GRiD, the industry body for the group risk sector, is cautioning employers on providing one-size-fits all employee benefits for female staff, as their concerns are quite specific. Its research shows that female employees’ concerns about their physical health increase with age, but mental wellness-related issues peak earlier in life.
When asked about their biggest health concerns, 21 per cent of female Baby-boomers cited serious ill-health such as cancer or heart disease, which reduced to 17 per cent for Gen X women, 16 per cent for Millennial women and 5 per cent for Gen Z women. Similarly, ‘living with long-term chronic illness’ was a concern for 17 per cent of Baby-boomer women, reducing to just 10 per cent of those in Gen Z.
However, when asked about their mental wellbeing, just 7 per cent of female Baby-boomer employees were concerned about stress and anxiety related to work, increasing to 8 per cent of Gen X women, 14 per cent of Millennial women, and 24 per cent of Gen Z. However, the research also showed that other types of stress and anxiety, namely those relating to finances and home life, are amplified in mid-life for female Millennials and Gen X, but are less likely to affect Gen Z and Baby-boomer women.
In short, there is a straight-line correlation between the age of women and their concerns about physical health, whereas mental health concerns peak in the middle working years. As their concerns differ with age, the support they require at different ages needs to match.
In keeping with this year’s International Women’s Day theme, ‘Accelerate Action’, employers need to take definitive steps to ensure support for female employees is targeted to meet their needs – and also by adapting it by age. GRiD recommends that employers should not make assumptions about the needs of women, but by seeking regular feedback, they can ensure that their employee benefits remain appropriate and valued.
“Women are typically provided with lower-value benefits than men because of the gender pay gap,” says Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD. “Employers can actively take steps to redress this balance by ensuring their female employees are fully supported and encouraged to make use of all the benefits available to them throughout their entire working lives.”
GRiD’s research also highlights the importance of all-encompassing employee benefits that support women financially, physically and mentally. While a financial safety net is important for those who are unable to work due to illness, with the right preventative measures in place, fewer women will need to rely on such support.
Many employee benefits, such as group risk benefits (employer-sponsored life assurance, income protection and critical illness), now include a plethora of ways to support and promote wellbeing, and therefore reduce absence. Increasingly, benefits incentivise staff to know and improve their health metrics (blood pressure, BMI, cholesterol), monitor their lifestyle, and make positive changes, such as regular walking, doing brain-training exercises and learning relaxation techniques.
For those who require it, employee benefits should provide women with efficient access to support, such as virtual GPs, nurse-led emotional and practical support, health-based apps and websites, and in-the-moment support from Employee Assistance Programmes.
Katharine Moxham concludes: “As we are all working longer, the differing needs of female staff at the start and end of their career is only going to continue. However, employers who do not provide appropriate employee benefits are jeopardising their productivity: women who are not supported in their health and wellbeing may choose find a more supportive employer or to leave the workforce entirely – something that individual employers and the UK economy can ill afford.”
