Fact or Fiction?

Absolutely Fact

Canon’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan has gotten into the habit of letting employees go early twice a week with one goal in mind: go home and multiply. Japan, like America, is in the middle of a recession. Canon is using this technique to help offset their costs, while also trying to fix one of Japan’s major health issues: low birthrate. 

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As more employers find themselves in a perpetual balancing act of strengthening their benefits while maintaining their budget, many are finding voluntary benefits to be the solution. Voluntary benefits are gaining popularity, as the number of employers offering these programs continues to grow. While approximately 56 percent of employers in the United States offer at least one voluntary benefit option, 36 percent consider providing a wider array of voluntary benefits an important benefits strategy.¹

A suite of voluntary benefits can enhance existing benefit offerings while helping you control costs. Plus, a variety of programs are currently available – Life, Disability, and Critical Illness Insurance, to name a few – allowing you to customize a program to meet the needs of your employees. Most important, voluntary benefits are well received by employees and their families, resulting in a more appreciative and loyal workforce.

Increase Morale, Not Your Budget
Offering voluntary benefits to complement your core benefits is a cost-effective opportunity to enhance your core benefit offerings. Because voluntary benefits are funded by employees, you are able to provide a menu of additional benefits with minimal or no impact to your budget.

However, voluntary benefits have additional advantages that go beyond just economics. Because voluntary benefits demonstrate your commitment to addressing the individual needs of your employees and their families, many employers have found they pay dividends in goodwill and retention. In fact, almost 40 percent of employers report that offering voluntary benefits has had a positive impact on their employees’ satisfaction with their benefits.²

Even during a challenging economic environment, employees are expressing interest in voluntary benefits, which may be attributed to their desire for additional security. Nearly half, 44 percent, of all employees are interested in their employer offering a wider array of voluntary benefits, and this number increases to 52% for employees with minor children.¹

Strength in Numbers
Of course, employees can purchase a Life or Long Term Care Insurance policy individually. However, by leveraging your group purchasing power to the advantage of your employees, you are often able to obtain special concessions – such as a guaranteed issue offering or special group rates – that they would have difficulty obtaining on their own.

And, employees recognize the benefits of purchasing voluntary products at the worksite. They cite the following as the top advantages of voluntary benefits: ²

• Voluntary benefits are more convenient through the workplace because they are paid through payroll deduction.
• Voluntary benefits often cost less than if the same benefits were purchased outside of the workplace.
• Voluntary benefits offered by the company provide access to a wider range of useful benefits than might otherwise be available.
• Enrollment into the programs without going through a medical exam or providing other evidence of insurability.
• The employer has done the research and shopping, and endorses the available options.

Spread the Word
While effective communication is crucial to the success of any benefits package, this is especially true with regards to voluntary benefits. Educating employees about the value of their voluntary benefits and how they complement their core offerings typically results in increased enrollment, awareness and appreciation.

For example, even medical plans with rich benefits generally leave employees responsible for some out-of-pocket costs in the form of copays, deductibles and/or coinsurance. By educating your employees about the ways voluntary programs such as Accident, Cancer or Critical Illness Insurance can help fill the “gaps” left by medical insurance during one of these circumstances, you are likely to see higher participation.

It is also a good idea to infuse some positive public relations into your communication campaign. While employees recognize the advantages of purchasing voluntary benefits at work, they may not always understand just how much they benefit by participating in your group offering. Take the example of cost, as mentioned above. While the lower cost of purchasing voluntary benefits at work was reported as a top advantage by 39 percent of employees, it was cited as a top advantage by 73 percent of employers. ² This demonstrates a potential “communication gap” between employers and employees.

Partner Up
While offering a menu of voluntary benefits may sound like a daunting task, it doesn’t have to be. Choosing the right service partner will relieve you and your staff of additional responsibilities by overseeing the communication, enrollment and administration – including deduction/billing reconciliation – of your voluntary benefits program.

Your service partner will work closely with you to customize a program that meets the needs of your employees. Be sure to select a firm that has access to a wide variety of products and carriers to obtain the most competitive offerings available.

A key consideration is choosing a service partner that will assign benefits counselors to your worksite to conduct one-to-one educational sessions with your employees. While a comprehensive mass communication campaign to your entire employee population is important, these meetings are very valuable because they allow employees to learn more about their voluntary benefits in a private setting. Furthermore, employees report the desire to have some guidance when selecting their benefits. Nearly half, 47 percent, of employees would like their employer to provide them with access to benefits advisors to help them make decisions about their benefits options. ¹

The right partner can help you make your voluntary benefits program successful now and into the future. 

¹ MetLife, The 6th Annual MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends, 2008.
² Prudential, Study of Employee Benefits: 2008 and Beyond, 2008.

• 46% surveyed engaged in an office romance.
• 20% responded that they or the partner had to eventually leave their place of employment behind the relationship.
• 19% responded that their company had a policy on office romance.
• 82% surveyed have known of an office romance between two co-workers.
• 50% surveyed have worked with a couple romantically linked that went on to get married.

