During our discussion in class, we thought a lot about the benefits that we found most important in relation to our current lives both in terms of legally required benefits and discretionary benefits. In comparison to the list I had made and the one my group came up with, the two were both very similar and mainly consisted of discretionary benefits that allowed us to order to save for our futures, have a strong work-life balance, and be prepared for health issues. Benefits we may eliminate included those that didn’t necessarily contribute to these aspects such as company perks and childcare. However, like mentioned in the lecture, people at different stages of their lives may be more interested in particular benefits. For example, those who are thinking of having kids soon, would highly value parental leave and childcare, whereas those right out of college who don’t have kids may be more focused on acquiring a good healthcare plan that matches their needs and contributing to a retirement savings plan especially since they likely haven’t begun investing in retirement at their jobs in college.
The demographic of the whole company would greatly change these benefits decisions since having a childcare service would be greatly important to those who have children and less beneficial to a workforce that is made up of primarily older workers whose children are grown. An older employee demographic may place more importance instead on benefits such as disability and life insurance, since their health is more of a priority at that age. Choices in such things as paid time off can affect employee behavior by reducing absenteeism and improving productivity. As mentioned in a SHRM article that exemplifies how benefits can influence employee behavior it mentions that “when the brain can think positively, productivity improves by 31 percent, sales increase 37 percent, and creativity and revenues can triple” (Frye). This is because people are able to take paid sick-leave or vacation which helps ensure they are not feeling overworked and are able to have a proper work-life balance, which helps them enjoy the work they are doing. Having benefits such as paid time off and protection programs can also help recruit and retain employees within the company. This is because benefits can be just as, if not more, appealing than compensation and strong benefits will attract more people as well as ensure they stick around with the company.
Original Ranking: 1. Health care insurance, 2. Disability insurance, 3. Life insurance, 3. Retirement savings plan 401(k), 4. Paid time off, 5. Parental leave, 6. Childcare, 7. Employee discount/ perk
When I revised my ranking after our class discussion, I moved retirement and paid time off as I realized that those benefits are more relevant to my stage of life.
Frye, L.(June, 2018) More People Are Taking Time Off, and That’s Good for Business. SHRM. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/workers-taking-more-vacation-.aspx
One reply on “Blog Post Week 7: Benefits”
Hi Madeline,
Thank you for your post. I agree with a lot of your thinking, but I’m going to encourage you to rethink your sentence about disability and life insurance being for older demographics. In my opinion, these two programs are very important, regardless of the age of the employee. For example, I used short term disability insurance while on maternity leave so I wouldn’t exhaust PTO hours to maintain income. In addition, my husband I purchased life insurance polices at a young age since it is cheaper to buy a 30-year policy now than when you’re 60 or after major health conditions become present. Also, if we think about life insurance from a standpoint of taking care of your family if you pass unexpectedly, in my opinion, you’re more likely to want that income when you have children to take care of than after they become adults.
Courtney Seton