By Anthony J. Nugent, executive vice president, MetLife U.S. Business
The “next benefits frontier” will focus on providing employees with access to programs that help them help themselves, and education that employers can provide to cultivate a healthier, more financially secure workforce. MetLife’s 8th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends, which surveyed more than 1,500 employers and 1,300 employees, revealed employers’ growing recognition of the toll that health and financial concerns may have on workplace productivity. Providing access to programs that encourage a culture of health, wellness and financial security may have mutually beneficial results for employers and employees.
Employers have renewed their focus on improving employee productivity due to the economy – 84% of employers now report that this is a very important benefits objective, up from 79% in 2008, according to the MetLife study. At the same time, however, economic pressures confronting employees may negatively impact productivity. In fact, 68% of employees said that over the last 12 months they were affected by increased feelings of job insecurity, a decrease in the quality of their work, an increase in their workload or being distracted at work because of financial worries.
Wellness and Financial Advice Programs at Work
The more obvious employer benefit to offering a wellness program is the potential for reduced medical and disability-related costs – especially important as they take a more holistic view of the health/wellness of their workforce in the wake of health care reform. There is also growing recognition, however, that an employee’s health status can impact his or her financial status which, employers acknowledge, can also impact productivity at work. According to the MetLife study, employees in poor health are more likely to report financial concerns. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of employees who assess their medical health as fair or poor say they live paycheck-to-paycheck, compared to 43% of people in good or better health.
Almost two-thirds (65%) of employers believe that employees are less productive at work when they are worried about personal financial problems, and over half (52%) believe that absenteeism increases when employees are dealing with personal financial issues.
Employees have an appetite for health, wellness and financial advice programs. For example, 42% of employees are interested in their employer providing access to retirement planning seminars, yet only 35% of employers currently offer them. The MetLife study also found that 71% of employees who participate in wellness programs say they greatly value the benefits offering. An overwhelming motivator for employee participation in wellness programs was the desire for good health – a desire shared by employers.
Given the potential benefits – to both employers and employees – of wellness and financial advice programs at the workplace, employers that do not currently offer these programs as part of their overall benefits package may consider doing so at relatively little cost. For employers that already offer these programs, the key to realizing their full potential is effective benefits communications. Currently, only about one-third of employers and employees say their benefits communications are effective. An area that is often overlooked, benefits communications can make a significant difference in the programs’ effectiveness. There is a strong correlation between effective benefits communications and benefits satisfaction, job satisfaction and employee loyalty. Effective communications will likely increase the return on many benefits investments that have already been made.
Providing access to health and wellness programs, and financial advice and guidance in the workplace may prove to be a “win-win” for employers and employees alike; approximately eight out of ten employees say that they believe their productivity would be favorably impacted by these programs.
Anthony Nugent is executive vice president, employee benefits sales for MetLife. MetLife is a subsidiary of MetLife Inc., a provider of insurance, employee benefits and financial services with operations throughout the United States and the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. MetLife’s 8th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends is available at www.metlife.com/trends2010
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY
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