This is what employees appreciate most about their employer in 2023

A recent study by staffing specialist Walters People shows that there have been some changes in employee priorities over the past year. Life became significantly more expensive, leading to a greater focus on salary, and work-life balance also appears to be essential. Kevin Blockx, senior manager at Walters People, explains the top three factors employees value most in their employer.

1. Salary and benefits

There is no getting around it: the costs of living have skyrocketed over the past year. It is therefore not surprising that a nice salary package is currently the top priority for 48% of professionals surveyed by Walters People. This is also shown in expectations for 2023: no less than 72% of employees expect their employer to take the rising costs into account when assessing any pay rise or bonus. Kevin: "Nowadays, many employers offer more than just a nice salary, and distinguish themselves with numerous other benefits such as a company car or bicycle lease, a home internet subscription, fitness and sports facilities, extra holidays, etc. Such fringe benefits also give employers the opportunity to offer a little extra to their employees in addition to the historically high wage indexation - which may reduce the budget available for a traditional salary increase."

2. Colleagues and company culture

Although challenging and interesting work also scores quite high on the wish list, above all, employees find it important to be able to do this work in an inspiring and supportive environment. 45% of the employees surveyed say they are primarily looking for a corporate culture that encourages them to fulfil their potential. Furthermore, we attach significant importance to good colleagues. "Teleworking means we regularly sit at home working alone all day, which increases the need for pleasant and friendly contact with colleagues in the workplace," says Kevin.

3. Flexible working

The traditional 9-to-5 where we make our way to the office 5 days a week seems to be a thing of the past. Flexible working - whether in the form of sliding working hours, home working options and even the 4-day working week - is therefore attractive to employees. "Being able to work flexibly improves work-life balance, allowing us to easily combine our careers with family, hobbies and social activities. In addition, it offers opportunities to combine with a secondary job or additional income. After all, research shows that an increasing number of people are pursuing additional activities alongside their regular job, either as a financial boost or purely out of passion. All this results in 44% of employees appreciating flexibility the most from their employer. Flexible working will therefore remain a key factor in attracting and retaining talent in the coming year," concludes Kevin.

Want to know more?

Benchmark your teams' salaries with the online Walters People Salary Survey for more information about the Belgian recruitment market or contact one of our offices.