Employees 'less and less' willing to part with pandemic-gained perks: survey
The desire for improved well-being is beginning to match compensation in the list of what jobseekers want from their next employer, following findings that showed non-material benefits strongly affecting career decisions.
Randstad's 2024 Salary Guide revealed that 40% of respondents would likely change jobs in search of better work-life balance, followed closely by insufficient pay in relation to the rising cost of living.
Brent Dul, Executive Vice President at Randstad Canada, said this shows a "turning point" where well-being at work has nearly become equal to salary when it comes to employees' considerations.
These findings are also supported by Randstad's 2023 Employer Brand Research, which showed that 76% of employees are putting more premium on non-material benefits, such as flexible working hours and location, training and recognition, as well as the company's values, when looking for their next employer.
This is only behind the 79% who said adequate compensation is considered in choosing their next organisation.
"The past few years have led to radical changes in the job market, and we observe employees who are less and less willing to part with the benefits gained since the pandemic," Dul said in a statement.
Gender pay equity important
Meanwhile, Randstad research also revealed that employees are unlikely to apply for organisations that don't support gender pay equity.
A recent analysis on Canada's Labour Force Survey revealed that the gender wage gap in the country narrowed by 5.9 percentage points between 2007 and 2022.
In 2022, Canadian-born women earned 9.2% less than their male counterparts, down from the 15% in 2007.
"The gender wage gap narrowed between 2007 and 2022 but remained sizeable," the analysis, released in September this year, said.
Randstad's report further found that 62% of women feel that their proclaimed opportunity equality is not reflected in their professional experience.
Another 32% of women also said they don't feel significant progress towards gender equality in the workplace, with 25% saying their employers merely talk about the issue and don't really take concrete action.
Randstad underscored that employers have to introduce practices that "reflect flexibility, diversity and inclusion, fair compensation, salary transparency, and ongoing training" in order to attract and retain the best talents.
