Employee ratings of their workplaces and benefits packages are at their
lowest levels since 2008, according to research recently released by Unum.
The online survey of 1,521 working adults, conducted by Harris Poll on
behalf of Unum, finds that only half (49 percent) of U.S. workers rate
their employer as an excellent or very good place to work. Less than
half (47 percent) of employees who were offered benefits by their
employer rated their benefits as excellent or very good. This is the
lowest rating of benefits in six years of conducting this research.
The research also shows employees do not feel they are getting the
information they need about the benefits they are being offered. Only 33
percent of employees who were asked to review benefits in the prior year
rated the benefits education they received as excellent or very good – a
drop from 2012 and a reversal to the upward trend in ratings since 2009.
In addition, nearly three in 10 (28 percent) rated their benefits
education as fair or poor.
“With health care reform and other changes in employee benefit plans,
employees have so much information to digest right now,” explains Bill
Dalicandro, vice president of the consumer solutions group at Unum.
“Employers can play such a great role in helping their employees
understand their options so they will feel comfortable making benefits
decisions.”
Providing guidance to employees on which benefits are right for them,
and the value of those benefits, has a payoff for employers too.
Employee satisfaction with their benefits continues to closely relate to
satisfaction with their employer. More than three-quarters (77 percent)
of those workers who rate their benefits package as excellent or very
good also rate their employer as an excellent or very good place to
work. By contrast, only 17 percent of employees who consider their
benefits package to be fair or poor rate their workplace as excellent or
very good. And 79 percent of workers who reviewed benefits in the past
year and rated their education as excellent or very good also rate their
employer as excellent or very good - compared to only 30 percent of
those who said the education they received was fair or poor.
“This research underscores the value of an effective benefits education
plan because when an employee understands their benefits, they tend to
value them more and in turn may then value their employers more for
providing access to them,” adds Dalicandro.
Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll
on behalf of Unum from Dec.18-20, 2013, among 3,031 adults ages 18 and
older, 1,521 of whom are identified as working adults that are
full-time, part-time, or self-employed. For complete survey methodology,
including sampling and weighting variables, please contact Dawn McAbee
at dmcabee@unum.com.
The prior surveys referenced in this document were conducted online from
Dec. 9-11, 2008 (n=2,137), Dec. 9-11, 2009 (n=2,029), Dec. 6-8, 2010
(n=3,489), Dec. 16-20, 2011 (n=3,339), and Dec. 13-17, 2012 (n=3,031)
among a similar population.
About Unum
Unum
is a leading provider of financial protection benefits through the
workplace. The disability insurance leader in the U.S. for 38 years,
Unum’s portfolio of financial protection products also includes life,
accident and critical illness, which help protect millions of working
people and their families in the event of an illness or injury. In 2013,
Unum paid $5.5 billion in benefits to nearly 492,000 individuals and
their families.
For more information visit us at www.unum.com
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Copyright Business Wire 2014