Over half of UK start-up employees prioritise mental health and wellbeing support, according to new survey

HOVE, England, Oct. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey by SME insurance broker Hooray Health & Protection reveals that start-up employees place health and wellbeing at the top of their workplace benefits needs.

The What Workers Want 2021 survey polled 641 start-up employees across a range of issues related to their experience of workplace benefits.

When asked to choose their most desired benefits, health insurance was the most popular with more than half (57%) placing it in their top three, closely followed by life insurance (45%).

But when quizzed specifically about which benefits would help most with their mental wellbeing, over half (57%) earmarked access to mental health services. This suggests that above and beyond more holiday time and flexible working arrangements, employees would benefit most from the formal assistance of mental health professionals.

"It's clear from our survey of 641 start-up employees that health and wellbeing is uppermost in people's minds and there are no prizes for guessing why this might be," said Charlie Cousins, MD of Hooray Health & Protection. "But I don't expect this to be a short-lived trend as the general issue of physical and mental wellbeing was already rising in prominence prior to the pandemic."

The good news, however, is that start-up companies are going some way to meeting the needs of their employees. Almost nine out of ten (88%) of the survey's respondents said that the benefits they received aided their sense of wellbeing.

"It appears that the UK's vibrant community of start-up leaders are taking the issue of employee wellbeing very seriously," said Charlie. "In my experience of working with ambitious young businesses, this doesn't surprise me.

"However, the job is never done, and businesses of all sizes must continue to seek out the wants and needs of their employees in order to provide them with the benefits they value most."

The upbeat narrative is further reinforced by other key findings from the 'What Workers Want 2021' survey of start-up employees:

• More than nine out of ten (93%) of start-up employees surveyed, said that they received benefits from their employer. Meanwhile, more than three-quarters (77%) said they were happy with the benefits they receive.
• More than half (55%) of respondents believe their benefits package is better than the average persons, with 23% suspecting it's about the same and a fifth (20%) believing it's worse.
• Over three-quarters (78%) of workers say their employer has sought their feedback on employee benefits.

Access the full report here: https://hoorayinsurance.co.uk/start-up-employee-benefits-survey-2021/

About the report

Hooray Health & Protection surveyed 641 start-up employees across 51 industries ranging from accountancy to farming between July and August 2021. A start-up company was defined as any company less than 5 years old.

The report also features contributions and analysis from Canada Life, Unmind, Xcede and Thanks Ben.

About Hooray Health & Protection

Hooray Health & Protection is a digital insurance & benefits broker dedicated to serving the SME community in new and improved ways. 

Founded in 2019, the company is continually committed to changing the values of the health insurance industry by making insurance easy and affordable for businesses which have traditionally been underserved.   

The company was founded by Charlie Cousins CII, previously a business development consultant at MetLife insurance where he managed relationships with the company's key employee benefit consultancies.

Hooray Health & Protection has helped a wide variety of SME's and start-ups secure the right benefits for their employees by working across the whole market as an independent advisor. It was through his experience of working across the industry that Charlie realised many small businesses were struggling to get the health insurance packages they needed. In establishing Hooray Health & Protection, he sought to change that.

For more information

Contact Charlie Cousins
Telephone: 01273 222805
Email: charlie@hoorayinsurance.co.uk

Web: www.hoorayinsurance.co.uk