When they first entered the workforce, millennials threw employers for a loop. Their priorities for a job and what they wanted from an employer were different than previous generations. So employers started to get creative and offer new employee benefits aimed at millennials. It wasn't long before perks like free snacks and kegs in the breakroom became more popular.
But now, millennials are getting older and settling down. Logically, that also means the benefits they want from a job will begin to change. If you want to continue to attract and, more importantly, retain the millennial generation, it's time to start rethinking your benefits package.
Here are four new employee benefits to consider in order to please aging millennials.
Money Woes
When it comes to finances, the millennial generation got the short end of the stick. Aside from many of them entering the workforce during one of the worst economic times in recent history, there's also huge gaps in their basic knowledge of personal finances. In fact, a 2015 report from Bank of America found that 33 percent of millennials learn about money management by making mistakes. To give you some comparison, 23 percent of millennials said they had learned from their parents' advice and only 7 percent said they'd learned from classes, books, or online resources.
Considering the amount of stress financial problems can cause employees, it seems like a big risk for employers to just hope their younger workers figure everything out—especially considering the toll financial stress takes on workplace productivity. The 2015 Employee Financial Wellness Survey from PwC found that 37 percent of employees spend three hours each week dealing with financial concerns while at work and 20 percent said that money issues distract them from doing their job.
Prevent this stress by giving millennial employees better financial education. Provide resources that answer their questions about saving for retirement or building their credit scores. That way, as they grow older and face larger decisions like buying a home or starting a family, they can make better choices. Becoming confident about their financial stability because of such benefits allows them to focus on being a great employee.
At your service
Work-life balance is important to employees at all ages, but it definitely gets more complicated once spouses, children, and other familial obligations are added to the mix. As they continue to grow older, millennials will care less about free snacks in the office and more about how they're going to get everything on their to-do list done.
Perhaps that's why concierge services have become so popular with companies that hire millennials. While research from the Society for Human Resource Management found that just 3 percent of companies offer concierge benefits, many that do, like Google, have a large number of millennials working for them.
These companies realize that even simple errands like running clothes to the dry cleaners or delivering the groceries mean a lot to millennials. Whatever option an organization chooses, it's a great way to show millennials you support their work-life balance.
The Millennial Conundrum
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