Employee Benefit Trends Revealed, Including Potential Link Between Benefits & Productivity

For eight consecutive years, MetLife has surveyed employers and employees on pressing benefit issues in the workplace and compiled the results in its annual Study of Employee Benefit Trends.  The study is based upon 1,503 interviews with employer benefit decision makers and 1,305 interviews with full-time employees.

With this year's study, MetLife notes five major findings:

#1 Employee benefits appeared relatively resilient in this recession.

Employee benefits weathered the economic storm with only relatively modest reductions.  Most employers held the line on core benefits and 401(k) matching in the face of enormous bottom-line pressure.

#2 Employers are reprioritizing their benefits objectives in response to the recession.

Benefits objectives have shifted as a result of the economic crisis.  Controlling benefits costs has risen to the top among benefits objectives for employers, overtaking employee retention, which had led since 2006.

#3 Benefit programs may be effective at improving employee productivity

A new finding this year is a reported link between benefits programs and employee productivity.  Many employers and employees say that programs that foster health & wellness, financial advice and guidance and work-life balance can be very effective at improving productivity at work.

#4 Employees' concerns and attitudes about their financial security are subsiding but still significant

It may be months or even years before the economic pendulum swings completely back to expansion and growth, but employees appear to feel surprisingly optimistic about the future, and have taken steps to address some of their financial inadequacies by beginning to save more and reducing personal debt.

#5 New employer engagement is emerging for retirement programs, but the gap between employer actions and employee priorities persists

As the continued interest in companies implementing automatic features in defined contribution plans attests, employers are becoming more involved with their retirement programs.  They are increasingly vested in ensuring that these programs will be capable of supporting workforce management goals and facilitating an orderly retirement of their oldest workers.

Download the MetLife report of study results here.

Comments

[Kevin Trokey]

I am a huge fan of the MetLife studies. The trends are always interesting, but never more meaningful than they are right now. They aren't more meaningful because of anything specific, but, rather, because of the role benefits programs will take on both as a result of healthcare reform as well as the challenges employers will face as they start to emerge from the recession.

The biggest mistakes anyone could make would be to: 1. use their old definition of what makes up benefit programs, 2. to try and communicate with employees using the same old methods, and 3. underestimate the impact the right program can have on their organization.

[Ann Bares]

Kevin:

It is indeed a critical time in the benefit field. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and perspective - glad to hear that you are also a big fan of the MetLife studies.