The workplace benefits UK employees are least interested in

Published: 14 May 2019

  • Paid holiday, pensions and flexible working top the list of benefits employees value the most
  • Being allowed to take your dog into the office and having workplace entertainment like table football are benefits employees are least interested in
  • Over a third (38%) of employers would like to improve workplace benefits rather than increase salaries

Traditional workplace benefits like holiday allowance and pensions have trumped quirkier 'benefits' like being allowed to take your dog into the office, in a survey by Aviva1. 

Out of a wide range of workplace benefits, 43% of UK employees said they were least interested in being allowed to take their dog into the workplace. More than a third of workers (34%) also said they weren’t interested in office entertainment like table football and video games. And more than one in four people (26%) even said workplace socials like summer and Christmas parties were among the benefits they were least interested in.

Traditional workplace benefits came out on top in the survey, as 43% of people said they were most interested in paid holiday, 41% opted for their pension with 39% choosing flexible working as the benefit they are most keen on.

Table 1: Which workplace benefits are employees most and least interested in?

Rank

Which workplace benefits are employees most interested in?

Which workplace benefits are employees least interested in?
1

22-35 days annual paid leave (44%)

Dogs in the office (43%)
2

Pension scheme (41%)

Entertainment at work - films, video games, table football (35%)
3

Flexible working (39%)

Childcare vouchers and/or on-site childcare (31%)
4

Paid sick leave and/or critical illness cover (38%)

Social events – parties, away days (26%)
5

Bonuses and/or profit and share schemes (25%)

Free/subsidised gym membership (26%)

Salary vs Benefits

For most people, pay will always be the ultimate benefit, and Aviva’s research proved that to be the case as 85% of workers said they would choose a salary increase over an improvement in their workplace benefits.

However, employers had a slightly different view with more than a third (38%) saying they would prefer to improve their benefits package for employees over increasing salaries.

Colin Williams, Managing Director of Workplace Benefits at Aviva, said:

Workplace benefits have really come under the spotlight in recent years as employers and employees realise that while salary is important, there’s more that can be offered.

But while we hear of companies across the world experimenting with a range of benefits, some more unusual than others, it’s encouraging to see that employees still value the more traditional benefits.

Offering holiday, a decent pension and access to flexible working are clearly important to employees. These types of benefits can help create the foundations of a resilient workforce and a resilient business.

You can read more about Aviva’s research here.

- ENDS -

1 2,011 UK employees and 502 managers and above with recruitment responsibilities surveyed by Censuswide in March 2019 on behalf of Aviva.

Media enquiries

Ben Moss

Corporate and Workplace

Notes to editors:

  • We are the UK's leading diversified insurer and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
  • We help our 20.5 million (as at 31 December 2024) customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we'll be there to put it right.
  • We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being 'with you today, for a better tomorrow'. In 2024, we paid £29.3 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.
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  • Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
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