Employees are happier with more options for charitable work

SALT LAKE CITY — When it comes to retaining workers, employers often have to consider how employees understand the word "value."

Not solely the value of their incomes or benefits, but the value of giving back to the community.

"It feels really good to be a part of a company where your values align," said Brandt Holbrook, the Utah market director for Chartway Credit Union.

Chartway's philanthropic arm recently donated $210,000 to the local Make-A-Wish foundation, has assisted with some wishes and plans to provide a trick-or-treat night for children on the wish list. It has also done similar work with other nonprofits. The credit union has had a relationship with the agency for more than 10 years.

"There's so much fulfillment as a team member at Chartway to be able to do good in the community," Holbrook said,

More and more, employers across the country — including in Utah — are noting that employees are demanding charitable work be a part of the work structure. These employees not only desire days to volunteer but also want opportunities to build connections with community agencies. As financial magazines have reported in the last two years, these are employees in all industries, including profit-focused careers in finance and business.

Information from 2022 from the Department of Commerce, the statistics group Blevity and the consulting firm McKinsey and Company indicate that 31% of employees recently quit their jobs due to a lack of community-based work. Employers also noted in a Blevity survey that turnover decreases by 52% among the newest employees when philanthropic values are a part of a company's mission.

With younger workers, the demand for purposeful, charitable work as a part of their employment is even greater, so much so that 71% say they would take a pay cut to do this work. Also, more than 50 percent of Gen Z adults believe it's very important for their work to have meaning.

In Utah, employers have responded to these expectations — along with the desire to retain their workforce — by adding volunteer opportunities during the workday, doing companywide volunteer work monthly or quarterly, creating foundations that will raise money to contribute to community projects and inviting clients from local agencies to their offices to learn about careers.

They typically make large donations to community-based programs. But workers can be skeptical when corporations donate large sums of money to local and national nonprofits.

"Well, they'll say, they're only doing it for a tax break," said Jeff Worthington, head of the Utah AFL-CIO labor union. "You don't have to give large sum of money to be charitable. Most of our members are blue-collar workers and what we know is they are grateful for what they have and believe in helping their neighbor. So, they do not like to see someone giving money when their heart isn't in it."

Regardless of the charitable work, one thing business prognosticators anticipate is that this demand for evidence of charitable work by employers is not going away soon.

And for the folks at Chartway, it should not. They believe everyone benefits when charitable values align between employer and employee: the administration, the local nonprofit and community-based organizations and the employees who have an added desire to go to work.

"Companies that don't do this kind of work ... they are really missing out on the fabric of the community," said Nicholas Whiting, senior vice president for the Utah and Texas region for Chartway. "The whole reason why we exist is because the community wants to do business with us. By making token financial donations, we're not actually involving ourselves in the community where we live and work ... when you do more, you see what's going on in the community with your own two eyes."

Related topics