Despite Economy, Employers Hold Fast On Benefits, and Majority See Opportunities to Leverage Them For Improving Employee Retention, Attraction and Productivity

The economy is causing employees – particularly younger generations – to turn with greater interest to employers for help with establishing financial security.  Nearly half (49%) of all employees surveyed say that because of the economy they are counting on employers’ benefits programs to help with their financial protection needs, and that percentage climbs to 55% for Gen X workers and 66% for Gen Y.  The majority of surveyed employers (60%) feel economic conditions are creating additional opportunities to leverage workplace benefits programs to achieve their objectives, and only about 10%, regardless of company size, say they plan to reduce benefits, according to MetLife’s 10^th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends.  Findings from the study, available at www.metlife.com/benefitstrends, highlight ways employers can evolve their benefits strategies as a result of the recession to cost-effectively attract and retain a talented and productive workforce

Among the employers that see additional opportunities to leverage their benefits programs, 91% feel strongly that benefits can be used to retain employees, 86% say that benefits can greatly increase employee productivity, and 80% feel that benefits can greatly help attract employees – all key objectives.