Study Shows that Benefits are the Primary Incentive for Employees

MetLife’s 10^th annual “Study of Employee Benefits Trends,” a study involving over 1,400 full-time adult employees, has shown that one of the only things keeping people on the job is their benefits package . Specifically, the study revealed that only 42 percent of employees feel a strong sense of loyalty to their employers, down 12 percent from 2007. Over one-third of all employees reported having a hope that they would change employers by the end of the year, and over half of workers in their 20s indicated this attitude.

Nearly half of both Generation Y (46 percent) and Generation X (44 percent) employees stated that they would need to achieve more, and have a higher standard of living, than their parents in order to reach the American Dream. All while the unemployment rate for the youngest members of the workforce is two times as high as that of older workers.

Though individuals feeling discouraged about their current working outnumber those who are satisfied with their jobs, employees who were found to be satisfied with their benefits packages reported more positive statistics. Over 60 percent of those employees who indicated being very satisfied with their benefits also reported that they felt a strong sense of loyalty for their employer (only 24 percent of those unsatisfied with their benefits reported the same). And over 60 percent of both Gen X and Gen Y employees stated that benefits were an important reason for remaining with their employers. Finally, nearly two-thirds of Gen X and Gen Y workers said that they would prefer paying more for their benefits rather than lose them altogether.