For the GREAT question, please link to: jaundicejames.
That’s a great question! What happened to benefits? Why did Clark get holiday jams and jellies and not a cash bonus? Why aren’t more people pushing back when their employers impose Draconian cuts? I believe one reason is the increase of the 1099/Independent Contractor/Temporary Employee.
In the past decade we have seen a sharp rise in this “type” of non-employee employee. They are disposable, cost less due to the no-benefits status, and often have excellent subject matter expertise; critical expertise needed for only needed for a short period of time think: FedEx holiday driver, ORACLE integration trainer.
For “regular W-2 employees,” again, the bean counters are sticking their noses where they do not belong. Outstanding benefits are now regarded by Corporations as nice to have, not need to have. Unless you are lucky enough to have another job lined up, you are not going to “vote with your feet” because of benefits. Once upon a time, people did, and the “employee marketplace” dictated organizations with the best benefits “won” the best employees. During the
We also underestimate the power in publicly traded companies of the “shareholders” and “The Street” in this reality. I would love to do an experiment where a Fortune 500 announces it is rolling out the BEST benefit plan in the marketplace AND it will be 100% company funded. I bet you would see a HUGE drop in stock price. The market punishes companies for spending money it believes they don’t “have to” and investing in things that it can’t easily measure - or will have no discernible benefit in the next quarter. I believe this because time and time again we see the market rewarding companies who have placed the ultimate “punishment” on employees - a pink slip. How many times have we heard about “stock price soaring after a layoff announcement?” This is sick, sad, and wrong.
Let’s also be clear on how we are talking about benefits and about whom we speak. Benefit reduction and cost increases have not reached the Senior Management Level of the building. Executive Bonus structures, deferred compensation, stock options, MERP (An Executive-only added perk a Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan) club memberships, travel, vacation time, etc. has only gotten better with the bad economy.
I have heard it asserted this is so because it is “more difficult” to lead in times of trouble. What a spin job! I’m so relieved in this economy where employees are doing the “more difficult” job of three people without additional compensation that they, too, are not seeing their benefits ripped away. Oh, wait... Carry on.
Seriously, if you look at many companies, the top dogs know each other and look out for each other. What CEO is going to take away a golf club membership from his best friend? They also whine that in order to attract “top talent” the company must be “competitive” - at present this ONLY applies to “top of the food chain” talent. Apparently, they want the employees down in shipping and receiving to pay a more for less - just don’t take Biff’s company jet junket to the Masters away from him - oh the horror!
Another tactic to keeping the masses unquestioning about the benefits is to use their own people against them. When companies tell employees that the “result of their research or our survey” shows what “employees want,” they seem to focus on single, young, child-free employees who don’t give a damn (yet) about retirement, leaves of absence, or anything other than catastrophic health care coverage. Hell, a lot of these kids only want tuition forgiveness or higher wages at the expense of benefits in order to stay above water on their student loans. I don’t blame them; I’m just asserting that the 20-somethings don’t usually represent the whole of a company’s workforce.
Some people in HR and Management argue - and not wholly incorrectly - employees don’t “care” about benefits until they need them, or have had a bad experience in the past with them. Wages have been stagnant for decades, and “show me the money” isn’t about greed for your average employee, it’s about simply paying bills. More wages and fewer benefits seem to be a tacit but erroneous agreement.
If you notice in interviews, you will rarely be given specifics about health care plans, carriers, premiums, coverage, and the like - that is, if the company still offers them. I am willing to bet the company ad you described earlier highlighted an “Excellent Benefits Plan.” Sure it is. Compared to nothing.
Finally, a company does not ‘have to’ offer a benefits plan - hence one of the business-driven talking points and misguided fury over “Obamacare” and “mandates.” Some business folks are worried - especially small business people - they have already seen the skyrocketing “pre-mandate” premiums. Many small businesses are less likely to pass along the same high percentage of costs to their employees - it’s almost a matter of honor. The insurance companies know this. They are implementing price hikes to ensure they don’t lose one damn dime - how could they? More people will “have to” seek them out.
If we as a Nation are serious about helping small business and managing soaring health care costs for companies and individuals, we’d have a single-payer system. That’s not my opinion, that’s actual fact.
