With many millions of American employees quitting their jobs in February 2022, leading HR-tech organization Nayya finds that 90% of employees say benefits matter when considering whether to stay at or leave their job.

Access new research from 100+ HR leaders and 600+ employees nationwide that uncovers the correlation between employee benefits and the Great Resignation.

Amid the many causes cited for the “Great Resignation – low pay, limited opportunities for job mobility, insufficient flexibility around work-life balance, mental health stressors, disrespect in the workplace, childcare issues and more – a new survey by Nayya Health, Inc. (“Nayya”) suggests that one significant factor has been largely overlooked: Workplace Benefits.

According to the survey, 90% of employees say benefits matter when considering whether to stay at their current employer or find a new opportunity. In fact, according to those employees questioned, benefits such as healthcare plans and other wellness or insurance packages are the second most influential consideration behind salary when evaluating whether to remain at their current job or leave for a new opportunity.

Why have benefits been largely overlooked in the conversation around the Great Resignation?

Nayya’s research, conducted amongst 600 employees and over 100 HR leaders across ten different U.S. industries, brings to light a conspicuous disparity between what HR teams and employees themselves believe about benefits. 82% of HR professionals are “moderately-to-very” confident that their employees understand their benefit options, with 72% confident in their ability to support employees’ benefit decisions. But 63% of employees say they are unconfident when it comes to selecting their benefits, and 68% feel that the benefits they received have fallen short of their expectations. That lack of confidence only grows as company size increases – specifically when employee count reaches 15,000 or more – illustrating that lack of resources is not to blame for benefits dissatisfaction.

Perhaps most concerning is that probably due to this disparity, far too few HR leaders are taking steps to improve benefits offerings: Only 37% of businesses plan to offer new benefits in 2022; only 32% plan to publicly share their benefit offerings in 2022; and only 0-20% of HR’s time during Open Enrollment – when benefits are chosen – is dedicated to benefits-related education for employees.

These findings should serve as a tool for HR teams and business leaders, who can utilize benefits packages not only to improve employees’ physical, mental and financial wellbeing, but also to hire and retain their most important resource – their people. Making increased benefit confidence through education and personalization a prominent part of organizations’ planning for 2023 might just help lead the way out of today’s challenging employment landscape.

“Our survey found a significant disconnect between how organizations view their healthcare and benefits plans and the way their employees perceive the value of those same offerings. In this fragile period, the numbers show that these offerings and the experience associated with benefits decisions are simply not meeting the moment,” said Sina Chehrazi, CEO and Co-Founder of Nayya. “Benefits can be the single most important financial decision made by Americans, and when it comes to the Great Resignation, benefits programming has a major impact on attracting and retaining top talent. This key fix has been long overlooked – but won’t be much longer.”

To access the full Report: click here.