We are now in a working world where employees expect more from their employers than ever before. The ‘health initiatives’, such as desk massages and saunas, that employers once believed would satisfy staff are now being ignored as a benefit, and viewed as surface-level placating to appear like your care, when in reality this does nothing to satisfy the self-actualization needs of employees. Employee standards have risen, control and autonomy are the real goals for talent now, and poorly behaving managers dictating the rules are no longer tolerated.

We have been getting the workplace wrong, and have been for years according to our research. For this new generation of employees, pay and perks have been overtaken by purpose and passion, flexibility, and freedom. These are the new parameters that employees value from their employers. The Silicon valley inspired bean bags and free food can be fun initially for workers and will definitely be posted on their social media that day, however, the novelty of these benefits wears thin in the long run and needs to be replaced by something substantial that proves that they are valued. Workers want to be paid well as a baseline benefit of being employed, the add-ons like bean bags simply don’t satisfy this new generation, which is where organisations who take this seriously can reap the rewards in the long run.

The real winner for today’s talent, and where organisations can truly benefit from caring for their workers is showing a proper commitment to caring about workers that isn’t surface level. No longer are employees tolerating poorly behaving management who dictate the rules and abuse their power to mistreat staff, they now want coaches who will train them and are experienced in skill development. Employees when taking on a job are now analysing the purpose and passion behind that organisation and evaluating whether that aligns with their own values, is this organisation one that will invest in my skills and talents and provide me with interesting projects to work on that will challenge me to improve? If not, the employees of the 2020s will look elsewhere, compared to yesteryear where it was a market where many employers could treat staff how they pleased.

The true pathway to success is freedom for an employee. This does not mean that ‘unlimited holidays’ are the answer, but rather that a hyper-personalised work experience that works for them and the organisaiton is the pathway to keeping them happy. Rather than seeing their job as a role they have to fill to pay the bills, build the work around them in a manner that allows them to express themselves, showcase their strengths, and build a career that will supply them with the resources to achieve their goals in life today, and not in retirement years from now.

Workplace wellbeing programmes of the past, such as desk massages and saunas, whilst done in good faith, are a thing of the past now in an age where employers want to obtain more from their working life than just fulfilling a role, they are now demanding a personalised experience that can lift them up and help them to achieve their goals, alongside the organisation they work for in tandem with their own growth, rather than entirely for the benefit of the organisation alone. Accelerate the learning and development of your workers in a sustainable and responsible environment, and they will come to you.

The venire of well-being washing to appear like you truly care for your employees is part of a working environment of the past, a deeper level of emotional connection with their employer is the way forward, the time has come to measure what actually matters rather than continually ticking boxes.