How COVID-19 Accelerated the Critical Need for a Daily Pay Benefit

How COVID-19 Accelerated the Critical Need for a Daily Pay Benefit

As the dark cloud of the global pandemic slowly lifts, America is waking up to a new world with new challenges. But with great challenges comes great innovation.

For the first time in recorded history, the world hit the pause button for months at a time. Family time was reintroduced. Parents and children reconnected. As we were forced inside to insulate ourselves from the world, we all got a chance to take a hard look at our lives. And take a look at how we do business.

The reality is that business in America will never be the same. The workplace as we once knew it has been shattered. For months, living rooms became the new boardrooms. We found a new way to work and to thrive. But the economics changed along with it. Companies now must focus on operational efficiency and doing more with less. Any way to create cost savings while maintaining an effective and engaged workforce becomes all the more imperative.

Empowering the American worker with the DailyPay experience creates a new and deeper bond with their employer. With the financial flexibility and freedom of an on-demand pay benefit, the American worker can refocus on their future in a new world with hope, optimism and financial wellness.

Section One 

How the Workforce Sees Employers, Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Prior to COVID-19

The workforce experience was being shaped by the demands of the younger generations — millennial and Gen Z — and their preferences. A good deal of the experience economy and the experience (EX) movement originated with millennials (born 1980-2000). They currently comprise 50% of the workforce and by 2025 will dominate with 75%. Millennials’ lives are driven by experience. A major 2019 Gallup survey about millennial preferences found that more than 3 in 4 millennials (78%) would spend money on a desirable experience or event over buying something, and 55% of millennials say they’re spending more on events and live experiences than ever before. More than 8 in 10 millennials (82%) attended or participated in a variety of live experiences compared with older generations (70%).

At work, they want to have a purpose. Millennials believe compensation must be fair, but they’re motivated more by mission and purpose than paycheck. Purpose and personal development drive this generation, and they expect opportunities to learn and grow. When millennials get this type of support, business units can realize a 34% reduction in absenteeism and a 19% improvement in quality. When they don’t, they tend to leave their jobs. quitting for a “career growth opportunity.” And this becomes costly. Replacing millennials can cost 150% of each employee’s annual salary.

Generation Z is also part of the experience movement. “They’re the most digitally literate generation to date. While millennials may have grown up during the internet’s heyday, Gen Z has never known a world without it. As a generation, they are always ‘switched on.’ Every aspect of their lives is connected to the digital world,” says a survey from real estate shopping developer Revo. “This allows them to see and experience pretty much everything everyone else is, ultimately feeding their need to continuously hunt down the next big experience. They are a generation defined by their constant FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).”