Fisher Vista LLC

The following life management employee benefits statistics are compiled and maintained by Fisher Vista. They are intended to be a reference for those interested in the field of life management employee benefits. Because this information comes from a variety of sources, Fisher Vista cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data. If you see errors, or wish to add a statistic, we encourage you to e-mail us at stats@fishervista.com.

US Population (2000 Census)
Total: 281,421,906
49% Men
51% Woman
Median Age: 35.3
Population by age brackets

20 - 24: 6.7%
25 - 34: 14.2%
35 - 44: 16%
45 - 54: 13.4%
55 - 59: 4.8%
60 - 64: 3.8%
65 - 74: 6.5%
75 - 84: 4.4%
85+: 1.5%

Households: 105,480,101
Average family size: 3.14

One in 10,000 Americans have lived a century. They're the fastest growing age group, and by 2050 -- when the oldest baby boomers would reach 100 -- there could be nearly a million people age 100 or older, the Census Bureau says.

By 2030, one in five Americans will be a senior citizen.

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Employment

The top 500 US based employers (ranked by revenue) employ approximately 28 million people (2001)

Large (2,500 or more employees) employed 40 million people (1998)

Midsize firms (500 - 2,500 employees) employed 13 million people (1998)

Small business (less than 500 employees) employed 55 million people in the United States (1998)

The vast majority of US businesses employ between 1 and 9 people and the bulk of the workforce (2000)

The Federal Government employ approximately 4 million people (includes uniformed military personnel - 1998).

Economists predict that the nation's employers will face a shortage of at least 10 million workers by 2020.

By the end of 2006, two workers will exit the domestic workforce for every one entering. - Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Employee Benefits and Health Care Costs

Employer healthcare costs rose 14.7% in 2002. This was higher than forecasted and seven times the rate of inflation. - Mercer Survey 2002

In 2002, the percent of small businesses offering a healthplan fell 4 points to 62 percent. - Mercer Survey 2002

Employers spent more than $5.9 trillion on total compensation in 2001. Of that total, wages and salaries accounted for $5 trillion (84.3%), while benefits accounted for $920.5 billion (15.7%).

Retirement benefits remain the largest single category of employers’ benefits expenditures, but health care benefits have been catching up in recent years. According to the data, in 1960, retirement benefits accounted for 59.9% of employers’ total benefits spending; followed by other benefits such as life insurance, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation at 25.7%; and health care benefits at 14.3%. However, by 2001, the percentage of benefits dollars going to retirement benefits had dropped to 46.9% of the total, while spending on health care benefits had risen to 43.2% and spending on other benefits had declined to 9.9%. - Based on data collected by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2002.

Employee benefits made up 36.8% of company payrolls in 1999, or an average of $14,060 per employee (US Chamber of Commerce, 2001). What does this mean? For an employee making $50,000 base salary, the employee received an additional $18,400 in "hidden", untaxed compensation from their employer from such extras like health, life, disability and dental insurance, 401K, social security, vacation, workers compensation and unemployment compensation.

Health insurance was the most expensive single benefit cost, accounting for about one-fifth of total benefits, or about $2,666 per employee on average. Paid time-off - vacations, holidays and sick leave - accounted for about one-third of benefits, averaging $4,113 per employee. - US Chamber of Commerce, May, 2001

Health care spending by employers averaged $5,266 per employee in 2001 and is expected to rise at least 13% - 16% in 2002.. - Workforce Magazine, 2001

Seventy percent of Americans get their health insurance through their employers. - US Chamber of Commerce, May, 2001

Only 37% of early retirees and 26% of those over 65 have some kind of health benefit through their employer. This is down over 70% from the 1980s. Belief is companies are cutting benefits to offset rising health care costs. - US Chamber of Commerce, May, 2001

Ten percent of the population accounts for half of the nation's health care costs. - American Healthways

Since 1960, the share that employees with health benefits contribute to the actual cost of their care has fallen from more than 50% to less than 20%. - Fortune Magazine, May 2002

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ROI - Work Life

Every $1 invested by the employer in an employee's well being gives $10 return-on-investment. - Integra, Inc.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power found that its work and family program reduced turnover and improved recruitment and estimates that the program yields a return of $10 for each dollar invested.

