Employers neglecting younger workers in rewards schemes

Employers who offer bonus and rewards schemes are missing out by not directing rewards and benefits to the sections of the workforce where they will have the most impact.

A survey of 1,008 British workers conducted by One4all Rewards as part of the Push The Button Report, revealed that many UK businesses are incorrectly targeting their rewards schemes, neglecting younger workers who are more likely to work harder in order to unlock them.

The data shows that the younger workers are, the more impact rewards will have on their work and the less likely they are to be eligible for them. 

25 to 34 year old workers are the least likely to be offered rewards schemes, with 48% not being eligible for those offered by their employer.

This is despite the fact that this age group is more likely than any other to work harder and improve the quality of their work in order to earn a reward, with 88% claiming they would do this.

This trend is consistent across the age groups – 35 – 44 year olds are both the next most likely to be not included in rewards schemes (40%) and to work harder for them (85%).

This is in contrast to 45 – 54 year olds and those aged 55+ – just 18% and 15% of these demographics are not eligible for the incentives their company offers, suggesting many businesses are using rewards and benefits as ‘top ups’ to salaries higher up the corporate food chain.

And yet incentives have the least impact on these demographics (72% and 59% respectively.)

Declan Byrne, managing director at One4all Rewards said: “What’s clear to see is that employers are wrongly putting their emphasis on largely older, more senior workers with their rewards and benefits schemes, in groups where workers are perhaps more used to having these available or where there is more expectation of them.

“And yet actually the data suggests that budgets set aside for these will work much harder when spread across more junior members of the workforce, who will increase their efforts significantly in order to be able to unlock them.

“The ideal scenario to inspire motivation in workers is offering benefits and incentives across the board, but in smaller businesses or in those where budget won’t stretch that far, it is important that these schemes work as hard as they can, and deliver tangible results for employers.”

In Britain, 29% of the workforce is not currently eligible for rewards schemes offered by their employer.