MarketVision™—The Employee Viewpoint: Eastbridge Consulting Group

Study shows differences by employer size and employee generation

October 20, 2023

Company size can have a significant impact on how employees want to learn about voluntary benefits available to them at work, according to recent Eastbridge Consulting Group research. The “MarketVision™—The Employee Viewpoint^©” Report shows employees in larger firms are more likely to want to learn about their benefits on their own through employer-provided information, while those in small companies would rather talk with someone in person.

“Our research shows strong employee interest in and ownership of voluntary benefits across the board, but employees in different company sizes and different generations sometimes have quite different opinions on aspects of their benefits experience,” said Ginger Bates, Eastbridge research director. “It’s important for carriers that want to succeed in the voluntary market to understand these differences and be able to address them.”

The “MarketVision™—The Employee Viewpoint^©” Report examines employee attitudes and opinions about voluntary products, including types of benefits they own, preferred payment and enrollment methods, most common and most useful benefits education methods, online capabilities they need and more. The data is based on input collected from 2,350 employees nationwide in April and May 2023. The sample represents employer sizes from 10 to more than 10,000 employees, and four generations of employees from those new to the workforce to those nearing retirement.

Other key findings in the report include:

Most employees say they haven’t changed their voluntary coverage in the past year because of inflation pressures, but 43% say they’re less likely to buy additional voluntary coverage in the future because of inflation.
Employees in companies with fewer than 500 employees are more likely to enroll in their benefits on paper with a benefits counselor or on their own, while more than two-thirds of employees in firms with more than 2,500 employees enroll electronically using the internet or intranet.

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