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Future Growth of Life Management Benefits

When asked what their number one concern was about their career in 2002, thirty-two percent of respondents said Work/Life balance. This was followed by job security at twenty two percent and competitive salary at eighteen percent. - Office Team Specialized Administrative Staffing Survey, 2002

Employee benefits cost employers an additional 36.8% over wages. Medical Insurance premiums are responsible for 20%, Federal payroll taxes for 9%, Paid-time off, vacations, holidays, sick-leave 33%. Work-life benefits such as EAPs and Resource and Referral services make up less than 1% of employee benefit expenditures. But their payback is enormous so there is no reason why all employers, including small employers, shouldn't offer work-life benefits.

On a net basis, there won't be appreciable numbers of new workers entering the workforce for a long time. That means most people of working age will have jobs, and tight labor conditions will put pressure on the corporate sector to look after employees. -Michael Porter June 11, 2001

Despite a softening economy and corporate downsizing, seventy-five percent of employers named employee retention as their top benefits objective. And fifty eight percent of these employers find that developing a benefits program that helps employees balance work-life is the most important way to retain employees. - Met Life Study of Employee Benefit Trends, November 2001

Demand for labor will begin exceeding supply within the next five years with the workforce being short almost 5 million workers by 2011. - Employment Policy Foundation, 2001

The leading factor in employees' commitment and loyalty to their employer is whether they believe that management recognizes the importance of their personal and family lives - Aon Consulting's America@Work 2000 Study.

Companies that help employees juggle the demands of work and family will be the biggest winners in the competition for good employees. Aon Consulting, 2000

Major employers increased work/life benefits [in 2000], despite an economic downturn that started about halfway through the year. - Hewitt Associates, 2001.

Workers rate the ability to manage work and family as the most important aspect they look for in a job. - Rutgers University and University of Connecticut Survey (2000)

Eighty seven percent of workers are seeking or have sought companies that were flexible, supportive and understanding of personal and family needs. - CareerBuilder Online Survey (2000)

Forty two percent of college students and recent graduates said what they value most when making career decisions was work/life balance - more than money (26%), advancement potential (23%) or location (9%). - A survey of college students and recent graduates by Jobtrak.com (2000)

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Employees Working Harder and Longer

Nearly 50% of all US workers feel overwhelmed by a growing number of job tasks and longer working hours. - Families and Work Institute, 2001

Since 1969, family time for a working couple has shrunk an average of 22 hours a week. - U.S. Government

Americans who are employed worked an average of 1,979 hours (49 1/2 weeks) in 2000, up over 36 hours from 1990. This was 137 hours (3 1/2 weeks) more than Japanese workers, 260 hours (6 1/2 weeks) more than British workers and 499 hours (12 1/2 weeks) more than German workers. -International Labor Organization, 2001

According to Harvard economics professor Juliet Schor:

People are working harder than they ever have before. The typical American now works 47 hours a week - 164 more hours than only 20 years ago. And, if this present trend continues, Schor contends that average person would be on the job 60 hours a week - for an annual total of 3,000 hours a year.

This is driven in large part by newly developed technology, modern conveniences like modems, laptops, personal pagers, faxes, cellular phones, voice and e-mail, have all but erased the traditional and sacred boundaries of work.

Without question, an ever-growing workweek poses a number of threats to the health and well being of employees. However, as a number of progressive employers have demonstrated, [life management benefits] can help to alleviate some of these concerns.

Employees today spend an average of 44 hours per week working - six hours more than they're scheduled to work. - Families Work Institute, 1998

Eighty eight percent of employees say they have a hard time juggling work and life. Aon Consulting, 2000

Many workers also say they have to work very fast (68 percent) and very hard (88 percent). - Families Work Institute, 1998

One in three employees brings work home at least once a week, an increase of 10 percent over the past 20 years. - Families Work Institute, 1998

The number of employees who would like to work fewer hours rose 17 percentage points over this time period. - Families Work Institute, 1998

Sixty- three percent of Americans want to work less, up from 46 percent in 1992. - Families Work Institute, 1998

40% of employees work overtime or bring work home with them at least once a week - Xylo Report, Shifts in Work and Home Life Boundaries 2000.

