By Scott H. Cytron.
In a challenge to business owners already struggling to hire and retain talent, 78% of employees say they would find a new job if their benefits package was inadequate, a new report found.
What’s more: Healthcare benefits are second only to salary when considering a job offer, according to more than two-thirds of the surveyed employees. The findings are part of the 2024 Intuit QuickBooks Allstate Health Solutions Benefits Survey, which polled 1,000 employees enrolled in their employers’ health insurance plan. Half the survey’s respondents work at small and midsize businesses with 5 to 100 employees, while the other half work at larger companies with more than 100 employees.
“Our research shows that employees are placing higher value on health benefits when it comes to their job satisfaction, but many are finding it difficult to manage benefits costs in today’s economic climate,” said Laurent Sellier, senior vice president of Intuit QuickBooks Payroll Solutions. “For that reason, maintaining competitive benefits packages at an affordable price is vital to employee retention.”
Over 90% of Employees Link Job Satisfaction to Their Benefits
More than 9 in 10 employees connect their overall job satisfaction to their benefits package, the QuickBooks-Allstate Health Solutions survey found. The result harkens back to classic research highlighted in the Harvard Business Review in 1973, which found an intrinsic relationship between job satisfaction and environmental factors, such as benefits—aspects of work that shape an employee’s willingness to happily stay with a company. Even though that research was done more than 50 years ago, the workplace is still rooted in finding the best talent for your firm. Both pieces of research underscore the necessity of job satisfaction and benefits satisfaction to retain your best employees.
So what’s going to make these employees feel satisfied with healthcare benefits? Nearly 6 in 10 employees (56% at small companies; 59% at larger ones) reported in the QuickBooks-Allstate Health Solutions survey that they want a range of benefit options to choose from, such as:
- Health maintenance organizations (HMOs)
- Preferred provider organizations (PPOs)
- Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
But it’s not only insurance that employees are considering in their healthcare benefits package—50% of employees at small companies and 61% at larger ones reported wanting more supplemental healthcare choices, such as:
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Mental health insurance
- Pet insurance
Medical Costs Hurt Employees’ Financial Well-Being and Productivity
There are real effects on employees when their healthcare costs aren’t covered or inadequately covered. Roughly two-thirds of employees (71% at small companies; 63% at larger ones) say they have struggled to finance long-term savings for emergencies or retirement because of medical costs. Medical costs disproportionately harm women’s ability to meet long-term financial goals: Nearly 3 in 10 women report significant impact from medical costs, in contrast to 18% of men.
This isn’t unusual. According to the most recent polling data from KFF, an independent health policy and research organization, roughly half of Americans would have to go into debt to pay an unexpected $500 medical bill. Both the cost of unexpected medical bills and the cost of monthly insurance premiums are a worry for 74% of insured Americans, the KFF survey found.
Medical costs, deferred medical care, and financial stress all take a toll on workers. Sixty-eight percent of employees at small companies and 72% at larger ones say inadequate coverage of medical needs could impact their ability to be productive at work, according to the QuickBooks-Allstate Health Solutions report. This is a loss not only for employees, but their employers as well.
Raising the Bar on Benefits in the Current Economy
In today’s tight job market, business owners need every advantage when it comes to hiring and retaining talented workers. Adding competitive healthcare options and other offerings to benefits packages might be one of the top ways to attract qualified interviewees and earn loyalty from existing employees.
Among those with employer-sponsored insurance, KFF’s poll found that about half of workers rank their out-of-pocket costs for doctor visits (50%) and their monthly health insurance payments (46%) as “poor” or “fair.”
“With the historically low unemployment rates in the U.S., businesses can’t afford to lose employees in today’s competitive market,” said Sellier.
The most recent release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the unemployment rate for July 2024 at 4.3%—a rate that’s significantly lower than the COVID-19 peak of 14.8% in April 2020, which spurred an employer’s market through 2022. July’s unemployment rate continues to be lower than the long-term national average of 5.69%, according to YCharts, an independent investment research platform. More employment information can also be found in the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index.
When job applicants and employees have the luxury of being choosy about their jobs and benefits, it raises the bar. Business owners need to find ways to offer the benefits employees are demanding, and to do it in a way that maximizes affordability.
How You Can Help Clients Offer Better Benefits Packages
Helping your clients to offer competitive benefits packages is a huge value add. Whether your clients already offer healthcare to employees or they’re looking to add healthcare to their benefits packages, there are easy-to-access, affordable solutions for businesses of any size.
Intuit QuickBooks recently partnered with Allstate Health Solutions to offer QuickBooks Payroll customers expanded healthcare coverage and related benefits. You can help clients log in to their QuickBooks accounts to explore options and costs, or call 800-477-1202 to speak with an Allstate Health Solutions representative about small business health insurance and finding the right plan.
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Scott H. Cytron is president of Cytron and Company, known for helping companies and organizations improve their bottom line through strategic public relations, communications, marketing programs and top-notch client service. An accredited consultant, Scott works with companies, organizations and individuals in professional services (medical, legal, accounting, engineering), high-tech and B2B/B2C product/service sales. He is also editorial coordinator for Intuit’s Firm of the Future blog and editor of Intuit Accountants’ Tax Pro Center.
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