In our current non-single payer system, a company should offer different plans to meet different needs. One idea is a true “cafeteria plan” which allows and encourages employees to really think about what they need and want and choose accordingly. I am alarmed by the “self +
Believe it or not, employers are not wholly to blame. There is so little competition in the group health care marketplace the result has been skyrocketing costs. Can you say Monopoly? Thought you could! The choices are usually Cigna, BCBS, United HealthCare, and a smattering of others. Remember “Sicko” - Michael Moore was right - really! The bean-counters and actuaries employed by Big Insurance believe in distributing these near-monopoly-determined costs to employer and employees.
I have observed first hand the “corporate jet” of one of the “BigInsurance” providers, and it made me sick. These assholes have the balls to refuse to cover treatment for something they deem “experimental” but have no issue with a 10M$ aircraft. Wonder how many treatments that plane would pay for!
On a happy note, a company I worked for did the right thing in regard to benefit costs, employees were split up into groups based on wages; the more you made, the more you paid. THAT made sense! Please tell John of Orange, Grover, and Eric Cantor, would you? It only makes sense that a buffet server making minimum wage plus tips should pay less for her health coverage than the VP of Marketing, right?
Another benefit change, seemingly unrelated to healthcare which has also, sadly, become the norm is the melding or pooling of Vacation and Sick time into “PTO/PDO” - paid time/days off.
In this “system” an employee must choose whether to stay home with the flu or go on the vacation they have already bought and paid for. This choice is more sinister when you understand the vacation was “bought and paid for” because employees are often required to get vacation time pre-approved months in advance and companies are “right sized” to such a degree that the loss of one employee - even for a week - has dire consequences. Sure, everyone gets time off, but everyone also takes a turn being buried for a week to cover for someone else. Call in a temp you say? No, no, no – that would cost money!
I recall a friend of mine, a chef, who contracted pink eye a week before vacation. Health Departments don’t allow you to work with pink eye. (Those damn regulations that are hurting business!) She had no choice but to stay home until the doctor cleared her to return to work. Her boss noted she did have 3 days of “PTO left” so she could go on vacation - for three days. Her trip had been booked 4 months before, per the policy. She was finally granted 2 days of “unpaid, but approved leave” when the Executive Chef intervened. This illustrates just how ridiculous this “new money saving measure” is in practice. If you’ve ever worked in hospitality or ever eaten at a restaurant, you understand a grumpy chef is very VERY bad for business and the idea of someone making your Tiramisu with weepy Pink Eye is a bit…off-putting!
A new study done in your former state of residence proves this “pool of days off” has actually lowered productivity, increased time away from work for illness, and has - gasp - cost companies more money. Heaven forbid we look at real data before making decisions!! Simply put, companies implement PTO because they know employees are doing the work of 2, 3 or 4 people and they need to minimize the total time away from work. Many companies “assume” people “abuse” sick time; the data just didn’t support this. I’m so glad companies assume their workers are cheats!
The only real “advice” I have regarding benefits is this:
#1 - Ask questions. Find out what programs and plans your employer has. Often employees are unaware of some of the benefits the company already offers. (Discount Program, Health Clubs, etc.) This is the “fault” of Internal Communications in HR and also YOUR fault if you expect to be “spoon fed” everything – go and find out! Some organizations have Benefits Workshops or seminars – go to them! During “Open Enrollment” make sure you have what you need and make changes if you need to. Don’t ignore it!
#2 - If you’re job searching, find out as many specifics and details you can during the interview process. Who is your carrier? What are the deductibles? How long do I have to wait before being covered? In addition to heathcare, what other benefits do you offer? Never take at face value the “glowing reviews” of the benefits program from the HR reps – they can wander over a cubicle or two and ask the benefits person questions. You on the other hand don’t get this access. HR folks, too, are likely rather brainwashed that “everything” is “wonderful” (It’s a Great Day in South Carolina
I put my pom-poms away a long time ago. The only cheerleading I do now if for us – for We the People and right now we need something like the old-school Tampa-2 to get the Benefits Game Ball away from the Bean Counters.
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