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Employee Loyalty

Twelve percent of all employees are actively looking for another position or have made plans to quit, while another 44 percent said they would consider a hot prospect if it came along, according to the newspaper. - Towers Perrin, 2002

When asked how much money — base salary plus annual incentive — it would take an employee to leave their current employer, 54 percent of those polled said a mere 5 to 10 percent would do it. - Towers Perrin, 2002

Only twenty percent of all U.S. employees want to be with their current employer in two years. - Walker Information National Employee Benchmarking Study, 2001

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Job Satisfaction

Only 48 percent of workers aged 35-44 are satisfied with their job, down from nearly 61 percent in 1995. Older workers, aged 55-64, also express a low level of satisfaction. Only about 48 percent say they are satisfied. - Conference Board, 2002

Job satisfaction tends to increase as income increases. Households earning less than $15,000 are the least satisfied of all income groups. Those earning more than $50,000 are the most satisfied. But in all income areas, satisfaction levels have fallen since 1995. - Conference Board, 2002

The largest decline in overall job satisfaction -- from 60.9 percent in 1995 to 47.4 percent today (Aug 2002)-- occurred among households aged 35-44. People in this age bracket were once the happiest group in the American workforce. - Conference Board, 2002

While the overall level of satisfaction among households earning in excess of $50,000 declined from 66.5 percent to 55.2 percent, this group still remains the most satisfied. - Conference Board, 2002

The workforce commitment index stood at 98.8 for 2000, down from the benchmark of 100 in 1997 and 100.3 in 1999. - Aon Consulting @Work study, 2000

Unhappiness on the job affects one fourth of the American workforce US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1998

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Most Prevalent Work/Life Benefits Offered - 2001 (William M. Mercer, 2001)

Casual dress (offered by 90 percent of employers, up from 84 percent in 1998)
Tuition reimbursement (90 percent, up from 85 percent)
Unpaid leaves of absence unrelated to the Family and Medical Leave Act (86 percent, up from 85 percent)
Health care spending accounts (85 percent, up from 74 percent)
Employee assistance programs (84 percent, up from 77 percent)
Dependent care spending accounts (82 percent, unchanged).

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Concierge Services

Fifty three percent of employees would opt for a personal assistant rather than personal trainer -Circles, 2001

Seventy five percent of employees take care of personal responsibilities while on the job. Circles, 2001

Thirty six percent say that they take care of personal responsibilities at work daily. - Circles, 2001

It takes an employee nearly two hours to take care of personal business on company time. - Circles, 2001

In 2000, 26 of Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" offered personal concierge services versus 15 companies in 1998.

Estimates put the return on investment (ROI) in increased productivity at 75 to 100 percent.

Fifty seven percent of businesses offer some type of on-site personal service, such as an ATM, dry cleaner or travel agency. Hewitt 2001

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Flexible Work Arrangements

In 2001, one in five American workers telecommuted at least part of the time - a 17percent increase over 2000. - ITAC

Seventy three percent of businesses allow flexible work arrangements, such as flextime (58 percent) and part-time hours (48 percent). Other popular programs are telecommuting (29 percent), job sharing (28 percent), compressed workweeks (21 percent) and summer hours (12 percent). Hewitt 2001

Employees value flexibility more than money, according to 6,000 American and Canadian workers

Fifty-one percent said they would stay at their current job rather than switch if their employer offered flexible working hours. - Randstad North America's telephone survey, conducted by Roper Starch. 2000

Sixty-two percent said they prefer a boss who understands when they need to leave work for personal reasons to one who could help them grow professionally. - Randstad North America's telephone survey, conducted by Roper Starch. 2000

Fifty-one percent prefer a job that offers flexible hours over one that offers an opportunity for advancement. - Randstad North America's telephone survey, conducted by Roper Starch. 2000

The desire for flexibility does not translate into a lack of dedication. - Randstad North America's telephone survey, conducted by Roper Starch. 2000

There were 23.6 million teleworkers in the United States as of October 2000 - International Telework Association and Council (ITAC).

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Child Care - General

Ninety one percent of companies help employees with childcare, primarily through special spending accounts (89 percent) and referral services (43 percent).

