All the numbers of corporate welfare. Reports
In 2022, the growth percentage of the average per capita welfare quota (10.6%) was higher than the growth of average annual inflation (8.1%), confirming the usefulness of the measure in combating the loss of purchasing power of families
Economic sustainability, but also care for the environment and equal rights with respect to gender, ethnic and cultural conditions. Or, if we had to summarize it in one word: inclusion. Because a world that takes better care of the environment and of others is certainly inclusive and sustainable. According to experts, this is the founding driver of corporate welfare, which aims at a more just society, willing to promote a new and broad concept of well-being, with the awareness that the social value of corporate welfare is increasing, constituting a "parachute" useful especially in such troubled times as these, where a pandemic of exceptional scope was followed by two conflicts capable of anesthetizing any post-pandemic rebound.
ALL THE BENEFITS OF CORPORATE WELFARE
Furthermore, as recently emerged during the event organized by the Corporate Welfare Lab of SDA Bocconi in which the results emerging from the report "Corporate welfare: the strategy for the economic growth of companies and the well-being of workers" were disclosed, corporate welfare in addition to improving the economic performance of companies, it also allows us to raise people's quality of life, counteracting phenomena such as the Great Resignation and supporting parenthood, crucial issues also for the stability and prosperity of the socioeconomic fabric of the entire country.
Presenting the analysis, the Director of the Corporate Welfare Lab Alberto Dell'Acqua recalled that "corporate welfare demonstrates the great attention of companies towards workers and has its roots in historical experiences such as those of Olivetti or Ferrero", underlining how the “variable S, i.e. the social one” is “one of the most complex and corporate welfare is one of the most effective tools for implementing targeted social responsibility actions. In particular, we have found that it is able to have a positive impact on 3 specific areas: the economic performance of the company, the ability to retain people in the company and hire new talent, and the decision by employees to become parents."
CORPORATE WELFARE IN NUMBERS
But let's get to the numbers. Like every year, the 2023 report on the state of corporate welfare by Edenred Italia photographs the state of the art by interviewing around 4 thousand companies, for over half a million (580 thousand, to be precise) beneficiaries. Various important data emerged from the analysis of the companies. Starting from the average of the real availability of welfare spending for employees, the so-called welfare credit. Here there is a positive trend with a per capita credit for the year 2022 of 940 euros. A clear growth compared to 2021. In 2022 the growth percentage of the average per capita welfare share (10.6%) was higher than the growth of average annual inflation (8.1%). Furthermore, the percentage of actual consumption of welfare credit has grown in the last three years up to 70% in 2022. The overall composition of Flexible Benefit spending sees the fringe benefit area prevail with 38.6%, followed by the recreational with 22.3% and education with 17.9%.
THE FRINGE BENEFIT RACE
The rise of fringe benefits does not stop which, compared to 2017 values, have substantially tripled in 2022, becoming the first expense item in percentage terms. The spending chapter that has seen significant growth is that of the recreational area compared to the previous two years and, specifically, the growth in spending on travel and holidays.
Welfare spending, however, changes depending on the age groups taken into consideration in which at the same time the expenditure item dedicated to supplementary pensions grows. We go from around 60% of the fringe spending of the under 30 age group to 32% of the over 60s. A progressive reduction in spending, which as age advances, also impacts the recreational area category. From the point of view of the sums available to the beneficiaries, the smaller the sum available in one's welfare account, the greater the use of fringe benefits and vice versa, the greater the sum available, the lower the spending component on fringe benefits.
THE SENTIMENT OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK
In addition to the usual analysis on the sample of companies, the report includes a survey by BVA Doxa on workers' sentiment regarding company welfare. In comparison with company size, in the Doxa sample, companies between 50 and 249 employees prevail with 44%, 12% are located in companies between 250 and 499 employees and the same percentage for companies between 500 and 1,000 employees. 32%, however, are located in companies with over 1,000 employees. The survey highlights a number of interesting trends. A structured welfare plan is present in half of the companies of the employees interviewed, compared to 37% who declared the opposite; the data relating to the presence of corporate welfare plans is confirmed, especially in large companies, 57% above 1000 employees and 70% among multinationals. A preliminary method note. The research, in this case, compares the results emerging from workers placed in companies with a welfare plan and those who do not have one.
70% of employees in general say they feel satisfied with their working condition. This percentage rises to 76% among those who have a company welfare plan and drops to 57% of respondents among those who do not have one. A constant that will emerge in all the results of the BVA Doxa survey, in which it is clear that the positive sentiment of workers is much higher among those who are placed in companies with structured welfare plans. And in general, overall engagement is directly influenced by the presence or absence of a company welfare plan.
63% of the sample considers the presence or absence of a company welfare plan to be a relevant factor in the decision to change jobs. With respect to the issue of spreading a culture of gender equality, 64% of employees in general say that equal opportunities are guaranteed in their company. The percentage grows to 69% among those who have a welfare plan and drops to 59% among those who do not have one. It should be noted how this data changes compared to the perception between men and women: for the former the positive perception is 70%, while for women the percentage decreases to 56%.
CORPORATE WELFARE AND FAMILY SUPPORT
63% of employees believe they work in a company sensitive to environmental and sustainable development issues. For people who work in companies where there is a welfare plan the percentage rises to 75% while, on the contrary, it drops considerably to 47% for those who do not have a welfare programme. 64% of respondents consider corporate welfare a real form of income support for families, as well as concrete support for employees' daily expenses. Furthermore, 63% think that these tools are a concrete response to people's new needs. The rate of awareness of the importance of welfare tools as concrete forms of income support, the well-being of workers and families, is higher among employees who already benefit from them.
Finally, with respect to the relationship between technology and ease of access to tools for managing one's welfare credit, 37% of employees stated that the company where they work has digital tools for accessing benefit services, compared to 49 % who gave a negative response. This percentage increases sharply among employees who benefit from welfare plans, 63%, and drops drastically among those who do not have them, 11%. In general, among all employees, 82% believe that technology makes access to welfare services easy, fast and immediate. In this case, the percentage differences between employees who benefit from welfare plans or not are minimal. A sign that the value of digital in this sense is perceived broadly and across the board.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/tutti-i-numeri-del-welfare-aziendale-report/ on Fri, 15 Dec 2023 07:08:28 +0000.