Workers across generations focusing on long-term benefits

It shouldn’t be surprising to hear that adults look for long-term, rather than short-term, employee benefits but what might be surprising is that even those workers aren’t taking full advantage of what they have.

That’s among the findings of the Ernst & Young Better You survey, which also reveals that 67 percent of employed Gen Z and 76 percent of college students prefer long-term benefits than immediately available offerings like personal fitness memberships. That’s only slightly fewer than boomers, 78 percent of whom would rather have long-term benefits, even in the later years of their careers.

Related: Are employees focusing on the wrong benefits?

Incidentally, while 70 percent of employed adults overall are more interested in long-term benefits than in short-term, 29 percent say they aren’t taking full advantage of them—with 37 percent saying they’re not sure they even understand them all. And understanding aside, 36 percent of female respondents who aren’t taking full advantage of the package their companies offer say it’s because what’s on offer doesn’t meet their needs.

Whether they’re employed adults or college students, people are taking mental health days—with 40 percent of the employed having done so (even though 29 percent say they don’t use all their paid time off) and 56 percent of college students having bailed from classes. Interestingly, 67 percent of female college students have availed themselves of mental health days, compared with 46 percent of male college students.

Younger workers in particular are not just concerned with health benefits—47 percent of employed Gen Z workers value generous health care benefits even over a competitive salary—but also want such things as mental health and mindfulness in the workplace. In addition, one notable expectation among nearly 20 percent of younger workers is mental health/addiction support as a workplace benefit that matters most.

“As mental health and mindfulness continue to take the workplace by storm, ensuring that benefits are constantly evolving to meet the needs of employees is key to recruiting and retaining top talent,” says Wendy Edgar, EY Americas Director of Human Resources. “It is now more important than ever to foster a flexible work environment that is attuned to the needs of individuals from different generations and backgrounds.”

Read more: 

• Data analytics offers a peek behind the curtain in employee benefits plans
• Still a lot of work to do on employers’ mental health offerings
• Boomers need benefits, too: What you need to consider