Of the total estimated expenditures for childcare, families pay 60%, government pays 39% and corporations pay 1%. Compared to higher education, its 45% government, 35% families, 20% other sources like endowments, grants, gifts, etc. - Financing Child Care Report 2001

Average child care tuition for 4 year-old in 1998 ranged between $4,000 ($77) and $6,000 ($115 week) per year representing 11% of a median families income and nearly 25% for a family earning $15,000 ($7.20 per hour)- Financing Child Care Report 2001

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Emergency and Back-up Child Care

By subsidizing care for employees' sick children, an average business with 250 employees can save $75,000 per year in lost work time. Johnson, G.W. 1997

US employers lose $3 billion a year due to childcare related absences. (Amy Gage, St. Paul Pioneer Press columnist, Minnesota Center for Corporate Responsibility speech, 1998)

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Child Care - Welfare Reform

In Washington State, the number of children whose parents are seeking night or weekend care from community referral agencies has surged 53% since 1996, when welfare reform was enacted. Welfare reform forced mother's to enter workforce or risk losing benefits and these woman have had to take the least desirable jobs (night shifts, weekends) due to their limited skills.

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Lactation Services

According to a 1995 study conducted by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the utility realized a $3.50 to $5 return for every $1 spent on lactation support services.

Aetna reported a $2.70 return for ever $1 of its investment in corporate lactation services

The proportion of infants in the United States who are breastfed 5-6 months is estimated to be 20%. - Breastfeeding Promotion Committee Report to the California Department of Health Services Primary Care and Family Health, Nov. 1996

Women with infants are the fastest growing segment of the workforce today. And more than 50 percent of American women who are employed when they become pregnant will return to the labor force by the time their children are three months old. Of these, the vast majority will cease nursing before returning to their jobs or soon thereafter. The consequences of this are costly, both fiscally and psychologically. - LifeCare, Inc, 2001 (press release)

Formula-fed infants have more hospital admissions, ear infections, and communicable childhood diseases than breastfed babies. In fact, it is estimated that if all newborns in the US were breastfed for at least six months, the healthcare savings would approach $4 billion annually.

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Adoption

Thirty two percent of employers offer benefits to adoptive parents, with payments ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 for each adoption.

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Legal

All of the top 20 most stressful life events (as identified in a 1998 survey conducted by Hobson, Kamen, Szostek, Nethercut, Tidemann and Wojnarowicz) in some way involve interfacing with the legal and/or criminal justice system. Consequently, the availability of quality legal services at affordable prices constitutes an extremely attractive addition to a company's benefit package. - Benefits Quarterly July 2001

Twenty six percent of employees indicated that they had a significant credit issue in the last year, highlighting the need for some type of preventive care. - LegalWise

Seven out of eight employees go through a life event requiring legal services; to resolve these legal life events, employees spend an average of seven days away from work in a year, plus nine hours on the job. These needs translate into an annual cost of $1,625 per employee. - LegalWise

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Financial Counseling

More than 75 percent of employees say they would take advantage of retirement planning advice if it was provided by their employer. Fifty-four percent said they would also seek advice from an additional source, such as a professional planner. MarketFacts and ING Aetna Financia Services, 2001l

Approximately 15 percent of workers in the United States are currently experiencing stress from poor financial behaviors to the extent that it negatively impacts their productivity. Poor financial behaviors result in extremely high costs that are incurred by employers, including absenteeism; excessive time spent at work dealing with personal financial matters, and reduced worker productivity. - Garmen, Leech & Grable, 1996

Approximately half of working Americans now have financial education available through their place of employment; however, such education typically concentrates solely on retirement. The results for workers, however, are mixed at best. Only half of all workers who retire have any kind of private pension plan. And over half of 401(k) participants age 51-60 have $10,000 or less in their retirement account. Garmen, Leech & Grable, 1996

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Elder Care

Approximately 42 percent of workers will provide some form of elder care by 2002. - Families and Work Institute

Almost half of the active labor force in the US is made up of one generation - baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. - Families and Work Institute 2001

The number of Americans older than age 65 will increase from 34 million in 1995 to 62 million by 2025 (an 82% increase). - US Census, 2000

Seventy percent of Fannie Mae employees said they expected to take on elder care responsibilities; the company took an unusual step and hired their own elder care consultant. Of those who used her services, 75 percent said the help she gave saved them considerable time away from work, and 28 percent said their care giving situations were serious enough that they would have quit their jobs without that help.

