Non-Monetary Compensation: Employers Helping to Create a Work-Life Balance

An employee can help reduce the cost of health cost by doing several things. There has been an outcry from organizations due to the rising number of competitors with high expenses catering for health benefits during employment periods and on retiring. The employee can be of great help by being participative in the programs set by their employers to benefit more from other advantages far from health costs (Kerzner, 2013). Some of the choices an employee may consider to help control health costs are by boosting consumerism, use technology to manage benefits, and indulge in fitness and health programs.

Another issue contributing to the high cost of health care is inefficient use of premium dollars from insurance companies. I am proud to say that the insurance company I work for does a great job of making proper use of insurance premiums. As a company we use on average 8 cents of every premium dollar. This means that 92 Percent of each dollar goes to paying patient's claims and building reserves. Unfortunately this is not as common as it should be. According to Harvard's David Cutler who is among the country's foremost health economists, our administrative costs for health care equal one quarter of the cost of health care today. By comparison, the next closest country spends around 10 to 15 percent on administrative costs (2013, para. 4 and 6). There are many things that could be done to lower administrative costs.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) agrees that the cost of health insurance is a high ranking concern for business owners. Every year, they conduct a study to see what the top general concerns facing small business owners. From the beginning of the fiscal year of 1986 to the present, every year has concluded that the cost of health insurance is the top burden facing small business owners in America. (Wade, Holly Pg 24, table 5). Another important factor to consider are lost capacity due to employee illnesses or unemployment. Brad Plumer of the Washington post recently did an interesting study to determine the amount of money lost due to inactivity at the workplace. Including businesses in both the public and private sectors, Plumer estimates that over $1.8 trillion dollars per year in lost productivity at the workplace. While the Post acknowledged the idea of lost productivity is not a clear science and can be overvalued this is nonetheless a huge amount of money wasted each year.

As the new healthcare law takes effect insurance premiums are expected to rise. On average for the last six years insurances premiums have gone up six percent per year. The average annual cost that employers pay to cover their employees is around $10,000 for each employee. Usually employees are responsible for 20 percent that total or $2000. At this time the new law has done

Employers are continuing to face rising health benefit costs and are constantly looking for alternatives to control these escalating costs. Health benefit premiums continue to increase at a double digit pace for employers and employees (Poor, Ross & Tollen, 2004). This escalation is putting environmental pressures on all impacted stakeholders. Companies and insurance providers are squeezing this industry to get a handle on cost while still providing an appropriate level of care. This cycle puts the patient front and center as the ultimate stakeholder who incurs changes in health benefits. This mandate of cost control, efficient operations and market share has facilitated a constant analysis of the dynamic health

carefully planned out and considered, the total closure or failure of the organization could be at hand in the near future. In our modern age, employers know that salary is not the only factor that should be considered and that salary alone will not lead to better or more highly profitable workers alone. This is why compensation planning is important and why pay should have some connection between performance and compensation. This is why the human resources department should consider many monetary and non-monetary factors when considering how to properly compensate and motivate employees (Dessler, 2013).

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has repeatedly stated that the cost of health insurance is a high ranking concern for small business owners. Every year they conduct a study to see what the top general concerns facing small business owners. In each fiscal year since 1986 the cost of health insurance has been shown to be the top burden facing small business owners in America. (Wade, Holly Pg 24, table 5). Another important factor to consider are business which suffer from lost capacity due to employee illnesses or unemployment cost. Brad Plumer of the Washington Post recently conducted a study to determine the amount of money lost due to inactivity at the workplace. Including businesses in both the public and private sectors, Plumer estimates that over $1.8 trillion dollars per year in wasted each year as a result of lost productivity at the workplace (Plumer, Brad). While Mr. Plumer acknowledged the idea of lost productivity is not a clear science and can be overvalued this is nonetheless a huge amount of money wasted each year.

The total health care spending in the United States is expected to reach $4.8 trillion in 2021, up from $2.6 trillion in 2010, and, $75 billion in 1970. To put it in context, this means that healthcare spending will account for nearly 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or one-fifth of the U.S. economy, by 2012. Many consumers and small employers are struggling to afford their health insurance premiums. Some employers are not able to offer health care coverage at all. For firms with fewer than 10 employees, only 50% offered coverage to their workers in 2012.

A dollar used for health benefits is worth more to an employee than a dollar in wages earned because the dollar in health benefits is not taxed and the dollar in wages earned is taxed. Thus, there it is a huge discount off the price of health insurance, and this happened very quietly and basically unnoticed by most. However, when health care was protected from these taxes, it immediately became of great value to employees, and companies benefited as they were able to keep it tax-free even after the war had ended

• That equates to the employee paying $12,881 more, than what they pay with employee funded health care coverage

The counseling model and financial model utilized by human resource departments are two types that work really well within the healthcare setting. As discussed by Fallon and McConnell (2007) the counseling model of human resources is generally used in the healthcare settings and other places where employees are a large part of the budget. Smita Navare (2008), states that the counseling model of human resources gives the organization four major benefits that will help any organization moving forward. These are: 1.

The employer share of payroll going toward health insurance costs was 12.8 in 2010 and up 8.2 percent from 1999. New mandates, taxes, fees, and administrative burdens imposed by the ACA are further shifting economics of employer-sponsored health care.

Since the 1990s, many single parents have entered the workforce and their children are suffering as a result. These working parents are forced to leave their children to raise themselves while they work rigid schedules. Meanwhile, many children are not receiving the guidance and attention they need to flourish in society. This leaves our future in the hands of children without the necessary guidance needed to succeed. Recently, this issue has gained the attention of motivational experts and politicians who agreed that this dilemma should be researched further in order to improve the balance between work and family. Many agreed that flexible work programs are the answer to the situation.

Work perks include a variety of desirable incentives given to employees by their employers. Work perks are umbrella term for both amenities and benefits, where workers are incentivized through real earnings like salary and monetary benefits (stock options) and nonmonetary like amenities (Rosen, 1974). Marino and Zabojnik (2008) list a variety of different incentives that fall under work perks, including personal business machines like computers, laptops, and mobile phones; workplace amenities like office space, pleasant working conditions, location, and views; and personal services like

These perks ensures that employees are happy and need not worry about their home so they can spend full attention on being productive at work and do not think about switching jobs. David Lewin, a compensation expert and management professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said he viewed the perks as ‘part of a growing effort by American business to reward people with time and peace of mind instead of more traditional financial tools, like stock options and bonuses’ (Richtel, 2012).