After I read the report that led to this story, I put out some feelers on social media, asking folks to tell me about their job benefits — specifically, if their company’s description of its benefits would match an employee’s description of those same benefits. The key takeaway from the report, published by Prudential Financial, is that people and their employer largely don’t see eye-to-eye on how “modern” today’s workplace benefits are; while 86% of companies call their benefits packages modern, only 59% of their employees would agree. And while nearly all employers said they care about employee well-being, just over two-thirds of people believe their bosses care about their lives outside work.
“The survey results don't surprise me at all,” Lauren Schneider, a 31-year-old working in public relations in State College, Pennsylvania, told Salon. “Most companies offer benefits that look impressive on paper, but don't address real daily stress.”
Schneider works for an online employee benefits platform, describing her benefits as, no surprise, “genuinely great”: one of the more lavish perks is a $1,000 monthly stipend that employees can apply to the company’s health insurance, or take as a lump sum to use “however we want.” She joined the company three years ago, after nearly a dozen jobs in broadcast journalism, social media and corporate communication. “I made no money and had no benefits,” she said. “It took a long time to get to this point."
In her previous roles, she said, “Companies still had the same (attitude) of, ‘OK, here’s your 10 days off. Maybe you’ll get to use them — that’s on you — but if you take time off, we’ll make you feel bad about it anyways. And here’s your health insurance, and that comes out of your paycheck. So, congratulations.”
Companies, and the people they employ, have rarely been more disconnected on the benefits of benefits. In 2023, benefits satisfaction among U.S. workers hit a 10-year low, with just 61% of American workers saying they’re happy with their benefits. Also that year, the insurance giant MetLife surveyed nearly 6,000 benefits administrators and full-time employees, finding that the gap between companies’ perception of employee satisfaction, and true employee satisfaction, had swelled from 3% to a whopping 22% in the last five years. The following year, the hiring website Indeed published a report on what it called an “undeniable trend” in its surveys and research.
“The Great Resignation may be over, but the record number of people quitting their jobs in 2021 and 2022 has been replaced by a gap between what job seekers want and what employers provide,” the report states. It goes on to say that such discrepancies “have surfaced so frequently in Indeed’s surveys and research that it’s become an undeniable trend we’re calling the Great Disconnect — a chasm between job seekers and employers as they find themselves at odds over remote work, pay, diversity and inclusion, and more.”
If you're feeling a knee-jerk reaction to blame younger workers for expecting too much from their jobs, consider that over the past 20 years, the average benefits package has changed significantly. Companies across the board have been beefing up softer perks like professional development and wellness incentives, while cutting more costly — and valuable — financial benefits. Between 1996 and 2016, employees have lost out on substantial financial perks, with benefits like relocation assistance, mortgage assistance, employee credit union membership, pensions, stock purchase plans and health care premium flexible spending accounts offered less frequently. That’s according to a 2016 report from the Society for Human Resource Management that measures how corporate benefits have changed over the last 20 years.
The SHRM report also found that professional development and wellness benefits are more common today, but noted that some wellness benefits are being phased out: onsite flu vaccinations, health coaching and access to a 24-hour health care line are less common today, compared to increases in perks like a standing desk, company fitness competitions and nap rooms.
In the Prudential report, employers and employees were given a list of workplace benefits and asked whether each benefit was “expected” in a benefits package. Employers were in agreement on needing to provide some benefits, like dental insurance, which 70% of executives said was expected, or vision insurance, which 66% said would belong in the package. But just 33% of employers thought company-matched retirement saving plans would be expected, compared to 45% of employees. For a health savings account, 33% of employers said they’d expect to provide it, compared to 41% of workers who said they’d expect to receive it.
Conversations with my mostly millennial friends revealed a mixed bag of benefits satisfaction, and what each of them expects from their employer. A friend in his early thirties, who I’ll call Alex, lives in Chicago and works in digital media. He said he’s largely satisfied with his benefits, but was quick to note that, “a lot of the great benefits that I have come from my union, and the protections it offers me.” Before his current job, he worked at an events company, where benefits were standard — health insurance, a 401(k) account and two weeks’ vacation — but regularly worked 60 or more hours per week, without overtime pay. At the law firm before that, he only received basic health benefits.
Another friend, Veronica, 33, described the benefits she gets at a civil engineering firm in Houston as “better than the jobs I had right out of college, but by no means progressive.” The company offers flexible leave, a stock purchase plan, retirement savings, employee discounts, vaccinations and more. Her company would likely describe itself as being on “the cutting-edge of benefits,” she said. “But ultimately, I think what they cover should be standard.” In one jarring moment of corporate detachment, the company’s website lists one benefit as “exposure to world-class projects,” which give individuals the opportunity to “keep your mind stimulated.”
And Chris, 32, described his benefits as being “pretty good, actually.” Chris works in customer service at a publicly traded tech company in New York; his benefits include full-coverage health insurance through a major provider, a monthly meal stipend, gym membership reimbursement, subway credits and a subscription to the Calm app.
When I asked him how many times he’d used Calm, he grimaced. “Once,” he said. “I logged in, connected to my account and never went back to it.”
