Fact Sheet: Small Employees
Overall Satisfaction with Benefits Package

  • 71% of employees at small companies say their employers offer insurance benefits.
  • The benefits package for employees at small companies includes:

Benefit    Benefit  
 Major Medical  62%  Disability Insurance  30%
 Life Insurance  38%  Voluntary Insurance  27%
 Critical Illness  9%  Flex Spending Plan  17%
 Dental Insurance  42%  401k or Pension  45%
 Vision Insurance  26%  Flex Work Options  26%

  • Employees at small companies are less satisfied than those at large and medium companies when it comes to their benefits packages. Just 37% are very/extremely satisfied with their overall package and 19% are not very/not at all satisfied.
  • About 43% of workers at small companies say their current benefits packages meet their families’ needs extremely/very well, while 17% say their needs are not very/not at all well met. The satisfaction percentage is the smallest among companies of all sizes.
  • 52% of workers at small companies feel protected by their current insurance coverage — a smaller percentage than workers at medium and large companies.
  • 50% of employees strongly agree they would be more informed about health insurance choices if an insurance consultant were present during enrollment.
Benefits Communication
  • 39% of employees strongly agree that a well communicated benefits program would make them less likely to leave their jobs.
  • 46% of employees at small companies say their HR departments communicate too little about employee benefits.
  • The majority of workers (62%) get their insurance advice/information from word of mouth from colleagues, friends and family.
  •  Employees at small companies are the least likely to get their information/advice about employee benefits from their companies’ HR professionals (39%).
Effectiveness/Engagement in Benefits
  • 38% of employees strongly agree they need to be more engaged in making decisions about their health insurance coverage.
  • One-quarter (25%) of employees say they are not very/not at all informed about benefits offered at their companies; 38% say they are extremely/very informed.
  • 53% of employees agree they are taking full advantage of their employee benefits, the least among workers at companies of all sizes.
  • 61% of employees strongly agree they would be more likely to take advantage of benefits packages tailored to their personal situations.
  • On average, employees say 16% of work productivity is lost due to personal issues.
Level of Protection, Preparedness
  • 52% of employees at small companies describe themselves as not very/not at all prepared to pay out-of-pocket expenses that aren’t covered by major medical insurance.
  • One-third of employees at small firms have less than $500 available to cover out-of-pocket expenses associated with an unexpected serious illness or accident.
  • 38% of workers are currently experiencing personal issues that have affected their ability to get work done.
  • 44% of them said adequate insurance coverage would have a significant effect on their ability to cope with those issues.
Role of Voluntary Benefits
  • 29% of employees say they are offered voluntary benefits and 13% are enrolled.
  • 17% of employees describe the availability of additional voluntary benefits as important because “it offers more options when it comes to health care coverage.”
  • 14% say the availability of additional voluntary options would allow them to meet their needs; 10% say it would give them more comprehensive insurance coverage.
  • 57% of employees at say they would be likely to purchase voluntary insurance benefits offered by their employers.
  • 24% of employees say their HR departments are not very/not at all knowledgeable about voluntary benefits, and 37% describe their HR teams as extremely/very knowledgeable.
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