Benefits are part of the balance of exchange in any organisation. They are part of what you receive in return for what you give. A quick google search tells me the word Benefit comes from the Latin bene facere, ‘to do good’. However, in order for benefits ‘to do good’, they have to be part of a system that supports organisational health and truly values its employees.
So, the first question is, are the benefits within your organisation being used? Or is that “not what we do here”. In order for people to belong, which is a basic human need, we abide by the ‘unwritten rules’ of any system that we are part of. These aren’t spoken about openly, but are implicitly felt by everyone. If you want to be “In” then you follow these unwritten rules. So, you might work for a company that has unlimited holiday. But unless you feel you have permission to use your holiday freely, this benefit is meaningless.
As a coach, I have seen first-hand how destructive it can be for organisations to roll out benefits which go against the ‘unwritten rules’ of company culture. It makes these benefits worthless and decreases trust between employee and employer, ultimately leading to lack of motivation, high turnover and burnout. I often observe this when I have been brought into an organisation as the benefit itself. I am asked to deliver a one-off wellbeing talk to support staff with anxiety or stress. We explore practical ways people can feel calm and connected. The group leaves feeling empowered, equipped with tools for change and a clear action plan. However, unless the system (and most importantly, leadership) supports these changes, the session is futile. People end up feeling unacknowledged and disempowered.
I remember the outcome of one session I delivered was for the team to take lunch together, giving themselves the break they all needed and time to connect with each other. We finished our session at 1pm, just in time for lunch. Everyone looked excited and relieved that they would be able to put this into action immediately. As the group walked off to the kitchen together the CEO made their excuses and waved goodbye, telling them to enjoy their lunch. The inspired energy of the group was replaced with a stagnant depression. Even though the CEO had technically given them verbal permission, their actions, and the way this made everyone feel, told a different story. Of course, the next day the team went back to their old pattern of eating lunch at their desk. In order to belong in that system, you always had to be working. You always had to ‘go above and beyond’. A system like this does not allow people to grow or take initiative. There is no time or space for people to actually use the benefits that may be on offer, however well-intentioned they are.
Another pattern I’ve noticed are companies who focus all their attention on benefits rather than addressing the fundamental challenges within their business. To share another example, I was reviewing an all-employee survey to support me in shaping the work I was to deliver. The feedback from staff was clear, rather than massages, yoga classes and wellbeing talks, they wanted a team room with natural light and more flexible working hours. They would have preferred to work in a team and environment that truly prioritised their health rather than have access to benefits. Instead of addressing these basic problems, or even acknowledging them, the organisation was ignoring them and trying to distract their staff. As you can imagine people felt unheard and frustrated that their needs weren’t being met. Again, this ultimately led to high staff turnover as people felt undervalued. So, ask yourself, when focusing on benefits, is there something you aren’t looking at? Or someone you aren’t listening to? There may be something you are excluding, because it might be difficult, painful or hard. If you can find a way to safely acknowledge and address that, it will have a hugely positive impact on your organisational health. And you will most likely offer benefits that people actually want and need, supporting them to feel valued.
To put it simply, benefits can ‘do good’ when they are part of a healthy organisation. One where people feel seen, heard and valued, where their development and growth is prioritised with regular and well delivered feedback, and they are able to flourish. In systems like these benefits are part of a healthy balance of exchange. They are just one form of exchange that is given to an employee in return for their work. In this context, benefits have their place and can have an enormously useful effect for both employer and employee.
