Jan
26
Some companies pay well and give frequent raises, but offer no benefits at all. Some offer nice benefits with fairly decent pay but rarely give raises. Some companies do not pay well at all, never give raises and offer no benefits. No one can afford to just up and quit their job on principal any longer, and most companies are aware of that, and yes there are a few that will take advantage of the economic hardships and uncertainty.
But, for the most part, companies are struggling to get by just the same as their workers and they do not want to lose good, reliable employees over something like benefits or the lack thereof.
More and more companies are realizing that the people that they are losing are not necessarily leaving to get higher paying jobs, they are going to jobs that offer employee insurance that they can actually understand. The rising cost of health care has some people simply putting off medical care until it is too late, a tragedy that is seen far too often. Companies that can offset or even pay for their employees basic coverage can usually use that as a benefit, even if it means that the raises are smaller this year.
Some industries, especially those that are state mandated saw a freeze in pay increases that has lasted for a couple of years. These are usually the jobs with high turnover and burnout rate anyway, so not getting a raise really does not help in employee relations. Some companies in that situation have turned to creative means to make up for the lack of raises, including offering better or cheaper health insurance.
A recent poll in a non profit agency in Ohio showed that most people actually favored getting free or deeply discounted health insurance over a minimal raise. The small raise that was being offered was not enough to really make any kind of difference in take home pay, and the cost of insurance at that time was just beyond the means of many in the organization. The company worked hard to find a better health care carrier, all the while staying involved in the fight against the state and it’s mandated wage freeze.
The cost of offering insurance as an employee compensation can be more than offset by the savings on time lost from work. Health care that is actually affordable can mean a world of difference in the health of the employees.
Healthy employees do not use as many sick days, lowering the cost of overtime if someone else must cover additional shifts. Studies show too, that coming in sick may be more costly in the long run. If your employee cannot afford to go to a doctor and will not call in sick, then your issues may double or triple as whatever ailed that first person spreads like wildfire through the office. How will you manage with a widespread flu epidemic in your place of business?
Insurance is expensive, but a good employee is supposed to be invaluable. If you truly want to keep the good ones, then there must be some incentive to stay. Company loyalty is all fine and good, but it does not put bread on the table nor does it get you in to see a doctor.
If you can offer both a raise and health care, then fine, but if it is either one or the other, poll the employees. You will probably find out that in the long run, employer covered health insurance is an excellent compensation.
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