December 11, 2009

HR Fact Friday: Offer Benefits? Don’t Forget Wellness

Filed under: Benefits — Tags: , , , , , , , — Paul @ 8:41 am

For each of the last 7 years, MetLife has conducted a huge employee benefits trends study, and data from 2008, including responses from over 1,500 benefits decision makers and 1,300 employees, have just been released. The global company, which provides insurance, employee benefits, and financial services, stressed wellness programs in its report on the study results.

Financial and physical health intertwined. Some of the statistics offered are surprising and disturbing:

  • 59% of people who assess their medical health as fair or poor say they live paycheck to paycheck, compared to 34% of people in very good or excellent health.
  • 70% of people who rate their health as fair or poor are very concerned about making ends meet, compared to 52% of people whose health is very good or excellent.
  • 76% of people who see their health as fair or poor are very concerned about affording health care in retirement, compared to 57% of those in very good or excellent health.

Interestingly, however, the employees who assess their health as fair or poor have healthcare coverage through their employers at nearly the same rate as those who say their health is very good or excellent. So the connection between poor health and tight finances is in no way limited to people without healthcare insurance.

How well are wellness programs? Given that 94% of surveyed employers agree that wellness programs can be at least somewhat effective in reducing medical costs, MetLife researchers expressed some disappointment that the number of employers offering such programs is growing so slowly. Only one-third (33%) of respondents offered wellness programs in late 2008, up from about one-fourth (27%) in late 2005. And, even among organizations employing more than 500 people, the portion offering such programs is only 57%, up from 46% in 2005.

The MetLife study showed that nearly half of employees participate in programs offered by their employers. But here’s the payoff: They don’t do so primarily to earn incentives or avoid penalties but simply to maintain good health. The older they are, the more likely they value the health benefits, while incentives are more important to the youngest workers.

Source: HR.BLR.com (12/10/2009)

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September 18, 2009

HR Fact Friday: More Cuts to Payrolls for End of 2009

Filed under: Hiring & Jobs — Tags: , , , , — Paul @ 7:40 am

Okay, I really am trying to find good HR news to feature in my weekly HR Fact Friday posting. Sadly, it’s just not happening. Even with the statement earlier this week by a top U.S. government official that the recession is “probably” over I just can’t take the glass half full viewpoint. And I am in marketing. That’s my job! I am generally an optimistic person but when it comes to the economy, the only statistic that means anything to the millions of laid off workers across the country is the number of new jobs being added to payrolls. The recession will “probably” be over when hiring for new jobs exceeds layoffs. Projections are that that tipping point will not happen for quite some time. Case in point . . .

There are more employers who expect a decrease in their payrolls over the next 3 months than there are employers who expect an increase, according to a survey of 28,000 employers by Manpower, Inc.

While 12 percent of respondents said they expected to increase staff from October through December, 14 percent of employers said they expected to decrease payrolls. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they expected no changes to their payrolls.

“The hiring intentions of U.S. companies continue to be sluggish,” said Jeff Joerres, chairman and CEO of Manpower. “While there are areas within the U.S. which are showing an uptick, we have yet to see the robust hiring intentions that would indicate a full labor market recovery.”

After seasonal adjustment, Manpower’s Net Employment Outlook for the fourth quarter of 2009 is -3%, the weakest in the history of the survey, which began in 1962.

Source: HR.BLR.com Sept. 10, 2009

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August 7, 2009

HR Fact Friday: Fewer Men Willing To Be Stay at Home Dad

Filed under: Work/Life Balance — Tags: , , , , , , — Paul @ 6:00 am

Working dads continue to explore different options to free up more time with their families, but fewer are willing to leave their jobs if their other half could comfortably carry the financial load for the entire family.

While nearly one-third (31 percent) of 797 U.S. men would give up the traditional role of breadwinner, that percentage has dropped from 37 percent in 2008 and 49 percent in 2005, according to CareerBuilder’s Working Dads 2009 survey.  The survey was conducted in February and March 2009 with men who were employed full time and have children age 18 or younger living at home.

(more…)

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