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Recently I’ve been lucky enough to work with some incredible values led organisations that aren’t just thinking about products or profit but genuinely trying to improve people’s lives and shape wider conversations around care, work and wellbeing.

 

And it reminded me just how much employee benefits can influence wider conversations about these and the kind of society we want to build

 

It also reminded me of a slightly heated debate I had years ago

 

About whether some “benefits” should be benefits at all – or whether they should be provided by the state and everyone have equal access to them

 

Things like

·       Fast access to free healthcare

·       Generous parental leaves

·       Financial protection when something goes wrong

·       Pension that allows people to retire comfortably

 

And while I 100% agree that in an ideal world these should be provided by the state

 

Right now, we’re far from that utopia

 

Which means that employers hold far more responsibility

 

And while workplace benefits can’t ever replace strong public systems

 

They do often help push conversations forward (or offer support when the conversation starts to go backwards)

• Equal maternity & paternity leave – because parental responsibility is equal
• Larger global orgs using their clout to demand healthcare cover same sex partners even in countries where they may not be formally recognised or protected
• For our US cousins - reproductive healthcare support, including paid travel for employees living in states without access to this so they can travel to receive it
• Mental health finally being treated as “real health”
• Neurodiversity support to recognise different ways of thinking & working
• Trans-inclusive healthcare
• Flexible working
• Carers leave
• Fertility & miscarriage support
• Menopause & menstruation support
• Domestic abuse leave & support

 

These aren’t “just benefits”

 

They shape whether people feel safe, supported and recognised

 

They influence care, equality and how workplaces should actually feel & behave

 

Progressive employers create and normalise these new standards

 

Others copy them

 

Policy conversations evolve

 

And culture shifts over time

 

Obviously while this can be life changing for those that are directly impacted

 

Or that feel some of the ripple effects of change

 

Access to many of these things still depends heavily on where someone works, what sector they’re in, and what their employer can afford to provide (even if many cases employers would love to be able to offer more)

 

But until broader systems catch up, I strongly believe that employers have an opportunity – and perhaps even a responsibility – to help close some of the gap where they can

 

This is why I feel so passionately about this work

 

Because good benefits don’t just impact the employees directly using them Over time, they help shape wider conversations around health, care, family, wellbeing and what people should expect from work

 

And while employee benefits alone aren’t going to change the world

 

I do believe they can help push some important conversations in the right direction