How to compete on flexible benefits for non-office workers

Research overwhelmingly shows that employees favour flexibility in terms of hours and location, but offering such perks to non-office workers can be a challenge. Karen Jackson explores some of the alternative ways businesses can create a positive employee experience.

In the past three years, life for many office workers has changed almost beyond recognition. The pandemic sparked the introduction of greater flexibility, and many office workers are now able to work from home and adapt their working hours around personal commitments.

However, despite the majority of flexible working benefits being designed for office workers, government statistics show that three-quarters of the UK workforce do not work in office-based roles.

And although research from Sonovate shows that 67% of businesses acknowledge flexibility as an important benefit to attract and retain talent, the same type of flexibility cannot always be offered to non-office workers.

Why is this a challenge?

Flexibility continues to be a highly desired benefit for many employees, and employers understand they need to play the ‘flexibility game’ to attract the right people. Reed’s 2023 Salary Guides revealed that over a third (36%) of employees believe flexible working practices are an essential part of their working life.

However, flexibility plays out differently in the realities of a non-office work environment. Many non-office roles are not suitable for home or remote working, and with many businesses needing on-site employees to enable operations within particular hours, often adjustments to flexible working hours is simply not feasible.

For organisations in sectors such as hospitality, healthcare or retail, for example, where workers typically operate in shift patterns, increasing flexibility would likely mean employers need to hire more staff to fill potential shift gaps to ensure no impact on productivity or periods of downtime.

In other words, in most cases, introducing the same level of flexibility that many office workers enjoy to these roles is likely to result in extra, indirect costs, or the need for additional resources.

In the current financial climate, this is not a cost that many businesses can stomach. However, with the importance of flexibility in the eyes of the employee evident, businesses unable to offer such benefits need to plug the gap with other solutions to retain staff and maintain a positive employee experience. This is crucial to ensure non-office workers are not being left behind as workplace perks continue to evolve.

Realistic expectations

Although flexibility is important for many employees, non-office workers often have realistic expectations when it comes to flexibility.

When taking on their role, they typically understand how the nature of their work comes with some restrictions on flexibility, especially surrounding the location or hours they work, which are often fixed.

For example, our research has shown that those in typically non-office-based sectors, such as manufacturing and hospitality, are actually less likely to want flexi-time as a benefit, and would instead prefer a performance bonus to reward their workplace contributions.

In addition, those in hospitality and retail are also much more likely to want brand discounts from their employer, when compared with professionals in other sectors.

When considering how to improve the employee experience in non-office work environments, without increasing flexibility, employers need to think about what it is that really matters to employees and how alternative benefits can support this.

For many workers – in both office and non-office roles – they want to feel valued and appreciated. One way employers can demonstrate this is by investing in their long-term growth, offering the opportunity for career development.

This in turn supports employee retention, as employees can visualise their place in the business in the long-term. Offering apprenticeships or additional training can help staff to develop within your company, and it can also help to improve overall employee experience.

Tailoring benefits

Another consideration is that employees in roles that involve manual labour are more likely to experience musculoskeletal conditions and workplace injuries, according to a study from the Department for Work and Pensions.

For employees that are predominantly office-based, meanwhile, stress is typically the primary workplace health concern.

As a result, while flexible working may help office workers to manage stress levels and restore a health work-life balance, for non-office workers who carry out manual labour as part of their role, offering private insurance or enhanced healthcare benefits may be more beneficial.

Ultimately, businesses that employ non-office workers need to communicate more effectively with employees to pinpoint exactly what would make them feel happy and valued in the workplace.

With this understanding, employers can then begin to build a tailored benefits package that works for both the business and its employees – enhancing the employee experience without having a significant impact on costs or productivity.

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