A new study by MetLife, the insurance giant, puts a spotlight onwhat employees want in terms of benefits and the extent to which employers areaccommodating their preferences.

Employers and employees alike increasingly view wellness as an important part of work culture.In fact, employers are even more likely than workers to say thatbusinesses have a certain degree of responsibility for the healthand wellbeing of their employees (82 percent vs 73 percent).

And yet, when it comes to wellness benefits, the reportconcludes that employers are coming up way short, perhaps due to acommunication gap.

While more than half of employees say that wellness benefits and financial planning makethem much more likely to be loyal to their employer, only 36percent of employers believe that such benefits are greatly prizedby their workers.

Roughly half of employees say they are concerned or anxiousabout their financial well-being. Similarly, 43 percent say theyplan to delay retirement due to insufficient savings.

These days, those who aren’t thinking about retirement yet haveother daunting financial concerns, notably student loans.

Only 27 percent of those surveyed say they are satisfied withtheir progress in paying off their college debt and only 32 percentsay they are happy with the amount they’ve put away to pay fortheir own kids’ education.

More broadly, only 40 percent of employees say they look totheir employer to provide them financial security.

That percentage has steadily climbed in recent years, butcontinues to reflect the fact that a large portion of the workforceis not confident that their current job is secure enough or thatthe benefits they have are robust enough to ensure their long-termfinancial well-being.

Considering some of the sobering statistics regarding U.S.workers’ lack of savings that have surfaced in the last couple ofyears, the percentage of workers with serious financial concernsshould probably be even higher.

Employers are similarly aware of the impact that financialanxiety has on the company. Two-thirds say that worrying aboutmoney makes employees less productive.

The report argues that employers can help alleviate thesignificant stress burdening their workforce by allowing employeesto customize their benefits to address their unique personalsituations. Offering benefits that are customizable, portable andholistic, states the report, is the key.

Looming over decisions about benefits and wages is the prospectthat workers will ditch full-time employment in favor of theever-expanding “gig” economy as a contract worker. Indeed, thesurvey shows that a large share of workers are willing to make thejump, provided they can make enough money doing so.

Unsurprisingly, younger workers are far more likely to entertainfreelance work than their older colleagues. Sixty-four percent ofmillennials say they are interested in freelance work that wouldoffer them a more flexible lifestyle, compared to 52 percent of GenXers and 41 percent of baby boomers.

In an interview with BenefitsPRO, Todd Katz, executivevice-president of Group Benefits for MetLife, says he is surprisedby the extent to which workers are open to ditching full-timeemployment in favor of contract work.

The pressure from the gig economy, as well as a low unemploymentrate, means that employers are thinking more than ever about whatthey can offer to keep employees onboard. Employees who are given acertain degree of discretion over the design of their benefits,says Katz, are far more loyal to their employers.

“Employers are pretty outspoken,” he says, “in saying thatretention is the number one priority.”