Seesam’s latest survey reveals that the days when talent could be enticed with free coffee, sandwiches and fun team events are over: employees say they would be more motivated if employers offered them additional leave, supported their health or were more flexible regarding working hours.

On today’s labour market, the employee is king and any employer who wants to remain competitive when recruiting the best talent has to be aware of what their employees value. According to Seesam’s Health Insurance Product Manager Marit Raag, the results clearly indicate that companies are focussing on the wrong things when putting together their motivation packages.

“Almost half of the respondents said they’d be more motivated if their employer offered them more freedom in planning their work, such as options for shorter working days and more flexible working hours,” she said. “Being offered additional leave was considered almost as desirable, while support for sports and exercise and health insurance was also important.”

Team events motivate just one in five employees
The familiar favourites mentioned in many job advertisements – team events, free snacks and a modern office – barely motivate any employees to be more efficient. Among the respondents, just 21% cared about social events, while only 15% would be motivated by a modern work environment and equipment and free snacks and drinks.

Surprisingly, these values remain important to employees in leadership positions – as many as 36% noted that they would be more motivated if there were more team events in their workplace. Because of this, team events placed second after additional leave as a key motivator. “Being in a leadership position can be very lonely, especially in companies with stricter hierarchies where there’s a certain barrier between the leader and everyone else in the organisation,” Raag explained.

How can you create a valuable motivation package?
According to Raag, the results show quite clearly what people in Estonia really expect of their employers. “Estonians can be working animals, but one in every two of them attaches importance to additional leave and flexibility,” she said. “Women cared more about the option to plan their time: compared to men, 10% more women mentioned it.”

According to Raag, the survey illustrates that employees are valuing steady, ongoing support increasingly more than one-off bonuses. In addition to mentioning additional leave and flexibility, the respondents said that they would feel significantly more motivated if their employers supported their health, whether in the form of support for physical activity or health insurance paid by the employer. This would allow employees to promptly consult a specialist in case of complaints. “Regular perks leave employees feeling that they’re genuinely being taken care of,” Raag advises.
“The most important thing is to talk to them and ask them directly what motivates them most. If the benefits offered by an organisation don’t live up to its employees’ expectations, that’s a wasted resource.”