Status report: How employees feel about their benefits
Employees are ill-prepared for a medical emergency, interested in expanded insurance offerings and willing to take pay cuts for better benefits.
These are just some of the highlights from the 2016 Aflac WorkForces Report, which was unveiled at ebn’s 29th Annual Benefits Forum & Expo in Nashville.
The findings give HR pros some good insight into how their employees feel about their overall benefits as well as what employers can do to help.
Top 10 Findings
The research says employees:
- Wouldn’t be able to cover the deductible. More than half (65%) of employees would only be able to pay less than $1,000 for out-of-pocket expenses associated with an unexpected serious illness or accident.
- Would be unable to bounce back from a financial hit. Fifty-nine percent of workers said they wouldn’t be able to adjust to the large financial costs associated with a serious injury or illness.
- Aren’t satisfied. A third (33%) of employees are only somewhat satisfied with the benefits package offered to them at this time, and 9% are “not very” or “not at all” satisfied with their benefits.
- Would accept lower pay. More than half (60%) of employees are at least somewhat likely to take a job with slightly lower pay but better benefits.
- Wouldn’t jump ship if they received better benefits. Forty-two percent of workers said improving their benefits package is one thing their employer could do to keep them in their current jobs.
- Value benefits more than you might think. Nearly one-fifth (16%) of employers have either left a job or turned down a job due to the benefits offered by the company.
- Would fill gaps themselves. Fifty-seven percent of employees said they’d purchase additional affordable insurance products to ensure adequate coverage if their employer didn’t provide adequate health coverage.
- See the potential in voluntary products. More than half (60%) of employees see a growing need for voluntary benefits because of the rising cost of medical services.
- Expect to shoulder more of the cost burden. The vast majority (81%) of employees think the medical cost they’re responsible for will increase moving forward.
- Have struggled paying medical bills. A quarter (25%) of employees have had trouble paying a medical bill due to high medical costs.
