Employers need to address discrepancies between the impact of the benefits they offer and worker perceptions to maintain gains made in overall employee trust and satisfaction
NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- While survey data shows two in three (66%) employees believe their employer understands and supports the importance of work-life balance, outside stressors are making it difficult to sustain this balance. Inflation and the rising cost of healthcare and childcare are among factors forcing workers to make tough choices on their spending. Over half (56%) of employees note economic concerns will impact their benefits decisions and nearly four in ten (38%) feel these worries will cause them to choose lower-tier benefits in 2024.
Employers are similarly stressed by the effect of rising costs and projected inflation, with 59% of them noting they are extremely or very concerned about the economy in 2024. Despite this unease – and perhaps as an indication of the desire to retain key employees – employers actually plan to increase spending on employee compensation (47%) and well-being programs (37%) in 2024.
These are among the findings from leading benefits consultant NFP's 2024 US Benefits Trend Report.
"Employers are faced with tough choices in 2024," said Doug Hammond, NFP's chairman and CEO. "While employers want to continue the positive momentum in employee satisfaction and trust seen in 2023, rising costs and the desire to deliver individualized solutions for employees have created a complicated situation. For forward-thinking employers, there is an important opportunity to leverage innovative benefits offerings and contain costs while meeting employees' various work-life balance needs in the long-term."
Rising Costs Complicate Effort to Meet Employee Need
Healthcare costs continue to rise, compelling employers to seek novel ways to contain them. This comes at a time when employees want increased access to quality care. NFP research shows that nearly six in ten (59%) employees are willing to give up some salary to gain access to better healthcare.
Looking to the year ahead, many employers aren't planning to pass along costs to their employees — instead they're focused on managing spend through innovative plan design and advanced data analytics. With their pharmacy benefits programs, employers will explore new clinical management strategies (35%) and covering prescription price increases for employees (29%) in an effort to mitigate rising costs.
"As employees re-examine their own expenses, they want benefits plans that fit their needs, from access to GLP-1 drugs to increased availability of mental health services offerings," said Kim Bell, head of Health and Benefits, NFP. "Employees are increasingly aware of the value well-designed benefits plans can provide for them and are considering what trade-offs could look like for their own healthcare needs. For example, several studies show that employees are willing to switch jobs for Rx benefits that better fit their household needs."
Aligning Benefits Offerings with Employee Need is More Important than Ever
The report indicated employers must do more to meet the different generational needs of today's workforce as many older employees didn't report the same level of increased sentiment toward their employer compared to last year. Over the past 12-18 months, employees ages 18-34 found more growth opportunities at work (51%) compared with workers aged 55+ (30%). Younger workers also believe they are paid more fairly (38% versus 29%) and their company cares about them more (40% versus 27%) compared with the sentiment of older colleagues across the same time period.
The data also shows that 58% of all employees are asking for increased access to mental fitness programs and training in the workplace to handle the increasing complexity and challenges of work today. Despite this clear need and the impact of employee well-being on organizational health, one in three (30%) employers invests less than $201 on the well-being of each individual and some are planning to decrease that investment in 2024 (27%).
While core voluntary benefits are already widely available, NFP has seen a sharp uptick in the range of options and expects innovative offerings to grow even more in the year ahead. From menopausal benefits to grandparental leave, employers are looking to voluntary benefits to close the gaps in coverage.
"After listening to employees to better understand their needs, the importance of aligning benefits with that feedback is clearer than ever," remarked Bell. "Employer investment in their employees' holistic health and wellness has largely paid off, but there is still room for improvement to create personalized benefit offerings that elevate employee satisfaction, well-being, engagement and organizational success."
Research Methodology
NFP's US Employee and Employer Benefits Survey was administered online in October 2023 and includes 529 employee benefits decision-makers working in a human resources role, as well as 1,026 full-time, part-time, self-employed or contract workers spanning diverse industries and environments across the US. In addition, NFP's annual US Benefits Trend Report supports employers with data generated from the company's proprietary benchmarking database of more than 4,000 employers of all sizes.
Here is NFP's 2024 US Benefits Trend Report.
About NFP
NFP is a leading property and casualty broker, benefits consultant, wealth manager, and retirement plan advisor that provides solutions enabling client success through the expertise of over 8,000 global employees, investments in innovative technologies, and enduring relationships with highly rated insurers, vendors and financial institutions. NFP is the 9th best place to work for large employers in insurance, 7th largest privately owned broker, 7th largest benefits broker by global revenue and 13th largest broker of US business (all rankings according to Business Insurance). Visit NFP.com to discover how NFP empowers clients to meet their goals.
Media Contact
Josh Wozman, NFP, 415-318-6441, [email protected], www.nfp.com
SOURCE NFP
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