The American Management Association estimates that productivity due to absenteeism plus missed overtime by employees who must care for elders can cost a $1,000- $3,000 per employee per year.

A 1999 MetLife survey found that care giving can cost an individual nearly $659,000 over a lifetime in lost wages and lost Social Security and pension contributions because he takes time off, leave his job or has missed opportunities for training, promotions and "plum" assignments.

About 58% of the adult population either are or expect to be family caregivers -The National Family Caregivers Association

Sixty four percent of family caregivers are employed, most full time. - American Council of Life Insurance, 1998

Women shoulder about 60% of the care giving responsibilities in the US, and men shoulder 40%.

Employees who are also caregivers cost US employers $29 billion/yr. This translates into an annual cost of $1,142.50 per employee. Costs are a result of absenteeism, partial absenteeism, coming in late, and leaving early. - Met Life study, 1997

At any given time, 20%-50% of the workplace is dealing with a caregiving situation.

A 2000 Human Resource Institute study reports that 70% of employers feel that caregiver-related staffing problems have increased over the last ten years, and 92% believe these problems will increase over the next ten years.

Any funds spent by the employer to help with care giving have a payback to the employer of 2.5 to 5 times the cost. - Pfizer, 1997

The National Council on Aging estimates that about 30 percent of caregivers or 7 million people live an hour or more away from the person they want to care for.

One in five employers said they do or would spend $21 or more per employee per year on elder care benefits. HRI, 2000

When HR professionals from major employers were asked how elder caregiver services should be offered to employees, 35.4% said as a part of multiple programs, 32.6% said as part of a dependent care program, 22.9% said as part of an EAP, and 9.1% said as a stand-alone benefit. HRI, 2000

Forty percent of working caregivers are absent from work regularly, one third leave work early, and 14 percent have reduced their regular work hours. AARP 2000

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Long Term Care Insurance

The average cost of a year in a nursing home is now $51,000 - and this amount can double or even triple by the time many baby boomers reach old age. The average American man can expect to spend almost $57,000 on long term care while the average woman can expect to spend $125,000. - US Census

Thirty seven percent of nursing home expenditures are paid for by residents' income and personal savings. - AARP, 1998

The number of Americans covered by employer-sponsored long term care insurance plans increased by 19 percent in 2000. - LIMRA International

According to the US Census, in 30 years, 70 million elderly Americans - more than twice today's population of seniors -- are likely to have some long term care needs. US Census 2000

In 2001, one in three buyers of long term care insurance was under 65, compared to one in five in 1995. Also, buyers continue to be predominantly of middle income. More than half (58%) of all buyers have annual incomes of less than $50,000, and their median income is $42,500. HIAA-LifePlans study 2001

Purchasers of employer sponsored long term care insurance policies tend to be younger (age 43) than those in the individual market (age 67). - HIAA 2001

Approximately twelve percent of employers plan to add long term care insurance as a benefit on a voluntary basis over the next 18 months. - Met Life Study of Employee Benefit Trends, 2001

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Online Benefits

Nearly 50 percent of benefits professionals report that deploying an online solution for employee communication and administration is one of their top priorities. - Aberdeen Group, 2001

In a typical HR setting, benefits administration is a five-step process:

1. Employee obtains the necessary form from HR and fills it out
2. HR inputs the information into an HR database (HRIS)
3. HR sends a copy of the form to the necessary carriers or vendors
4. The carrier or vendor processes the information and sends it back to HR
5. HR sends the information to the employee

An estimated 25% of the total money a company spends on employee benefits goes toward administration. - Hacket Group

A company that spends $1,500 per employee on HR devotes more than 50% of its HR efforts to low-value, routine administrative activities. It processes 2.3 annual record changes per employee and deals with 16 different third-party suppliers to facilitate those low-value activities. - Hacket Group

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Employee Assistance programs (EAP)

