Trouble keeping or hiring employees? Offering pet benefits could help!

• Voluntary benefits, including pet-related ones, can be a differentiator for employees who own pets.
• Among pet owners, 32% said having pet-related benefits available to them would influence them to stay at their current employer or leave their company for one that does.
• When pet benefits are offered at work, pet owners feel appreciated and satisfied with their employers.

As the Great Resignation rolls into 2022 and potential employees continue to reevaluate their employment situation, many business owners are searching for ways to separate themselves from their competitors in terms of attracting new employees or keeping the ones they have.

Voluntary benefits, including pet-related ones, can be a differentiator for employees who own pets, especially among Gen Z and Millennials, according to a new Nationwide survey.

“Our survey discovered that 70% of employees surveyed aren’t offered any pet-related benefits from their employer,” said Heidi Sirota, Nationwide’s Chief Pet Officer. “Offering pet-related benefits, like Nationwide pet insurance, are just one more way a business can stand out amongst others during the recruiting process.”

Among pet owners, 32% said having pet-related benefits available to them would influence them to stay at their current employer or leave their company for one that does. (49% for Gen Z; 45% for Millennials)

Pet benefits pet owners would like
The survey also revealed that offering the following pet-related benefits can improve employer favorability:

• 40% - Making pet insurance available (52% for Gen Z.; 47% for Millennials; 39% for Gen X.)
• 29% - Offering paid time off to care for a pet (28% for Gen Z.; 36% for Millennials; 32% for Gen X.)
• 27% - Having a pet-friendly office, like allowing pets in the office (43% for Gen Z.; 33% for Millennials; 24% for Gen X.)
• 14% - Offering paw-ternity, or paid leave, to take care of a new pet (14% for Gen Z.; 23% for Millennials; 12% for Gen X.)

“Through research with our friends from the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, we’ve learned that when pet benefits are offered at work, pet owners feel appreciated and satisfied with their employers,” said Jules Benson, Nationwide’s Chief Veterinary Officer. “It’s a perk that employers should consider.”

How companies view the role pets play with their owners could also convince them to come back to work sooner. Nearly 50% of pet owners would be more willing to return to the office if it was pet-friendly. This feeling is especially true with Gen Z (67%) and Millennial (64%) pet owners. Currently, only 10% of pet owners surveyed indicate working in a pet-friendly office.

Business owners interested in offering Nationwide pet insurance as a voluntary benefit to their current and future employees should visit www.petsvoluntarybenefits.com.

Survey Methodology
Morning Consult conducted research on behalf of Nationwide among a sample of 2,200 US Pet Owners between December 10th - December 18th, 2021. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/- 2%.