremely satisfied with their job overall and 20% say they are likely to leave their company in the next 6 months, so understanding what women want may help employers retain, engage, and empower a significant segment of their workforce.

Leveraging the power of benefits beyond the tangible may help employers with retention. Our research found that 20% of women surveyed say they are likely to leave their company within the next 6 months. While pay is a top reason many women are citing as a reason to leave their company, it isn’t the only one.

^{Questions: How likely are you to leave your organisation in the next 6 months? What are the reason(s) you are likely to leave your current job?
Source: The Fidelity Global Sentiment Survey, 2023}

Reasons to stay at a company go beyond tangible benefits

While compensation and other core tangible benefits, like health coverage and retirement contributions, remain important, women value several aspects of their work beyond their base compensation packages.

When looking to stay at a company, intangible benefits and other elements of workplace culture may be key drivers of retention for women. Importantly, work/life balance and other psychological benefits, like building a feeling of connection with others at work or having a sense of autonomy, rank highly among the most commonly selected reasons to stay at a company.

^{Source: The Fidelity Working 9-to-Thrive Report.}

Our research shows that the top reasons women say they would stay in a job include a variety of benefits across these areas.

^{Question: On the next several screens are things that people might look for in order to stay with their current organisation. For each of the features you see, please indicate whether or not it is important to you for staying at a job. Features will include compensation, insurance/retirement, time off, other paid benefits, location/balance, work/workload, development, relationships and culture, and fulfilment.
Source: The Fidelity Global Sentiment Survey, 2023}

While the proportion of women who say they’ve taken up new benefits has increased, over half of the women who said they have not taken up any new benefits state that their employer did not offer any other programs that were suitable for them.

The proportion of women who say they have taken up new benefits has increased year-on-year since 2021, yet there still is opportunity to grow engagement.

^{Question: Thinking about the last twelve months, which of the following statements about employee benefits apply to you? I have taken up new employee benefits; I made changes to an existing benefit programme I am in; I have stopped using an employee benefit; I have not taken up any new employee benefits; I made no changes; n/a – my company doesn’t provide any employee benefits; n/a - my company doesn’t offer the possibility for me to make choices around benefits.
Source: The Fidelity Global Sentiment Survey, 2023}

Understanding where women are taking up additional benefits may help employers focus their benefits strategies in the areas where support is most wanted.

Most selected areas for new benefits

^{Question: You mentioned you have taken up new employee benefits in the past twelve months. Do any of the following statements apply to you, I signed up to: a health and wellbeing service; retail discounts and perks; a private health insurance scheme; a life insurance scheme; an employee assistance programme; a private dental healthcare and/or vison scheme a new equity plan; be more engaged with my workplace pension savings and/or retirement programme (e.g. logged in to my pension account/checked balance); workplace retirement savings plan and/or pension; other?
Source: The Fidelity Global Sentiment Survey, 2023}

Providing support that addresses key life events may empower women in both their lives at work and their lives outside of work. Our research shows that women are looking for support from their employer for certain life events including support for illness, job security, and retirement.

^{Question: Below are different life events that you may have experienced or may experience in the future.  For each life event, please indicate whether or not you would want support through your employer. Support through your employer may include benefits, workplace policies, information, connection to external experts and services, etc.
Source: The Fidelity Global Sentiment Survey, 2023}

Benefits in balance support employees in various stages of their lives and across all areas of well-being.

Ensuring you are considering psychological benefits, in addition to tangible benefits, may help to retain and engage female employees.

Employers could consider reviewing how their benefits offerings meet employees' core psychological needs - for autonomy, connection, competence, and purpose.

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