What Benefits Do New Businesses Provide for Employees?

Bar chart showing more new businesses are offering health insurance and retirement plans, but fewer are offering flexible schedules.

Gusto’s new business survey found that businesses starting in 2022 offered three main benefits to their employees: 1) health insurance, 2) flexible work schedule, and 3) retirement plans. 

The results found that a greater number of new businesses offered health insurance and retirement plans in 2022 when compared to new businesses started in 2021. By contrast, fewer new businesses offered flexible work schedules in 2022 than in 2021. 

When asked to choose why they offered these benefits, 86 percent of survey respondents said that, in part, it was because offering benefits was the right thing to do. The second-most selected response—chosen by more than half of owners—was because offering benefits help with employee recruitment and retention.

Gusto’s own research has shown that adding an employee 401(k) plan can reduce the likelihood of an employee quitting within the first year by 40 percent. For some jobs, this can be as high as 54 percent. Furthermore, a 401(k) plan can result in annual cost savings of more than $100,000 in reduced employee turnover costs alone. This can be a 2x return on the initial costs of offering a 401(k).

Get more insights on new businesses started in 2022 by reading Gusto’s full report of the survey findings.

Caleb Newquist

Caleb Newquist | Editor-at-Large, Gusto

Caleb is Editor-at-Large at Gusto. In 2009, he became the founding editor of Going Concern, the one-of-a-kind voice on the accounting profession, serving in the role for 9 years. Prior to Going Concern, Caleb worked as a CPA for nearly 6 years in New York and Denver. He lives in Denver with his wife, two daughters, and two cats.