UK SMEs found guilty of net zero absenteeism

One-fifth of small businesses are losing talent due to a lack of sustainable benefits.

Research conducted by employee benefits technology company Zest shows that just one third (33%) of SMEs in the UK consider ‘sustainable benefits’ to be a priority, compared with 55% of all companies. 

Nevertheless, more than half (53%) have reported a rise in the number of employees that care about sustainability in the past year alone, and 29% of HR leaders now say sustainable benefits are a top priority for employees. 

The study has also revealed a growing awareness of the environmental impact of company pension schemes. 45% of respondent firms had observed an increase in the number of employees that were concerned about this. For SMEs, this fell to just 31%. 

Just 25% of companies with between 10 and 49 employees said improving their environmental footprint is important. Across all enterprises, this number rises to 34%.

Research also highlighted a lack of understanding that sustainable benefits can contribute towards their own environmental targets, and 24% saw these as a passing trend and were therefore unlikely to adopt this approach themselves. 

‘With employees more focused on sustainability than ever before, organisations need to ensure they are boosting their sustainability efforts including within the benefits on offer,’ said Matt Russell, CEO of Zest. ‘Given the strong link with business performance, those who aren’t investing in sustainability risk losing ground to competitors and reducing profitability. It’s already a hugely challenging time for leaders to operate SMEs, the last thing they need is to lose key talent and see productivity decline by ignoring their sustainable impact.’

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Image: Croissant