Although the unemployment rate is steadily improving – down to 6.2 percent as of July, more than 1 percentage point lower than at the same time 12 months ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics – there are millions of people who are still looking for work. Many individuals have become so frustrated the process, they've called off the job hunt search altogether, waiting until some other time in which opportunities become more widely available.
Yet while the long-time unemployed may make some concessions to the ideal situation in order to land a job, there are still certain issues that they're unwilling to bend on – the top one being employee benefits, according to the results of a recently released survey.
Of the 1,100 respondents polled, all of whom being on the job hunt, more than 70 percent of respondents said that they were actively involved, according to recruitment firm Monster Worldwide. Of these, only 13 percent said that they would be willing to compromise on health care benefits – fewer than any other issue that employers traditionally provide to workers.
Additionally, about 16 percent said that they would accept reduced vacation or personal time if doing so would help them land a position with a company that they were interested in. Roughly 1 in 5 said that they would work for less and about one-quarter indicated that they would work a longer day if that's what it took to become employed.
Jeffrey Quinn, vice president of Monster's Global Insights, noted that business owners need to be careful with what they want to compromise on, as offering less may be a turn off.
"With the economy and job market slowly improving, job seekers will be more likely to be searching for a job and less likely to make sacrifices," said Quinn. "Employers need to be aware of these unsettled employees, understand their expectations, and incent accordingly."
Workplace wellness programs pay off
In addition to employee benefits and a few other job perks, a steadily growing number of business places are investing in workplace wellness programs, doing so because they help improve the company's performance. In a recent survey conducted by Buck Consultants, during the past seven years, a higher percentage of business places are implementing these programs into their environments, HR.BLR.com reported. Nearly 80 percent of respondents indicated they were "strongly committed" to workplace wellness initiatives.
"When we began this survey in 2007, employers were focused on basic health promotion activities," said Dave Ratcliffe, Buck Consultants principal. "Today, our sixth survey shows an evolution in employer thinking to a much more holistic and measurable approach."
He added that workers' wellness is viewed as more than just promoting physical well-being, as it also has an influence on workers' wealth and career outlook.
"Wellness is part of the employee value proposition," he said.
Of the companies that make wellness programs available to workers, more than half also offered health insurance premium reductions, HR.BLR.com reported.
