The future of
employee
benefits

Remote's 2022 study helps you understand the benefits most valued by employees. Get started with Remote to build your ideal benefits program and read the report below to find the key trends impacting the global talent marketplace.

Benefits trends

The future of employee
benefits

The world of work is constantly evolving based on the changing requirements of both employers and employees. The rise of remote work has opened up the globe for forward-thinking employers, giving prospective employees the opportunity to work for anyone from anywhere.

This rapid transition to facilitate globally-distributed teams comes with some new HR challenges. Companies must offer diverse, equitable, and compliant benefit packages in multiple countries to attract and retain the best talent. Employers hiring internationally need to understand which benefits are required by law, and which benefits will be valued in each individual country.

Remote has conducted a study to help you get a better understanding of which benefits are most valued by employees looking for a remote job in 2022.

Through research and a survey conducted to 10,000 full-time workers in Europe and the USA, the report outlines the most in-demand employee benefits in 2022 split by gender, parental status, job function and industry sector, across France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA.

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Future benefits report

The state of remote and flexible working in 2022

The importance of remote and flexible working is undeniable in today’s world, but which employees place the most value on these provisions?

We have uncovered the most in-demand employee benefits in 2022 by surveying 10,000 full-time employees across different genders, industries, job functions, countries, and parental statuses. The following highlights give you an indication of the insights you can find from the full research report: 

  • Our research found health insurance is most important in the USA
  • Additional parental leave is the most important benefit to parents of one child
  • Employees in the Netherlands want contributions from their employer for home office setup

Job move

The most important employee
benefits when considering a
job move

We surveyed 10,000 full-time employees in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US to uncover which benefits are deemed the most desirable when considering a job move, across different genders, parental statuses, job roles, and industries.

When considering a change in employment, the workforce tends to compare their current benefits packages with those offered by alternative employers. This helps them decide whether to stay or whether to go, and once they’ve made their mind up to leave, it informs which positions are worth applying for.

Most important employee benefits
when considering a job move in 2022

Agree
Disagree
Flexible work hours
74.2%
6.3%
Company-sponsored retirement plan or pension
74.9%
6.2%
Early finish on Fridays
63.9%
11.0%
4-day working week
63.4%
10.6%
Family health insurance
62.3%
12.1%
Private health insurance
62.2%
11.7%
Healthcare cost reimbursements
61.1%
12.3%
Paid self-care days or time off for mental health
58.9%
13.2%
Miscarriage leave
58.6%
13.2%
Private dental insurance
57.7%
13.9%

Whether an employer’s primary aim is to attract top talent or retain it, flexible working hours, company-sponsored retirement plans or pensions, and early finishes on Fridays are the top three perks to consider including in their benefits packages, based on our survey of 10,000 full-time employees in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US.

From an employee health-related benefit perspective, employees in the US see paid time off for self-care/mental health and private and family health insurance as more important than employees in any of the European countries we surveyed.

Those living in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK all have access to universal healthcare, whereas, in the US, medical fees are an individual cost. 

It is therefore crucial as an employer to develop customized benefits packages based on what is most valued in your business region.

Offering medical insurance to support US employees with healthcare expenses will demonstrate your care and maintain equity across your global team.

Download your global benefits guide

Learn how to build a global benefits plan to help you attract and retain top talent

Get your guide
Remote work global benefits guide

The most desired employee wellness benefits of 2022

We surveyed 10,000 full-time employees in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US across different genders, job roles, industries, parental status and countries to discover which wellness-specific benefits were the most important.

Most important employee wellness benefits by country
France
Germany
Netherlands
UK
USA
Hours off every month specifically for mental health improvement65.55%57.75%58.15%61.55%62.10%
Confidential paid therapy or coaching53.35%46.00%55.55%51.10%55.10%
Healthy food in the office, home deliveries, or meal stipends70.15%62.95%66.55%52.75%52.75%
Virtual mindfulness sessions42.55%30.80%38.30%47.25%43.85%
Gym memberships57.45%49.50%53.75%44.10%46.00%
Physical therapy / massages61.15%53.15%50.90%43.00%46.65%
Virtual Yoga sessions42.40%28.85%31.50%32.35%32.40%

In the UK and the US, access to hours off work each month for mental health improvement is the most important employee wellness benefit for companies to offer. Today, society’s focus on mental wellness is more prevalent than ever. It is vital for employers to follow suit in prioritizing the mental health of their staff, and removing the blockages some employees may face in seeking support for mental health improvement, such as time restraints.

In France, Germany and the Netherlands, however, employees see healthy food in the office, home deliveries or meal stipends as the most important. Therefore, employers of people in these regions should prioritize healthy food in their wellness packages.

Top employee training benefits
in 2022

In our survey to 10,000 full-time employees in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US, we wanted to find out which employee training benefits are the most important across genders, job roles, industries, and parental statuses. Technical courses or training for skills growth in specific work fields emerged as the most important.

Most important employee training benefitsEmployees that agreeEmployees that disagree
Technical courses or trainings for growing skills in my specific work field74.97%6.21%
Leadership courses or training to help employees advance their careers71.42%7.13%
Software courses or training (Microsoft Office, Google Suite, video conference tools like Zoom or Teams, engineering training, design tools, etc.)70.28%7.69%
Remote work communication courses or training61.28%11.74%
Remote work specific leadership courses or training59.75%12.14%
Diversity and inclusion courses or training57.84%13.95%

Our research revealed that overall, the top employee training specific benefit is technical courses or training for skills growth in specific work fields. But how does this differ when we look at different employee characteristics such as gender, different industry sectors and job functions?

Companies should note that diversity and inclusion training came in below other courses. While this could be an indication that employees have not seen much value from diversity training in the past, it may also mean they do not see value in diversity or inclusion, which would be a sign that more and better training should be provided.

Parental leave

The state of parental leave in 2022

Parental leave beyond statutory requirements is important to employees who have children and employees without, whether they plan to start a family within the next five years or not. This shows how much workers value employers that offer them flexibility in relation to changes in life circumstances beyond the workplace.

To what extent do you agree that employers should offer additional paid parental leave above the legal statutory requirement?

Agree
Disagree
Parents of one child
65.8%
9.3%
Not a parent, planning to be within 5 years
64.0%
9.9%
Parents
63.7%
10.2%
Parents of multiple children
60.6%
11.6%
No children
48.6%
16.6%
Not a parent, not planning to be within 5 years
41.3%
19.7%

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