‘The Great Stay’ Has Changed What Employees Want Out of Benefits

The corporate world is still rebalancing from “the Great Resignation,” but what organizations are experiencing now is even more challenging: Employees aren’t leaving — they’re staying. 

Without context, “the Great Stay” sounds like progress. Attrition has stabilized across many industries and hiring pressures have eased. But beneath the surface, disengagement is quietly rising.

A common pain point starts with benefits. Research from financial and insurance company Prudential found that while 86% of employers believe their benefits are modern, only 59% of workers agree. Additional data from research firm Gallup came up with a similar conclusion on engagement trends: U.S. employee engagement remained at a decade-low 31% in 2025. Globally, engagement continued to decline in 2025, marking the first consecutive-year decline in the history of employee detachment from their work.

You could assume people weren’t quitting because companies were doing something right, but the data tells a different story. Across organizations, a growing gap exists between retention and participation — fewer employees leaving, but also fewer actively engaging in the culture around them.

What Engagement Looks Like Now

Over the past few years, employers have focused heavily on preventing turnover by raising salaries, expanding benefits and offering greater flexibility. Many of these changes were necessary, and they worked in the short term. But it’s no longer enough to offer the bare minimum.

With high-demand benefits like glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) treatments consistently rising in cost, employers needed sweeping, holistic changes to their programs that stayed relevant to modern employees while also respecting corporate resources. Engagement became a critical metric for these programs, knowing that engaged employees directly correlated with successful employees.

Employees who regularly engage in recognition, wellness programs or social activities are far more likely to feel connected to their teams and aligned with corporate goals. In fact, Gallup research found employees who receive meaningful recognition are up to four times more likely to be engaged at work, and five times more likely to feel connected to the organization’s culture.

This also aligns with broader research. Research firm McKinsey reported that employees who feel a strong sense of belonging are significantly more likely to be engaged and to remain with their organizations, underscoring the critical importance of everyday connection. Employees in more inclusive environments are 45% more likely to stay, and 90% more likely to go above and beyond to help colleagues.

In other words, engagement today is behavioral. It shows up in small, repeatable actions, not survey scores. Yet, many organizations still struggle to translate an investment in engagement into tangible business impacts. A significant number of employer-sponsored benefits and programs go underused, limiting their ability to influence engagement or retention.

Rethinking Engagement in a Hybrid World

The workplace has changed, but engagement strategies have not. Today, hybrid work is the norm, with Gallup data showing more than half of remote-capable employees working in hybrid environments. Flexibility has improved work-life balance — 76% of hybrid workers cite it as a key benefit.

But, it also has introduced new challenges around connection and culture.

In hybrid environments, those interactions should be intentional. Leaders should focus on creating systems that encourage participation, making it easier for employees to recognize each other, join activities and connect across teams. Visibility also plays a critical role. When engagement is visible, it becomes contagious.

To address this challenge and opportunity, many employers are moving to consolidate their benefit plans, offering diverse options while leveraging a single platform or vendor. They are cutting down on excessive spending while also directly supporting employees who want a deeper emotional connection with their company’s mission. This is particularly important for younger employees, who increasingly value connection, growth and well-being as part of their overall work experience.

Using Lifestyle Benefits as a Lever

Employers are investing more in benefits than ever before, but impact doesn’t always follow. A growing body of research shows younger employees are redefining what they expect from work. According to the 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey by consulting firm Deloitte, these generations are prioritizing learning, well-being and meaningful work over compensation or titles. Benefits are no longer just a retention tool — they’re a mechanism for engagement.

For example, employees who actively use lifestyle benefits — whether that’s participating in a wellness challenge, joining a social group or engaging in learning opportunities — tend to have stronger peer connections and higher levels of overall engagement and retention, according to Espresa’s 2026 Recognition Benchmark and Trends Report.

The benefit itself isn’t the outcome — the participation is. Offering a wellness stipend or flexible benefit program isn’t enough if employees interact with it in isolation or not at all. The real value comes when those benefits become part of the daily rhythm of work, creating shared experiences that bring people together.

Winning in ‘the Great Stay’ Era

The organizations that succeed in this next phase of work won’t be the ones with the most generous benefits or the highest salaries. They’ll be the ones who understand how engagement actually works and shift from a mindset of offering perks to one enabling participation. It means recognizing that culture isn’t defined by what a company says, but by what employees do, and how they do it together.

“The Great Stay” reflects a deeper shift in how employees relate to work. The main question for HR/rewards leaders is no longer how to retain talent. It’s how to ensure people who stay remain connected, motivated and fully engaged.

That result is attainable, as employers continue to expand their rewards strategies, adapting their programs with forward-thinking benefits. In today’s workplace, presence alone is no longer enough. Employees need something to latch on to — a culture to care about, a mission to drive them and, most importantly, leadership they believe in.

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:

• Employee Benefits
• Employee Experience
• Total Rewards
• Well-Being
• Workforce Engagement