Bridging the Generation Gaps: Meeting the Needs of All Employees With Voluntary Benefits

By Keith Pellerin

When making benefits decisions, small business owners have an obligation to keep employees of every generation top of mind. Differing attitudes, varying career levels, and a multitude of other factors can affect employees’ benefits needs.

Those business owners who make a point to identify benefits that resonate with each worker's life experience will be more likely to attract and retain diverse talent. In fact, 59 percent of workers would be likely to take a job with slightly lower pay but more robust benefits.

Millennials: 18- to 34-Years-Old

As of 2015, millennials have surpassed baby boomers and Gen Xers to become the largest generation in the American workforce, making up one in three American workers. As the number of millennial employees rises, it is imperative that businesses have a keen understanding of this generation’s benefits needs in order to continue recruiting and retaining fresh talent.

As the youngest workers today, millennials are independent-minded and often skeptical of traditional corporate life, especially after witnessing their parents lose jobs and struggle to find employment during the Great Recession. Notably, they are also known for their job-hopping ways–young adults born in the early ‘80s hold an average of 6.2 jobs between the ages of 18- to 26-years old, with 57 percent of those jobs being held for less than a year.

Understanding that the battle for talent is getting tougher as the unemployment rate decreases, it's important to offer benefits that are tailored to the specific needs of millennials in order to help curb this generation’s tendency to move from job to job. Things to consider include leveraging technology for benefits education, providing flexible work hours for a positive work-life balance, and offering comprehensive health care choices.

Specifically, financially-friendly benefits options, such as voluntary insurance and wellness initiatives, are two to think about including in an overall benefits package. Voluntary insurance, which helps cover the costs that major medical policies were never intended to cover, and wellness benefits, including company-sponsored sports teams or gym membership reimbursements, are both appealing to millennials and can often be implemented with little to no cost to employers.

Generation X: 35- to 50-Years-Old

Often considered “the forgotten” generation, Generation X employees desire face-to-face communication with a benefits professional to help them choose the right options for their lifestyles.

Since Gen Xers were hit by the 2008 recession during a pinnacle time in their lives and careers, they have a tendency to lean more towards protecting their financial security. The recession brought high rates of unemployment, altered–even stagnated–careers and made it difficult for many of them to become home owners and start families.

To keep this generation happy, think about offering financial planning services to help workers better protect their income and plan for retirement.

Baby Boomers: 51- to 69-Years-Old

The baby boom generation was arguably the most impacted by the recession in 2008. At the time, boomers had to make major life adjustments to take care of their families. The financial turmoil drastically altered many boomers’ retirement plans, causing more of them to delay retirement.

Given these circumstances, baby boomers look heavily to retirement savings plans and incentives, health savings plans, and voluntary insurance to protect them in the event of a serious illness or accident. Couple that with the fact that 64 percent of baby boomers have at least one chronic condition like heart disease or diabetes, and voluntary insurance—such as critical illness plans—could positively impact the boomer generation by helping them avoid the need to dip into already compromised retirement funds.

To help ensure boomer employees are taking advantage of the benefits options offered, provide benefits education face-to-face from a trusted benefits professional–too much of a sales lecture could backfire with this generation.

Why Bridging the Generation Gap Matters

With today’s workforce consisting of some of the most diverse employees, you must be attuned to how your benefit decisions impact each of your employees. In addition, staying up to speed with the needs of each generation can help your small businesses succeed in holding onto the best talent.