Are companies that strive to offer the most comprehensive package of corporate welfare services to theiremployees really fulfilling their employees' wishes?
Unfortunately, in most cases, they are not!
As the recent European study "The Great GAP 2025" also testifies, today the gap (gap) between what the company believes is right to do and what the employee asks for is becoming increasingly insurmountable.
Let us therefore understand what causes this mismatch and how to remedy it.
How the Big Gap misunderstanding arises that makes Corporate Welfare not work
The "Great Gap" stems from a structural misunderstanding: companies design Welfare initiatives based on general assumptions or trends, without actively listening to the real needs of their employees.
Further Reading:The Importance of Communication in Welfare
On the one hand,management believes it is investing in innovative and inclusive solutions; on the other hand, employees perceive these interventions as distant, unhelpful or even unused.
The situation is often made worse by:
●ineffective internal communication;
● the lack oflistening tools;
● the absence of acorporate culture truly oriented toward individual well-being.
This disconnect not only reduces the effectiveness of welfare policies, but also deeply undermines trust between company and employees.
How to understand what employees expect from the company and what they really need
To overcome this gap, it is essential to activate continuous, structured and credible listening channels. Sporadic initiatives orone-off surveys are not enough:a systematic, participatory and transparent approach is needed.
Welfare cannot simply be an add-on, but becomes a foundation of theculture of the company itself .
Some strategic levers, useful for reducing the gap can be:
●Active and continuous listening, establishing an ongoing dialogue, which goes far beyond simply collecting feedback.
●Welfare co-design, involving workers in setting priorities and choosing customizable services.
●Analysis of collected data, to interpret needs in a scientific way, thanks to well-constructed survey tools*.
*That's whereWelfare questionnaires, surveys andWellbeing surveys come in, key tools for gathering insights and creating a trulypersonalized offering.
Let's understand more about what they are!
Welfare Survey questions: what are welfare surveys and what are they for?
Welfare Survey questions ( Welfare questionnaires) are well-structured questions that aim to understand the level of employee satisfaction with the Welfare services already offered and, more importantly, to detect any needs not yet intercepted, in order to leverage them in future proposals.
The most investigated areas include: the perceived value of current benefits, personal and family priorities (e.g., parenting support, transportation, health), the level of accessibility and use of services, and suggestions for new initiatives.
Using such a tool, companies canmap real needs, compare the data with strategic goals, and redefine offerings in a more targeted way.
The Wellbeing survey: what is it and what is the purpose of a questionnaire on people's well-being
Instead, theWellbeing survey is a survey that focuses solely onWellbeing precisely and themental and physical well-being of the employee, considering it holistically, 360 degrees.
Thus, it is obviously not about economic or materialbenefits (or at least not only), but about how the work environment, internal relationships, flexibility and mental load affect daily life.
Common survey areas here include:work-life balance,work-related stress and emotional load, mental well-being, satisfaction,interpersonal relationships with colleagues and managers, dialogue skills, sense of belonging, and motivation.
Together withWelfare Surveys, these tools make it possible to build a clear picture of corporate climate and perceived well-being, providing valuable data for more informedHR decisions.
Bridging the "big gap" between company and worker is not just anethical goal , but awinning strategy for attracting and retaining talent, increasing engagement and improving productivity.
Welfare & Wellbeing can no longer be thought of as standard interventions, nor as stand-alone elements, but as dynamic processes, to be built together with employees through listening and active participation.
Only through dialogue, and therefore effective tools such as company surveys, is it possible to move from a top-down logic to a true culture of shared well-being.