Office romance is becoming a more prevalent issue for the world of HR every day. In time for the Valentine’s Day holiday, Astronology takes a peek into this seemingly taboo subject.

In the eras of the Bill Clinton / Monica Lewinsky, Harry Stonecipher / Debra Peabody, and Mark Neverson / Paige Roberts scandals, many are quite concerned about forming any type of close relationship with a co-worker. Still there are many in support of it. Stephanie Losee and Helaine Olen, co-authors of the book, Office Mate: The Employee Handbook for Finding – and Managing – Romance on the Job, noted in a 2007 interview what they discovered in research…“about half of all Americans at some point in their career will date on the job, and one in five of them will end up in a long term relationship.”

Upon reflection, this statistic should not be surprising. A third or even more of our lives are spent in the places where we work. Considering the environment of the location, the workplace may seem like a potential spot to find a life partner. However for years, romantic relationships between employees have been shunned or banned. Even though many focus on the positive possibilities of finding that special someone, the main reason why the subject has been risqué even in conversation is because of the potential negative results.

The Negative Side to Office Romance

An often dreaded possibility for office romance has always been the potential of a break-up. Depending on how the relationship fared near its end, the two workers may be able to conduct themselves professionally. However, if the relationship soured at some point, this nuance can spell disaster for the entire workplace. Bickering, vengeful employees should not be tolerated in a professional atmosphere. Former displays of affection could turn into sexual harassment suits. Professional reputations of the co-workers and the organization itself may be ruined. Another anxious negative to office romance is rumor control. The conduct between two dating co-workers can become not only the water-cooler talk, but also a means of distraction from work. Due to these possible effects, organizations suggest avoiding, and perhaps even forbidding, romantic office mingling. Others strive to create a solution that is mutually satisfying for all parties.

Techniques to Handle Office Romance

Law firms specializing in employment law suggest organizations create a new documentation called the “Consensual Relationship Agreement.” Also called the “Love Contract” – which Michael Scott referred to on The Office during his relationship with his boss Jan – this documentation involves the two employees and the organization. The whole point is to explicitly recognize the negative possibilities office romances tend to have, and to reach agreement between the three parties on paper to avoid these downsides.

Tory Johnson, a Good Morning America workplace contributor offers, “Think of it in terms of a pre-nup. You’re getting married. Someone is basically saying, ‘We’re happy. We hope it rules out. If it doesn’t, we know what the rules will be.’ In this particular case you’re saying to the employer, ‘we’ll prevent you from being held responsible for employment issues in the event of a failed relationship. The employer should not have that burden.”

Stephen Tedesco, a partner in the San Francisco office of Litler Mendelson points, “It’s a recurring issue, and frankly will remain so. It protects the employees and it protects the company. Quite a few sexual harassment issues come out of relationships that are consensual, and then cease to be consensual.”

Many view the love contract as a compromise to prohibiting co-workers to date each other. This may be a viable bargain considering prohibiting employee dating is difficult to enforce. Even though employees spend a lot of time at work, not all of their time is spent at the organization. What is done after employees leave the office cannot be controlled by the organization. However, these same activities could spill into the office and affect the organizational atmosphere. Accordingly, many consider these love contracts a feasible technique in handling office romance as it provides protection to the organization from possible litigation.

The consensual relationship agreement should not be viewed as an organization’s lone shield, however. There is still a possibility of a winning sexual harassment suit as a result of an office romance, even with a strong, clear, consensual relationship agreement. Ensuring your organization includes stipulations about office dating in their sexual harassment policy is a possible non-love contract solution. It may be wise to include both a contract and a strong sexual harassment policy. Some organizations include in their policy that the organization is not responsible for the romantic relationship unless it affects performance for the organization. A number of policies include that if a manager decides to stay romantically attached to a reporting employee, the manager will have to switch jobs within the company.

Should your organization consider creating a consensual relationship agreement policy? It would be prudent for all HR professionals to take a look at their organization’s sexual harassment policy first. In doing so, try to determine what aspects have been covered, what aspects need to be redefined, and what aspects need to be discussed. For those considering creating such a document, seeking legal advice is helpful. Publications such as BLR’s HR Daily Advisor’s article on love contracts can provide some additional guidance, including useful steps for HR advisors when introducing the love contract to employees and even some contract wording. The New York Times online also has an article on love contracts that offers a sample love contract for ideas.

Overall, organizations will have to be cautious in providing procedures surrounding office romance. To be overly stringent in policy may cause more work for HR advisors. To be unconcerned could cause intricate damage to the entire organization. Becoming aware of the advantages and disadvantages of all possible solutions will allow an organization to create a practical solution that will successfully address the office romance dilemma.

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Copyright 2008, Astron Solutions, LLC

ISSN Number 1549-0467