Surprise – workers want higher pay

investmentnews.com:

Employers are facing high turnover rates lingering from the pandemic’s Great Resignation, and they’re struggling to give workers what they want: higher compensation and more benefits like 401(k) contributions.

There’s a gap between companies and their workers, as employers are trying to emphasize perks like work-life balance and health care coverage, while employees are prioritizing compensation, according to a report this week from Franklin Templeton.

Most employers, 82 percent, agreed with a statement that “the workplaces of today face insatiable employees that continue to ask for more,” Franklin found. At the same time, 91 percent of companies surveyed experienced turnover rates of more than 10 percent in 2023.

Even as some employers have thrown money at benefits ranging from health care to pet insurance and financial wellness, they may not communicate those benefits very clearly to employees. And in a lot of cases, those benefits aren’t what workers prioritize.

Compensation “is sort of the most black-and-white thing they can understand from a value standpoint,” said Jacque Reardon, head of client marketing for retirement, insurance, 529 and wealth management at Franklin Templeton.

The report is based on surveys of 1,000 employers and 2,000 workers conducted last November by The Harris Poll.

In past surveys, workers have similarly shown that what they want most is higher income and 401(k) contributions – but that was the case more so than ever in the new report, Reardon said.

“This year in particular the concept of more compensation came out loud and clear,” she said. “I do think inflation has a lot to do with that.”

Seventy percent of people said that their salaries were not keeping pace with the rate of inflation, a