What employees really, really want from employers in 2025...
Forget the hype, employees crave competitive pay, job security, and flexibility above all else, according to new global research.
Attracting top talent has never been more competitive—or more complicated. While the headlines may tout flashy perks or ping-pong tables, the latest global research from Ipsos offers a sobering and insightful reality: what people want from their employers is both remarkably consistent and deeply pragmatic.
The Ipsos Karian and Box study, conducted across Q1 2025 and covering a global sample of nearly 2,800 participants across countries and job types, delivers a clear message: competitive salary, job security, and flexibility are the non-negotiables.
Employers failing to meet these foundational expectations are losing out—regardless of how strong their employer brand appears on LinkedIn.
But what lies beyond those top-line expectations reveals a more nuanced story. And it’s one hiring leaders and CHROs must pay attention to if they want to win the war for talent in an era of rising employee expectations and hybrid uncertainty.
1. Back to basics—but better
It’s no surprise that salary tops the list, with over half of respondents citing it as the most important factor when considering a potential employer. Right behind that are job security (52%) and flexibility (48%) — which now extends far beyond the right to work from home. Employees increasingly expect control over when, where, and how they work.
These findings echo those of McKinsey’s 2023 “Great Attrition” report, which found that a lack of career development and inadequate total compensation were two of the top reasons employees quit. But Ipsos’ data suggests that employers are still underestimating the enduring value of these basics.
While innovation, and transformation may dominate HR conference panels, they register far lower in importance for job seekers — 25%, and 15% respectively. A “strong external brand”? Only one in five ranked that as crucial. In other words: you can’t brand your way out of bad fundamentals.
2. Local nuance, global consistency
Despite the universality of salary, security, and flexibility, Ipsos’ study highlights important national variations that smart employers can leverage. For instance:
Australians over-indexed on empowerment and learning and development.
Germans value belonging and inspiring leadership more than average.
Americans put higher stock in innovation, and transformation.
UK respondents care more about flexibility
These insights align with recent work from Boston Consulting Group, which noted in their 2024 report, “What Job Seekers Want,” that tailoring recruitment messaging to national cultural values dramatically improves candidate conversion rates.
A one-size-fits-all Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is no longer sufficient. Employers need a core EVP that flexes by market—balancing consistency with contextual nuance.
3. Age and Gender shift the equation
Age and gender also play a decisive role in shaping expectations. Employees over 40 ranked job security and salary as more important than younger peers, while career progression was notably more valued by those under 35. Flexibility maintained high importance across age groups—but peaked among the 50–54 cohort (49%).
Gender divides also emerge clearly. Women were significantly more likely to prioritize health and wellbeing (+15%) and purpose-driven work (+5%), while men valued strategic clarity (+8%) and innovation (+7%) more highly.
These splits are not just sociological curiosities. They provide critical targeting insight for recruitment marketing and candidate experience design. A hiring campaign aimed at mid-career women, for example, should highlight wellness support, flexibility, and purpose—not just leadership training or stock options.
4. Benefits: flexibility reigns supreme
When it comes to rewards, flexible work arrangements — both in terms of hours and location—are the most desired benefit across all demographics (58%). This far outpaces other popular benefits such as:
Comprehensive health insurance (42%)
Generous holidays (41%)
Retirement contributions (34%)
Professional development support (33%)
The Ipsos Karian and Box data reveals a clear message: flexibility isn’t a perk—it’s a requirement.
Employers clinging to rigid in-office mandates risk alienating wide swathes of high-potential candidates.
Interestingly, preferences shift across geographies. The UK leads the pack in flexibility demands, while US workers lean more toward health insurance and professional development. Germany, often stereotyped as inflexible, over-indexes on leadership programs and structured training.
These differences aren’t trivial—they should inform benefits strategy and total rewards design. The same one-page HR brochure won’t land equally well in Hamburg, Houston, and Hobart.
5. What This Means for Employers
So, what can forward-thinking organizations do with this data?
Double down on the basics: Salary, job security, and flexibility are not optional. Stop treating them like commodities and start treating them like differentiators. If you can’t compete on pay, make sure you excel on flexibility. If you’re mid-transformation, shore up job security messaging.
Tailor, don’t generalize: Using different audience personas based around age, gender, and geography are critical to shaping a more effective recruitment strategy. Customising benefit offerings and messaging based on real data—not HR folklore – will be vital if you’re going to retain and / or recruit the talent you need to help deliver the business’s strategy. That means creating modular EVPs that flex based on who you’re hiring.
Invest where it matters: Fancy employer brand campaigns are wasted if your policies don’t match. I’ve now worked with 3-4 large global businesses who started the process of developing an EVP by appointing employer brand specialists who have no track record in effective insight sourcing, interrogation and interpretation. They may be brilliant at creating highly creative brands, but if those brands are not rooted in a fundamental understanding of the audiences and their needs, they will not land.
Treat flexibility as strategy: Increasingly, flexibility can no longer be treated as a HR policy. Given the shifts in workforce expectations (especially after the Covid experience), it is now a strategic capability. Organizations that design work around people —not places — will attract a broader, more diverse, and more loyal workforce.
Final thought…
This Ipsos research is a wake-up call: the age of employer-centric branding is over. In its place is a new reality: one where employee preferences are specific, data-backed, and demand-driven. The best employer brands in 2025 won’t be the loudest or flashiest. They’ll be the ones that listen best—and act accordingly.
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Excellent article!