The US News & World Report recently published a very interesting article on workplace benefits. The article “21 Workplace Benefits That Are Rapidly Disappearing” discussed a
survey by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) of over 600 Human Resource professionals.
The survey showed a significant cut of benefits and perks that employers offered employees over the last 5 years. Traditional pension plans, long term care, family leave and even the company picnic have all declined. Approximately 77% of companies surveyed reported that benefit offerings have been negatively affected by the slow economy. The two biggest areas of cuts have been in health care and retirement- as that’s where the largest cost increases have occurred.
Here is a summary of the workplace benefits that have significantly declined since 2007:
Traditional Pension Plans- Traditional pensions were offered at 40% of the companies surveyed in 2007. Now just 22 % of firms provide access to a retirement plan that guarantees payments for life.
Retiree Health Care Coverage- The proportion of companies offering retiree health insurance declined from 35 % in 2007 to 25 % in 2011.
Long-Term Care Insurance- 29% of employers provide long-term care insurance for workers, down from 46 % in 2007.
Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) - The number of companies with HMOs decreased from 48 % in 2007 to 33 %. Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) are much more common, with 84 % of companies offering this type of health insurance plan.
Paid Family Leave- A third of companies offered paid family leave in 2007, but now only a quarter of companies provide paid time off for births, and other significant family events.
Adoption Assistance- Adoption assistance is another waning employer benefit, with just 8 % of companies helping with adoption costs, down from 20% five years ago. Foster care assistance also declined significantly from 10% of companies in 2007 to only 1% in 2011.
Professional Development Opportunities- While nearly 96% of companies paid for professional development opportunities in 2007, only 87 % did in 2011. The proportion of employers offering mentoring programs also decreased from 26 % 5 years ago to 17 %. “Work development is one of the things that helps train and recruit employees and can only be temporarily cut,” says Mark Schmit, research director of the SHRM. “We see dips in it during recessionary times and then we see it come back following those recessionary times.”
Life Insurance for Dependents- About half - 55 % of companies provide life insurance for children and other dependents, down from 65 % in 2007
Incentive Bonus Plans- Bonuses for executives are also on the chopping block. Incentive bonus plans for high-level employees are currently offered at half of the companies SHRM surveyed, down 10 % since 2007.
Legal Assistance- One in five companies provides legal assistance or services to workers, down from a third of employers five years ago.
Sports Team Sponsorship- Only 17% of employers currently sponsor sports teams for workers or their families, a significant decrease from the 29 % of companies that did so in 2007.
Executive Club Memberships- While about a quarter - 24 % of companies subsidized executive club memberships for certain workers in 2007, now only 14 % continue to provide this perk.
Relocation Benefits- Employers have significantly cut back on temporary relocation benefits, location visit assistance, and spouse relocation assistance. And only a small proportion of companies continue to offer to pay a cost-of-living differential 10 % or provide assistance selling the previous home 9 %.
The Company Picnic- Many firms are cancelling the company picnic. Only about half - 55 % of firms scheduled a company picnic in 2011, down from 64 % in 2007.
Company Purchased Tickets- Season tickets to the local sports team or theater that are shared by employees are now only offered by about 26 % of employers, a considerable decline from the 42 % of firms that provided workers with subsidized event tickets five years ago.