Why climate perks should factor in your employee benefits package
New research from Deloitte shows that 72% of Gen Z and 71% of millennial workers take into account an employer’s environmental impact and policies before accepting a job from them.
Furthermore, 54% of Gen Z and 48% of millennials are asking their employers to take more action on climate change. They would be willing to leave their job, and even switch industry altogether, if their concerns aren’t addressed.
Demands from younger workers are seeing them have a big influence on the workplace and this is pushing companies to rethink how they can keep their talent happy. Simply declaring emissions and avoiding making bold claims about one’s sustainability is no longer enough. Leaders must increasingly consider offering green benefits.
“We’ve seen a huge shift in work perks in recent years,” says Ifty Nasir, chief executive officer of equity management platform Vestd. “Previously a basic pension plan, subsidized gym membership, and ping pong tables in the office were considered to be competitive offers. Now, employers have to be increasingly savvy to attract and retain the people they need to help their business grow.”
Companies are having to adapt their benefits offerings to help employees reduce their impact on the environment.
An increasingly popular perk is EV salary sacrifice schemes. The average worker, especially those younger employees with potentially lower pay grades and savings, is unlikely to have the funds to buy an EV outright so some employers allow staff to lease an EV and have the cost deducted from their gross salary.
Not only does this give employees the chance to consider the impact their commute has on the environment, but it brings with it tax and national insurance savings.
A survey of more than 1,000 UK workers by The Electric Car Scheme earlier this year found that 37% are interested in having access to an EV salary sacrifice scheme and 45% would like free EV charging as an amenity.
There will be companies that are wary about implementing EV salary sacrifice schemes. While there’s no direct cost for employers, if a participating employee decides to leave, then the employer may be liable for lease repayments. Despite this risk, EV salary sacrifice schemes are “well within reach for most businesses,” Nasir tells ITPro.
Some of the other green benefits that companies could consider offering include subsidies on green energy suppliers and reimbursements for sustainable home upgrades. They could also provide their workforce with the support they need to work from home. Remote working means employees are lowering their carbon footprint by cutting out their commute to the office, while employers are reducing their Scope 3 emissions – those that they don’t control but are indirectly responsible for.
Providing support in the event of extreme weather events
The rise in demand for high-quality skills in the tech industry and the lack of home-grown talent is forcing companies to look overseas to fill the shortage.
Moving to a new country usually means having to adapt to a new environment and for this reason, some companies offer hardship compensation for differences in climate. But Caitlin Pyett, director of account management for Asia at employee relocation specialists Crown World Mobility, tells ITPro that this can be difficult to calculate and implement proportionately.
“Would someone from the Middle East moving to the UK be facing hardship dealing with the wind and rain? How do we decide? If UK winters continue getting wetter with flooding becoming the norm, when should a company consider this a hardship?” says Pyett.
As the global climate crisis worsens, more employers are likely to offer compensation tied to weather conditions, Pyett adds. According to Nasir, companies will have to think seriously about offering relocation assistance packages that can help employees move away from areas affected by natural disasters. “I expect to see this type of offer become more commonplace as the changing climate impacts people’s day-to-day lives more frequently,” he says.
While compensation can help employees deal with floods and the like, the assistance companies provide should go beyond the financial. Anyone impacted by severe weather conditions will likely need time to deal with the aftereffects, so it’s vital that employers afford employees flexible schedules and also provide any emotional support they might need, recommends Lucy Cobb, advice operations manager at BrightHR.
“It’s a good idea for employers to have a policy in place so employees know exactly where they stand if they are impacted by climate change,” Cobb tells ITPro.
Motivating and retaining employees
As workers continue to push their employers into committing to addressing climate change, green benefits will not only help support company sustainability goals but also nudge workers to make greener lifestyle choices.
More importantly, green benefits seem to incentivize employees. Nearly half (48%) of the workers surveyed by The Electric Car Scheme admitted they’d be more motivated by green benefits, while six in 10 workers aged 17 to 24 and 56% of those aged 25 to 34 would be inclined to stay at a company that offers such a package for longer.
“Employers are unlikely to be able to shield or protect their workers completely from the effects of climate change, but green benefits can demonstrate to their workforce that they are taking genuine steps to do what they can,” concludes Cobb.
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