For every dollar they invest in an EAP, employers generally save anywhere from $5 to $16. The average annual cost for an EAP ranges from $12 to $20 per employee. - US Department of Labor (1990)

Thirty five percent of companies who offer EAP services indicate they've increased such assistance since the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Moreover, 57 percent of employers who've increased their workplace support options since 9-11 say their employees' attitudes have changed for the better and 74 percent of employees who say their company offers workplace support find it valuable or helpful. - Cigna, 2002

Twenty percent of workers experience mild to major depression in any given year. (Tanouye, "Mental Illness: A Rising Workplace Cost")

A 1994 report published by Marsh McLennan Companies, cites a survey of 50 major corporations that credit their EAP with the following cost-savings:

1. 14% increased productivity

2. $1,750.00 lowered recruitment cost per employee 21% reduction in absenteeism

3. 75% reduction inpatient alcohol and drug abuse treatment costs

According to the Employee Assistance Professional Association of America, a well run EAP can reap an employer the following savings:

33% less use of sick leave benefits

65% lowered incident of workplace accidents

30% deduction in workers compensation claims

35% decrease in health insurance expenditures

The US Department of Labor has shown that for every dollar invested in an EAP, the employer saves $5-$16.

Costs of Depression

Mental illness is the number one cause of disability for American business and industry today and is second only to cardiovascular disease in total disability costs.

The financial toll of depression is heightened in cases where individuals experience this condition in conjunction with another primary diagnosis, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. Chronic conditions in general are associated with substantial work impairment and their impact is aggravated by depression.

Individuals at high risk for depression account for 70% more in medical expenditures than those at low risk for depression. (HERO, 2001)

Depression accounts for at least as much medical and disability costs as hypertension, diabetes, back problems and heart disease. - 2000, American Journal of Psychiatry

The following from Benefits Quarterly Publication - 2001

Depression affects more than 20% of adults at some point in their lives and has more impact on employers' health care costs and workplace productivity than many chronic medical conditions.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 17 million Americans experience serious depression each year.

Research shows that at least one in ten men and one in five women will have a major depressive disorder during his or her lifetime.

Patients with depression utilize significantly more health care services, leading to health care costs that can be twice as much as for those without depression.

Annual costs for lost productivity and absenteeism exceed $3,000 per employee with depression.

Based on six month prevalence rates for major depression, the cost of depression in the United States in terms of lost time in the workforce is estimated to be more than 172 million days each year.

Depression accounted for more than half of the medical plan dollars paid for mental health problems. The First Chicago Corporation study reported that depression is associated with more disability days per episode (40 versus 29 days on average) and higher 12-month relapse rates (26%) than chronic medical diseases such as hypertension (11%) and heart disease (8%).

A 1995 study conducted at the Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Seattle, Washington reported that the mean annual cost per patient with depression ($4,246) was significantly higher than for patients without depression ($2,371).

Benefits of Treating Depression

Up to 60% of patients with a psychiatric illness have never received professional psychiatric care. When depression is correctly diagnosed and treated, however, the success rate is 85%. - Benefits Quarterly

Depression in the Workplace

Employees who feel extremely stressed and depressed have health care expenses nearly 1 1/2 times more than those who report neither of these psychosocial factors. These findings are intriguing, considering other reports that even a modest increase in the amount spent on prevention programs targeting psychological disorders could have a significant impact on medical treatment costs. - Benefits Quarterly

Given the costs of depressive disorders in general and the potentially high costs of severe forms of depressive disorders in particular, mental health benefit plans (and now managed care mental health programs) must reduce barriers to early intervention and treatment. Benefit plans that contain mental health costs through such changes as high front-end deductibles and arbitrary benefit limits, or through managed care programs that provide coverage for only the most severe forms of a disorder, may generate higher costs in the long run. - Benefits Quarterly

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Health Promotion and Wellness

In 2001, 93% of employers offered health promotion and management programs, up from 89% of employers surveyed in 1996. - Hewitt Associates, 2001

Disease and medical management programs are the most popular type of health promotion programs offered, provided by 76% of employers in 2001, compared with 63% in 1996. Special programs for other types of medical management, such as flu vaccinations and well-baby and prenatal care, were offered by 79% of employers in 2001, up from 63% in 1996. - Hewitt Associates, 2001

