compensation Archives

What Do Employees Worry About?

by LizStevens | Nov 13, 2018 | Blog

What do employees worry about? Research on workplace fears ranks compensation, job security, overloaded productivity and workplace harassment as top concerns.

Employees Worry About Being Underpaid

The number one workplace fear for more than 60 percent of Americans is being underpaid, according to recent research from Business.org.

It’s a valid concern, The Economic Policy Institute reports employers underpay employees $15 billion each year through overtime and misclassification violations. Business.org also found that younger workers ages 18 to 34 were roughly 30 percent more likely than Baby Boomers to fear being underpaid.

Employees Worry About Job Security

Job security, rather the fear of losing a job, is the top work-related fear for over 20 percent of employees. “I just worry about my ability to [keep my job] so that I can pay bills and take care of my family… I am stressed out more often than not,” says one respondent. Much like compensation concerns, job security is another workplace fear with a rational basis. Almost 20 million Americans lost their jobs due to layoffs or discharge in 2016, reported by The Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Employees Worry About Being Overloaded at Work

Nearly 15 percent of employees say work overload is their number one workplace fear. Business.org cited research that found in comparison to working between 35 to 40 hours a week, working over 55 hours a week was shown to increase the risk of heart attack by almost 15 percent and the risk of stroke by more than 33 percent. Productivity showed a sharp decline after 50 hours of work a week. Half of employees who are moderately to highly engaged are burnt out. They’re dealing with exhaustion, frustration, anxiety and struggling to keep up with daily tasks. Engagement has limits and when it’s too high it can start to affect productivity, retention and job satisfaction.

Some employees are more fearful than others. Adults ages 18 to 34, individuals with a previous workplace issue, parents and those living in urban areas had a higher level of fear. In contrast, those who identified as white had less concern than respondents of other ethnicities. “Issues of race and gender equality, equal pay for equal work, freedom from harassment of any kind all remain unresolved. [All workers] should feel supported for their efforts,” one respondent said.

Leaders that address workplace fears are likely to have more loyal employees. Employees feel valued when employers make a point to acknowledge and take their concerns into consideration when making changes in policies and processes. Supervisors could benefit from direct and open communication with employees. It has the potential to limit some of employee concerns by replacing fear of the unknown with confidence in transparency from upper management.

Employee Benefits Success is All About Communication

by LizStevens | Oct 16, 2018 | Blog

Employee benefits success is all about communication. A third of compensation costs go towards employee benefits and some employees would forgo a raise for better work-life balance or better healthcare benefits, but almost half of employees don’t even understand the benefits their employer already offers.

Benefits account for more than 30 percent of total employee compensation, but that doesn’t mean employees use them. Nearly half don’t understand all the benefits their organization offers, according to a report from Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

Even though they don’t have a good grasp on their current benefits, more than 40 percent of employees would forgo a raise in favor of work-life balance benefits and almost 20 percent would accept lower pay for better healthcare coverage.

More than 80 percent of employees have paid vacation time and over 70 percent have paid sick leave. Less than half of organizations offer paid maternity leave and only a quarter offer paid paternity leave. Recently large organizations have overhauled their benefits for parents, like Pinterest, whose benefits now include four months off for mothers or fathers, one-on-one classes with a parenting coach and online classes if children have learning or developmental disabilities. In the next few years, organizations offering maternity leave are likely to increase and there’s a chance companies that offer paternity leave might see a significant spike too.

Benefits that were nonexistent in 2013 (at least in terms of EBRI’s report) like health savings accounts and accident insurance are now offered by more than 15 percent of organizations. Student loan assistance is a trend EBRI started measuring this year and almost 15 percent of employees said their employer provides student loan debt relief/repayment assistance. The IRS recently ruled that a company could contribute to an employee’s 401(k) based on student loan payments, so employees can pay down their student loan debt and save for retirement at the same time with employer contributions. Employers are also helping employees continue their education as more companies partner with institutions to offer employees free college tuition.

Most employees predict weakening benefits offerings in the next three years, but everything I’ve seen in benefits trends this year points to stronger benefits offerings on the horizon. However, recently companies like Walgreens have started to slash benefits in order to raise overall wages. It’s a concerning trend to keep an eye on in the years to come.

