It’s time to think differently about benefits and compensation packages

Employers that are raising salaries and still seeing people leaving are not considering all the challenges that this new environment is creating both for employers and their own businesses. (Photo: Shutterstock)

“The Big Quit,” also known as the Great Resignation, has had a dramatic impact, not just on employee turnover and the loss of talent, but across all aspects of business from supply chain challenges to workforce law changes, product pricing impacts and wage and benefit budgetary concerns. With turnover surging at more than 50% across the country, and inflation surpassing 7% at the end of 2021, it is important to look at the impact all of this has on employee wages.

When the cost of everything else is increasing, if wages don’t keep pace, then the buying power of employee compensation drops, and the value of your employees’ compensation also drops. Add to that, the average workday has lengthened by almost an hour since the onset of the pandemic, and despite working longer hours, workers are also taking fewer breaks, according to a recent Deloitte Human Capital Trends special report. It isn’t surprising that people are looking for new opportunities and more money.