D&I and ESG policies dominate employer agendas

According to 46 percent of respondents to Aon’s 2021 UK Benefits & Trends Survey, there is a greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion (D&I) in their workplaces since the pandemic began, while 19 percent of employers have adopted environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies in their pension strategies.

The survey also showed that employers believed both D&I and ESG policies are two of the top four employee expectations.

Of the 91 percent of respondents who believed employees’ expectations of the workplace are changing, the top four expectations were shown as agile and home working (95 percent), more flexible working hours (93 percent), a better approach to D&I (70 percent) and ESG policies (51 percent).

Other areas where employers believed employees expected change included improved parental policies, access to financial education, volunteering opportunities and better awareness and handling of mental health issues.

Colin Barnes, director of proposition and development at Aon UK Health Solutions, said: “This year’s survey shows that many organisations are responding to the issues we’re experiencing globally, and not only because of essential reactions to the pandemic. The long-tail risk of climate change and a dramatic change in attitude to cultural inequalities have seen organisations reacting to employees’ growing knowledge and demand for ethical services and solutions. ESG and DEI are becoming embedded in employer decision-making.”

Keep your eyes peeled for the next issue of Reward Strategy (228), where we explore the need for sustainable reward strategies.