Elimination of popular benefit could entice more than a third to
job-hop in already tight labor market
BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Employee benefits provider Unum
(NYSE: UNM) finds the elimination of vision benefits could motivate more
than a third (34 percent) of U.S. workers ages 25 to 34 to look for a
new job. These results and other key findings were part of an online
poll among 1,227 working U.S. adults conducted by Unum in July.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181031005013/en/
Unum finds Millennials likely to job hop for vision insurance (Graphic: Business Wire)
While the likelihood of job-hopping was higher among this primarily
Millennial age group, other age ranges also reported they would consider
leaving their current employer if vision benefits were eliminated:
-
29 percent of those 18 to 24
-
24 percent of those 35 to 49
-
21 percent of those 50 to 64
-
18 percent of those 65 and older
Vision insurance covers the cost of comprehensive eye exams and can
significantly decrease the cost of eyeglasses and contact lenses – items
usually not covered by private medical plans. These plans have typically
appealed to older workers with aging eyes. However, younger workers
today are facing more vision problems compared to young adults 40 years
ago, according to a study in JAMA
Ophthalmology magazine.
“Vision plans help fill a gap in coverage to maintain eye health,
appealing to a multigenerational workforce,” said Amy Marko, senior vice
president of dental and vision products at Unum. “These benefits can
help an employer decrease the cost of health care, increase productivity
and minimize the current workforce trend of job-hopping.”
As competition for talent increases, some employers are increasing their
benefits offerings to recruit and retain employees. According to the
Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) annual
employee benefits report, the number of
employers offering vision benefits has increased 7 percentage points
within the last four years.
However, many employers still do not include vision benefits in their
employee packages. In the Unum survey, only 50 percent of workers
indicated their current employers offer vision insurance.
As millions of American workers enroll in employee benefits this fall,
Marko encourages employers to reconsider the importance of vison care.
“Employers need to offer benefits that employees need and want – like
vision coverage,” she said.
Learn more information about group vision insurance and Unum’s
vision plans.
About Unum
Unum Group (www.unum.com)
is a leading provider of financial protection benefits in the United
States and the United Kingdom. Its primary businesses are Unum US,
Colonial Life and Unum UK. Unum’s portfolio includes disability, life,
dental, vision, accident and critical illness coverage, which help
protect millions of working people and their families. Unum also
provides stop-loss coverage to help self-insured employers protect
against unanticipated medical costs. The company reported revenues of
$11.3 billion in 2017 and provided nearly $7 billion in benefits.
For more information, connect with us on Facebook,
Twitter
and LinkedIn.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181031005013/en/
Unum Group
Andrea’ Randall 225-400-9245
ARandall@unum.com
Source: Unum Group