While salary is important when considering a new job offer or whether to stay with a current employer, according to a Care.com Workplace Solutions Better Benefits Survey, better family lifestyle benefits such as family-care assistance, flexible work schedules, and paid parental leave, directly impact an employee’s decision to make that final move.

The survey results show a direct correlation between family-care benefits and employee recruitment and retention, says Donna Levin, co-founder and vice president of Care.com Global Workplace Solutions, adding that the lack of these benefits is impacting companies through reduced employee retention.

Survey insights

Employees not satisified with family/lifestyle benefits. Only 30% of respondents are “very satisfied” with these benefit offerings, and approximately 1 in 10 (9%) aren’t satisfied at all.

In addition, women (13%) and parents (12%) are more than twice as likely to be dissatisfied with their family/lifestyle benefits than men (6%) and employees without children (5%). One in 5 respondents also stated their employer offers fewer such benefits than other companies.

Would employees change jobs for better family/lifestyle benefits? Yes. The survey shows that 62% of respondents would likely leave their job for one with better family-care benefits.

This is especially true for Millennials, who represent 90% of new parents, according to a Goldman Sachs' recent study. In fact, 83% of Millenials indicated they are willing to make a job change based on family/lifestyle benefits.

In fact, a flexible work schedule (17%), and childcare assistance (8%) ranked in the top three such benefits for which employees would most likely leave their present employer.

Why an employer should care

The average cost of replacing an employee amounts to 20% of the worker’s annual salary, and the survey found that most respondents would be willing to leave their current employer for one with better family/lifestyle benefits,

The Millennial generation is becoming the largest share of the American workforce. A report from the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors looking at Millennials’ stance on numerous work-life factors concludes that quality of life is a main focus for this generation.

“Employers should really take this into consideration when thinking about what their employees actually want and need out of a benefits program,” stated Levin.

For more information about the survey, visit workplace.care.com/betterbenefits, where you will also find resources for employers to help them better communicate benefit offerings to employees.