Poll: Health insurance costs are the leading workplace issue

From Moore Information, Portland.  

Health insurance costs are the leading workplace issue concern for U.S. workers today, and respondents are more likely to be concerned about these costs today than they were a year ago. Despite this increased level of concern, another recent national study suggests that employers are underestimating the importance of health insurance benefits when it comes to worker loyalty. Specifically, 60% of employers consider health benefits very important when it comes to employee loyalty, compared to 81% of employees who do.

Our national survey also explored the reasons that workers have left jobs in the past 10 years and what would motivate them to leave their current positions. At the top of both lists is better pay and a better career path, though pay is a bigger motivator for future job changes than career path.

As we reported a year ago in our in-depth study of employee outlook and retention factors, some experts are projecting that the retiring baby boomers and other changes in employment trends will leave a gap in qualified workers as large as 35 million by 2030.2 If even a percentage of this projection is accurate, the importance of attracting and retaining qualified employees will increase in the coming years, and understanding what concerns and motivates workers will play an important role in developing effective retention programs. Following are the details.

Health Insurance Costs are Fastest Growing Workplace Issue Concern When it comes to workplace issues, U.S. voters are most concerned about an increase in health insurance costs (41%), which represents a significant shift since our February 2007 survey. Voters today are also concerned about job layoffs or job loss (21%) or a cut in pay or lack of pay increase (10%).

SEE COMPLETE PRESS RELEASE, POLL,

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