84% of U.S. employers increasing benefits offerings to help with attraction, retention efforts: survey

Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of respondents said employees’ financial stress levels have risen in the past year and 80 per cent felt that offering competitive financial benefits is more important for attracting and retaining employees than it was a year ago.

Read: 37% of U.S. employers increasing quality of workplace benefits to attract, retain employees: survey

The survey also found 63 per cent of respondents said employees have asked for an increase in base pay, followed by 39 per cent reporting that employees asked for bonuses. In response, nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of companies have increased base salaries and flexible work arrangements.

Two-thirds (66 per cent) of organizations said they support coverage of hormone replacement therapy, while 60 per cent said funding and leave for abortion is important to their employees and 58 per cent supported travel for medical purposes if a procedure isn’t available in the state.

However, despite the support for reproductive and family health benefits, respondents said only about a quarter of employees are aware certain expenses, such as egg storage fees and baby formula, are covered by either flexible or health-care spending accounts.

“Today’s job market has rapidly evolved, leading employees to ask more questions than ever before about their pay and benefits,” said Shobin Uralil, co-founder and chief operating officer of Lively, in a press release. “Human resource professionals are constantly faced with the challenging task of employee retention and attraction and our findings show how these decision-makers have been staying vigilant in keeping up with ever-increasing employee expectations.”

Read: Employers see retirement benefits as top attraction, retention tool: survey