Here’s the Ticket to Employee Satisfaction

by LizStevens | Jun 26, 2018 | Blog

In the Best Money Moves Roundup, we run down the latest news on job satisfaction, communication, compensation and retention.

Believe it or not, respect drives job satisfaction more than compensation. Results from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)’s survey show that it was close, but respect beat salary by 4 percent points when it comes to job satisfaction.

Alarmingly, only 38 percent of employees are satisfied with how their company treats employees. To improve employee relations SHRM recommends a number of training programs.

What we’re reading:

Build employee emotional resilience. Put SHRM’s advice to practice and enhance health and wellbeing in the workplace. Try it out with these 10 tips.

Highlights from SHRM’s annual conference. It’s alright if you couldn’t make the conference this year. Check out EBN’s top 10 takeaways.

Benefit from offering above-average salaries. Offering pay higher than the industry average is a business strategy that can pay off. Here’s 7 reasons why it works.

Be proactive about retention. Job jumping is a part of the dynamic shift underway in the workplace. Use these 3 strategies to improve employee retention.

Better communication can combat turnover. Build meaningful relationships with your staff sooner rather than later. Find out why it’s so important.

Craft high-performance teams. Give them a clear company image and room for failure to start building engagement for higher productivity and retention. Learn more about all 7 approaches.

Why do new hires leave within 90 days? A candidate that leaves within 90 days might be a bad hire, but more often the relationship is salvageable if you understand employee needs. Improve your onboarding process.

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.

What Drives Job Satisfaction the Most?

by LizStevens | Jun 26, 2018 | Blog

What drives job satisfaction the most? SHRM’s survey on job satisfaction has the insights you need to improve the employee experience.

Alarmingly, only 38 percent of employees are satisfied with how their company treats employees. To improve employee relations SHRM recommends a number of training programs.

Although respondents rated respectful treatment higher than compensation, pay is the main reason employees will stay with or leave an organization. Only 26 percent of workers are very satisfied with their earnings, but the 9 percent drop in employees who received bonuses might have something to do with that. SHRM suggests clearly communicating compensation to avoid misunderstandings that could affect employees attitudes towards pay.

Other Job Satisfaction Drivers and SHRM’s Tips to Improve Them

Trust between employees and senior management was equally as important to employees as pay, but just 33 percent of employees are very satisfied with their level of trust towards the organizations they work for. SHRM’s solution to building trust is having an open door policy and practices that allow employees to express themselves freely.

Opportunities to use skills and abilities at work is very important for 56 percent of employees surveyed. There’s only a 12 percent gap between importance and satisfaction, the smallest of all job satisfaction contributors surveyed. It’s an important factor for retention as challenging work is more likely to keep employees versus cause them to leave. SHRM’s tips for higher satisfaction with job opportunities are for employers to conduct a job analysis and identify and train employees with potential.

Job security is another major contributor to employee satisfaction. It’s a tricky one, because it’s all about perception and emotional intelligence. An employee could be completely secure in their position, but an emotional reaction might make them feel insecure. SHRM’s report advises, “HR professionals may begin with helping employees acknowledge their feelings and evaluate whether their response is appropriate for the situation,” in order to help them build emotional intelligence and have a more accurate understanding of their job security.

SHRM’s survey results give employers an overview of how their employees might be feeling and offers reasonable solutions to improve job satisfaction. Employees who are satisfied with their jobs are more likely to be productive, stay with the company and refer quality hires. Given the current labor market, what more can you ask for?

What Do Employees Worry About?

Employees Worry About Being Underpaid

Employees Worry About Job Security

Employees Worry About Being Overloaded at Work

More on Topics Related to What Do Employees Worry About?

Employee Benefits Success is All About Communication

Here’s the Ticket to Employee Satisfaction

What we’re reading:

What Drives Job Satisfaction the Most?

Other Job Satisfaction Drivers and SHRM’s Tips to Improve Them

More on Topics Related to Job Satisfaction and Employee Experience

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