The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Money
A high salary? We’d rather have ‘mental health days’
Young jobseekers are shunning higher salaries in favour of free counselling and gym memberships, new research has shown.
Survey data from benefits platform Juno showed 72pc of employers have upped their spending on benefits per employee in a bid to attract and retain talent from Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2012.
One in four recent graduates expect businesses to provide “proper mental health support”, including access to counselling, therapy and more, according to HR platform iCIMS.
Flexible working remains the most frequently advertised perk, with 121,977 related listings appearing on job search engine Adzuna in July.
Thousands of roles also offer fourday weeks and “work from anywhere” policies. A further 1,228 roles promise “unlimited holiday”.
Other popular perks included birthdays off, free food and free gym membership. Aviva and American Express are currently listing roles with free exercise classes thrown in.
More than 2,000 listings, including jobs advertised by Frankie & Benny’s and National Express, offered free counselling services for prospective employees. Other employers promised “mental health days”.
Charlotte Obeney, 22, said she would only accept a job offer from a company offering a free or discounted gym membership.
The psychology graduate, currently looking for jobs in the sustainability sector in London, added that the company must have a culture where mental health support isn’t taboo
and free therapy sessions are offered, “particularly as going privately isn’t an option for many and NHS waiting lists are so long”.
Ms Obeney added: “Having physical health and mental health support is what really matters to me, more so than salary and bonus benefits.
“A workplace that has this kind of culture is something I’m really after when job seeking, as I know I’ll be working with like-minded people, on top of getting the substantial perks that I’m looking for.”
For employers, investing in perks that will appeal to younger applicants is a way to win the talent war, as companies battle to replace workers laid off during the pandemic.
Paul Lewis, of Adzuna, said workers would be “more willing to leave their job if their current company doesn’t align with their needs” amid the socalled “great resignation”.
He said: “Flexible working is the top work perk currently being advertised and that is no coincidence. Employees have become accustomed to this new way of working and a better work-life balance.”