34 per cent of employees believe that the most valuable workplace benefit, after a pay rise, is being thanked or recognised for their work, according to new research from Capita Employee Benefits. It topped a promotion or training (both 17 per cent) and flexible hours (22 per cent).
More than 3000 people were questioned for the survey which looked at the retirement plans and employment of British adults.
Being recognised or thanked was particularly popular among women (39 per cent), those over 55 (41 per cent), and residents of Derby (46 per cent) and Edinburgh (40 per cent).
More than one in five respondents (22 per cent) would like more employer pension contributions and this was particularly appreciated by respondents in Brighton and Leicester (28 per cent) and in Newcastle (35 per cent).
Robin Hames, head of marketing at Capita Employee Benefits, said: “Although a pay rise ranks as the most important thing an employer can do to make staff feel valued, with 58 per cent of respondents to our survey choosing this, being thanked or recognised is, surprisingly, the second most important across all age groups. Making people feel appreciated is a low cost and easy to implement benefit, so in these times of austerity it’s important for employers to know how highly this is valued.”
Being thanked or recognised was also the second most popular choice in almost every industry sector, but was particularly popular with those working in retail (47 per cent), health and social care (42 per cent) and government (39 per cent). But those employed in IT would prefer flexible hours (24 per cent) or professional training and development (23 per cent); only one in five (22 per cent) choosing being thanked or recognised.
|
