'It's not necessarily about more pay,' the report says
A new report has outlined four benefits that employers can provide to their deskless workers amid a growing need to take care of employees' financial wellbeing.
The report from Humanforce underscored that employees are now more welcoming to initiatives geared towards helping them financially than they were before the pandemic.
"COVID-19 changed the game," the report reads. "Today, employees welcome initiatives that help them to better manage all aspects of their health and wellbeing, and employers are stepping up to the plate."
To boost financial wellness among deskless workers, the report suggests the following benefits:
- Access to a professional financial or tax advisor, or partnering with a local specialist to offer these services at a discounted rate to employees
- Help employees save on tax with salary schemes. This is where they pay for a benefit through their gross salary, which reduces their tax liability
- Subsidise travel costs to and from the workplace. This is a valuable perk for deskless workers who cannot work from home due to the nature of their jobs
- Use benefits to stretch salaries. An employee discount scheme is one way to do this, helping people save money on a range of items, from the weekly supermarket shop to health and travel insurance
"Note the key words here are 'financial wellbeing'; it's not necessarily about more pay but rather providing the tools, resources, confidence, and education to help people navigate through tough times," the report reads.
It stresses that a "one-size-fits-all approach" to financial wellbeing will be less effective than giving deskless workers options to choose from a range of benefits that would fit their personal circumstances.
"That approach is ultimately win-win for your employees and your business," it says.
Read more on how employers can support employee wellbeing in this white paper from Humanforce.