More than three-quarters of employers—81%—offer additional incentives designed to heighten employees' awareness of health behaviors, the study found. These incentives include: a smoke-free workplace, provided by 57%; health fairs, provided by 42%; onsite employer-owned fitness facilities, provided by 35%; employer-sponsored sports teams and/or tournaments, provided by 30%; and discounts at local health clubs, provided by 23%. - Hewitt Associates, 2001

Health screening benefits or onsite services were provided by 75% of employers, up from 68% in 1996. - Hewitt Associates, 2001

Education and training was provided by 72% of employers in 2001, compared with 69% in 1996. These programs ranged from seminars and workshops to counseling for lifestyle habits that contribute to chronic or acute conditions. - Hewitt Associates, 2001

Health risk appraisals were offered by 28% of employers in 2001, compared with 22% in 1996. - Hewitt Associates, 2001

Financial incentive programs, such as gifts or monetary awards for employees who participate in health appraisals or screenings, were offered by 42% of employers in 2001, up from 35% in 1996. - Hewitt Associates, 2001

Preventable illnesses make up approximately 70% of the entire burden of illness and associated costs in the United States. - Wellness Councils of America

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Stress in the Workplace

The estimated annual costs of stress for the United States as a whole range from $200-$300 billion. The impact to employers includes decreased performance, productivity and quality, more accidents and injuries, increased healthcare costs and higher levels of absenteeism and turnover. - DeFrank and Ivancevich 1998

Eighty percent of people feel stress on the job, and nearly 40% say they need help in managing stress. - 2000 Gallup poll,

American Institute of Stress claims that stress is America's No. 1 health problem, and "job stress is the major culprit."

Organizations can assist employees in dealing with stress. A report in 1999 (D'Andrea), compared the stock performance of the companies on the Working Mother list of "best companies to work for" with the S&P 500 Index during the period 1996-1998. All of the listed companies had supportive benefits, policies and practices to help employees deal with stressful personal and family challenges. Study results indicated these firms consistently outperformed the S&B during the two year period. - Benefits Quarterly, July 2001

Twenty six percent of adult Americans reported being on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown. American Psychologist, 2000

Seven of the top selling drugs worldwide are either anti-depressants or anti-ulcer medications, and stress is cited as a prime factor in the need for both. - Behavioral Healthcare, 2002

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International Work-Life

Only 12% of British employers provide information about childcare and only 2 percent provide support such as creches or financial help. But 56 per cent spend money on counseling for stress. "It's clear that we're dealing with the results rather than the causes of a lack of work life balance," - Margaret Hodge, parliamentary under-secretary of state for employment and equal opportunity

Work-related stress costs British businesses L10 billion in lost working days, which is equivalent to L500 per worker. Lloyds TSB saved L2 million a year between 1995 and 2000 by introducing changes so more women could come back to work after having a baby. And book publisher Penguin has cut its absence rate to 2.4 per cent, compared with an industry average of 4.8 per cent, with a generous range of work-life balance policies, including a years' maternity pay (of which six months is paid) long-service leave and a childcare allowance.

A report from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology claimed that a lack of flexibility and long hours are the main reasons why accountants think of leaving their jobs.

Employees in the UK work the longest hours in Europe and almost half of the country's workers have no flexible working arrangements in place. Employees in the UK working 40.8 hours - the longest in Europe - with Greece in second place at 40.6 hours. At the bottom of the table are Italy 38.5 hours and Belgium 38.4 hours.

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Voluntary Benefits

Approximately 90% of employers currently offer, or plan to offer in the next 18 months, at least one voluntary benefit. - Met Life Study of Employee Benefit Trends, November 2001

Optional term life insurance is currently the most popular voluntary benefit (66% of employers), followed by disability (53%) and accidental death and dismemberment (49%). - Met Life Study of Employee Benefit Trends, November 2001

Over the next eighteen months., eight percent of employers plan to add pre-paid legal and auto/homeowners insurance as a voluntary benefit while six percent plan to add vision and concierge. - - Met Life Study of Employee Benefit Trends, November 2001

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