Hartford Business Journal

16 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 6, 2022 The Lee Company President and CEO Bill Lee in his Westbrook office. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Talent Wars As labor shortage drags on, companies continue to ramp-up employee benefits By Skyler Frazer sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com E mployers for the last few years have offered higher pay, incentives and other new benefits to attract workers amid a tight labor market. But with workforce shortages still plaguing countless industries — Connecticut employers reported 102,000 job openings in November — some companies are continuing to ratchet up employee perks, including offering benefits that remain far out of reach of most workers. For example, The Lee Company — a Westbrook-based, family-owned manufacturer of miniature precision fluid control products — announced in January it was eliminating employees' monthly medical insur- ance premiums without scaling back coverage benefits. That runs counter to the national trend of workers shouldering more of their health insurance costs. "In the past 10 years or so, finding a company that did that sort of thing became a rarity," said Phillip Mont- gomery, the director of compensation services and safety at the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. Companies are finding other ways to incentivize employees, Montgomery said. Some are helping workers pay off student loan debt, or increasing funding for educational certification or degree programs. Employers are also increasingly offering insurance options that help pay for elderly care. "That was a benefit that was rarely seen 20 years ago that's now offered by employers with increasing frequency and not surprisingly, as we see our average age at death increasing and length of life increasing," said Glenn Dowd, an employment lawyer and partner at law firm Day Pitney. "There's a need to provide for people as they're older and maybe need care but are not able to stay at home." Retirement benefits and planning are also a major focus as financial security has become an increasingly important priority for employees, said Teresa Bucello, a partner and Connecticut health practice leader at benefits consulting firm Mercer. Bucello said Mercer's recent employee study found that covering monthly expenses was the No. 1 concern for workers in 2022. Supporting an employee's financial goals could be key to retaining talent, she said. "Right now employees are asking 'how can you help me now?' — and employers that are making very short- term decisions in terms of passing costs on are creating a longer-term issue because people are going to leave," Bucello said. Bucello said some companies are exploring the idea of offering workers lifestyle spending accounts HERE ARE U.S. WORKERS' MOST PRESSING CONCERNS • Covering monthly expenses • Being able to retire • Work load/life balance • Physical health and fitness • Mental/emotional health • Personal fulfillment and purpose • Job security • Personal debt Source: Mercer's Inside Employees' Minds 2022 survey Glenn Dowd Phillip Montgomery Teresa Bucello Share of health insurance premiums paid by U.S. employers and employees (2022) ORGANIZATION SIZE PRIVATE INDUSTRY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYER SHARE OF PREMIUM EMPLOYEE SHARE OF PREMIUM EMPLOYER SHARE OF PREMIUM EMPLOYEE SHARE OF PREMIUM 1 to 99 workers 77% 23% 87% 13% 1 to 49 workers 77% 23% 88% 12% 50 to 99 workers 77% 23% 86% 14% 100 workers or more 79% 21% 86% 14% 100 to 499 workers 78% 22% 86% 14% 500 workers or more 80% 20% 865 14% Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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