There are a number of such studies available. Some are available at no
charge, but as is always the case, the best material costs money. The
good news is, most of these studies are priced well below $50, which
is cheap relative to what you would expect to pay for most scientific
or economic studies. Another example of the social sciences getting
short shrift in the market, I guess.
One study published in the Employee Responsibilities and Rights
Journal suggests that fringe benefits do influence employee attitudes,
but employees do have a sense of entitlement about some of the
benefits. You can purchase the study for $34.33. I quoted the abstract
below:
"Past research suggests that employee perceptions of the benefits
provided to them by their organization can influence employee
attitudes. Three factors that appear to influence the perception of
benefits by employees are benefit satisfaction, benefit importance,
and the perceived motive of the organization in providing the benefit
to employees. However, it also appears that some benefits are
perceived as rights that are owed to employees by the organization.
This study proposes and tests a model of benefit perception that
incorporates all of these factors. Results suggest that benefit
satisfaction and the perceived motive of the organization in providing
a benefit both have a direct relationship with employee attitudes. The
perceived right status of a benefit appears to moderate this
relationship."
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/klu/errj/2000/00000012/00000003/00414084
The International Foundation on Education, Benefits, and Compensation
may be the best resource for you, but the studies do cost money. At
the organization?s online bookstore at
http://www.ifebp.org/Bookstore/pbsurvey.asp?books, you can purchase:
?Employee Benefit Attitude Surveys. Have you ever wondered if the
benefits you offer to your employees suit their needs or which
benefits they prefer? More than 240 U.S. and Canadian corporations
responded to this survey on employee attitude surveys, giving us
detailed information on frequency, response rates and methodology.
Includes six hard-to find samples. International Foundation. 109
pages. 2005. Item #W5999. $80 (I.F. Members $40)?
The IFEBC also offers a variety of research tools, links to
conferences, and a database of more than 60,000 articles about
benefits. Many, if not most, of these articles are peer-reviewed
studies published in professional journals. I searched for benefits
and ?employee satisfaction? and found the following abstracts:
?According to a 2004 Watson Wyatt Worldwide survey in WorkUSA, nearly
two thirds of employees are satisfied with their health plan. More
than two thirds feel they are well-informed about their pay, benefits,
and other rewards. Over forty percent say their benefits are better
than those offered by other companies, up from slightly more than
thirty percent in 1999. Ted Chien of Watson Wyatt says that these
results indicate the importance of employer-employee communications.?
?Work-life benefits and training programs can help employees manage
the competing demands of personal life, family and profession. In the
United States, they represent an important factor in employee
recruitment, retention and management in uncertain economic times.
Common work-life issues include total work hours, paternity leave,
child care, vacation and telecommuting. Unlike most American companies
that see these benefits as offering a competitive advantage, European
Community countries view work-life programs as part of the public
mandate. U.S. companies focus on financial justification of their
programs, but most often rely on indirect evidence of their success,
such as public recognition, customer service ratings or employee
satisfaction. Work-life balance is expected to be the most important
work place issue for several decades. Whether ultimately viewed as a
competitive advantage or social responsibility, the right program for
the right company will yield benefits.?
?An online poll discovered that human resource managers and employees
differ vastly in their opinions regarding which factors are very
important to worker satisfaction. Fortune magazine investigated the
100 best companies to work for and discovered that the companies that
usually have the highest employee satisfaction levels are the
companies that provide job security, popular benefits, effective
communication and fair compensation. Additionally, the top 100
companies frequently provide employees with flexibility to balance
their work and family obligations. The top companies also recognize
employee achievements in a variety of ways.?
?Benefits and compensation manager Doug Reys is Employee Benefit News
Benefit Professional of the Year for 2002. Reys joined adhesive
manufacturer Franklin International when perceived compensation and
benefit inadequacies were driving a 40 percent turnover rate. He
listened to employee concerns and reviewed contracts with providers
and the third party administrator. Reys improved communication to help
employees appreciate their benefits and added and renegotiated
contracts to enhance benefits and reduce costs. Despite a 25 percent
increase in health insurance, employee satisfaction with benefits grew
from 25 percent to 75 percent and satisfaction with plan
communications rose from 28 percent to 60 percent over the course of
one year.?
All of the IFEBP articles cost $13 for the first 20 pages and $1 per
page after that, plus a copyright fee that averages $10. The prices
seem reasonable, considering that we are talking about peer-reviewed
studies. Just as importantly, given the size of the database, you can
probably find reports even more targeted to your needs if you alter
keywords to fit your specific situation.
One study considers maternity leave and other fringe benefits and
their effect on female workers.
http://www.econ.duke.edu/smpe/pdf_files/matleave2.pdf
This study shows the benefits of fitness programs. There is case data,
though nothing extensive.
http://www.2-fit.com/miscellaneous/Fitness__workplace.html
The American Benefits Council makes its white papers available to the
public. One that might interest you is found at
http://www.appwp.org/documents/flex_paper.pdf. The ABC also publishing
Benefits Byte, a newsletter for members that contains the kind of
information you seek.
The magazine Human Capital published this story on fringe benefits
that included interviews with HR execs at companies who discussed the
effect of benefits on their work force.
http://www.liveyourlife.com.au/documents/employeebenefits.pdf
The Employee Benefit Research Institute has published a number of
studies and several books on benefits. For $99, you can purchase the
Databook on Employee Benefits (http://www.ebri.org/books/ebridbk.htm),
which includes a lot of statistics you could use, though I can?t vouch
for how much it addresses from the employee side.
V
For more resources on employee benefits, check out the list of
nonprofit groups at http://www.thompson.com/libraries/benefits/int_resources.html.
Google search terms:
workplace employee "fringe benefit" study |
