Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch?

Job seekers place a high premium on benefits such as retirementplans, parental leave and yes, free food, when evaluatingopportunities. In fact, 60 percent consider benefits and perksamong their top considerations, according to a recent survey byGlassdoor.

This survey took a fresh approach by quantifying the quality ofbenefits—not simply their availability—by industry.

Glassdoor researchers analyzed the firm's database of benefitsoffered by hundreds of thousands of businesses around the world,representing more than 470,000 employees.

The study ranks worker satisfaction on a scale of 1 (low) to 5(high). Here is what it found.

Overall Benefits

Benefits now comprise about one-third of an average employee'soverall compensation. Obviously, individuals will value differentparts of that package more highly than others, depending upon theirstage of life and their financial objectives. However, overallbenefits are an important component of an employment decision.

Not surprisingly, the financial services industry ranks firstwith an employee satisfaction score of 3.72 out of 5. Informationtechnology (IT) and manufacturing follow closely. These jobsinclude both highly sought-after technology and financial servicesjobs, with escalating benefits, and traditional manufacturing jobs,with union representation and highly skilled blue-collarpositions.

• Financial services: 3.72
• IT: 3.68
• Manufacturing: 3.64
• Education: 3.61
• Healthcare: 3.44
• Business services: 3.77

It also comes as little surprise that retail and food-servicejobs are less likely to come with excellent benefits. The studyfound that even among retail and restaurant jobs that do offerbenefits, employees view them as being lower quality than offeringsin other industries.

• Retail: 3.11
• Food service: 2.73

From Here to Maternity

Although most U.S. businesses offer maternal and paternal leave,it is mostly unpaid. Eighty-seven percent of private sectoremployees have access to unpaid family leave, but only 12 percentcan opt for paid leave. The quality of the benefit isdisproportionately higher among younger employees who are startingfamilies.

The financial services and IT industries again lead the way withthe highest satisfaction with parental benefits. Education, whichincludes many large universities, also scores high.

• Financial services: 3.77
• IT: 3.71
• Education: 3.6

Workers in the healthcare industry are dedicated to helpingothers, but they are not highly satisfied with the benefits theyreceive for their own families.

• Manufacturing: 3.56
• Food service: 3.56
• Business services: 3.42
• Retail: 3.41
• Healthcare: 3.36

Ranking Retirement

Retirement remains one of the most prevalent and desirablebenefits. Two-thirds of private sector employees have access toretirement benefits at work, according to the U.S. CensusBureau.

Employer-subsidized 401(k) plans are one of the most commonretirement benefits. Because these plans tend to be standardizedacross industries, there is not as much variation in employeesatisfaction as there is with other benefits.

Employee satisfaction is about what might be expected fromvarious industry categories. Highly unionized industries, such aseducation and manufacturing, are known for high-quality retirementbenefits packages. The financial services industry obviously offersa great deal of expertise on 401(k)s and other options.

• Financial services: 3.83
• Education: 3.77
• Manufacturing: 3.76

All industries studied showed average to above-average employeesatisfaction with retirement benefits. Industries thattraditionally have high turnover rates place a lower premium onretirement benefits, which is reflected in the rankings.

• Healthcare: 3.47
• IT: 3.36
• Retail: 3.34
• Business services: 3.31
• Foodservice: 3.28

Free Food!

Providing free food and snacks is almost a given amongtechnology businesses that want to keep employees on site andproductive. However, this benefit is also gaining traction amonglower-skilled restaurant and food service businesses. Although thisbenefit is not tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau, indications arethat it also is becoming more common in financial services andconsulting businesses as well.

The IT industry, which pioneered free food benefits, has by farthe greatest satisfaction. The food service industry gets highratings for the quality of the food it provides. Althoughrestaurant jobs offer relatively low-rated benefits overall,employees rate free food and snacks better than those offered inhigher-paying fields such as financial services, healthcare, andeducation.

• IT: 4.06
• Business services: 3.94
• Manufacturing: 3.9
• Foodservice: 3.8
• Healthcare: 3.76
• Financial services: 3.76

Employees in other industries may be better off bringing mealsfrom home or going out to lunch.

• Retail: 3.34
• Education: 3.32

Takeaway Message

Savvy employers can put this data to use to design benefitspackages that are not generic, but that instead offer the benefitsworkers in their industry value most. As study authors Gloria Tianand Andrew Chamberlain, Ph.D., conclude:

“Benefits are an important and growing part of totalcompensation for American workers. Unlike salaries, benefitpackages are highly diverse. Access to benefits matters, but sodoes the quality of those benefits. This study presentsthe first-ever analysis of unique data from Glassdoor benefitsreviews—providing a useful roadmap of which U.S. industries todayare leading the pack in terms of best employee benefits.”