 |
 
4/4/04
MANAGEMENT Executives are worried about their jobs. That doesn't surprise David Opton, chief executive and founder of ExecuNet, the Connecticut-based executive networking firm. Opton's firm surveyed 952 executives this month. Of those, 77 percent said they were concerned about job security or the future of their careers, up from 68 percent last year. Opton attributed the findings to the uncertain economy as well as fear of mergers and other changes that could lead to restructuring and layoffs. ''The recent recession made it abundantly clear that anyone can be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time,'' he said. ''Despite recent economic growth, job security remains a luxury that neither companies nor executives can afford.'' Of those polled, 74 percent said they had held three or more jobs in the past decade, an indication that job hopping could be contributing to their worries. In all, 71 percent doubted that they would remain at their current organizations more than five years. When asked how long they hoped to remain at the firm, 3 percent said less than two years, 38 percent said two to three years, 30 percent said they expect to stay four to five years, and 29 percent believe they will remain with their current firm for more than five years. Opton believes that those who assume that they will remain at the company longer than five years are overly optimistic. He said a separate survey of 150 recruiters found that one of five new executives does not survive beyond their first 12 months in the job. ''The fact that an executive does not stay in any position very long drives home the point that no one cares more about you than you,'' said Opton. ''Many of the people who were polled indicated in various ways that they feel as if they no longer have control over their careers. That is a big change over the way the world used to be. It is a change because a lot of people were brought up in a world where it was 25 years and out, and there was an implicit contract between the employer and the employee.'' Opton said executives should maintain their professional networks, stay on top of changes in the job market, keep their skills current, and look for ways to create new career options.
BENEFITS More than 60 percent of the country's big employers are expected to offer workers health savings accounts by 2005, according to Hewitt Associates, the Illinois benefits consulting firm. The accounts, proposed under new Medicare legislation, are tax free and available to individuals under the age of 65 who are covered by a high-deductible health plan. To be eligible, the worker's health insurance deductible must be at least $1,000. Workers with the accounts can roll over any unused funds each year and then use the money to pay for future medical expenses such as medical products. The accounts work like this: Members direct a certain amount of savings into the accounts. The money is withdrawn tax free, but must be used to meet eligible medical expenses. The worker can also roll over the funds and use them later. Proponents say the accounts offer workers a number of advantages. These include lower monthly health insurance premiums, tax savings, the right to choose a medical provider, tax-free withdrawals for expenses that might not be covered by insurance such as alternative medicines or homeopathic treatments, and tax-free withdrawals for long-term care insurance or health insurance premiums during periods of unemployment. Hewitt surveyed nearly 270 companies on the health savings provisions under the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and found that, while 61 percent of employers are likely to offer HSAs in the near future, only one-third of all companies have the required benefits structure in place to do so. Last week, the US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued guidelines on how the accounts should be used. Under the guidelines, for example, prescription drugs may not be purchased with money from the accounts unless the worker's insurance has a high deductible. Both US agencies are expected to issue additional regulations in June. Some retiree organizations are worried that younger men and women will shift their enrollments from more established insurance plans over to the new accounts. The retiree groups fear that their health insurance and prescriptions costs will soar if younger members leave because the majority of individuals in the more traditional plans will be aging - and ailing - people with significantly higher medical costs.
WORKPLACE Do your skills fit your job? When that question was posed to 50,000 workers from 60 US firms by Discovery Surveys, a management consultancy, 35 percent said their employers could make better use of their skills. Bruce Katcher, an industrial psychologist in Sharon, said the mismatch occurs when senior managers fail to properly assess the work experiences, training, and educational backgrounds of the people they supervise. He maintains that when workers are not able to fully use their skills, they become less productive and are more likely to look for challenging opportunities elsewhere. He said managers contribute to the problem when they hire people who are under- or overqualified, ignore the life and educational experiences of workers, and pigeon-hole employees by forcing them to do work that offers few opportunities for growth and development. The Hudson Employment Index reports that a third of 9,000 employees polled recently rated their bosses or supervisors as fair or poor. The index is published by Hudson Global Resources, a staffing and outsourcing firm. Specialists say that during uncertain times, workers are more likely to suffer the consequences of poor corporate decision-making or insufficient planning, resulting in lower morale. ''People don't leave bad companies, they leave bad managers,'' said Jeff Anderson, senior vice president of Hudson Global Resources. ''Workers who rate their bosses less positively are less likely to have fun at work, enjoy day-to-day tasks and see opportunities for advancement within their current organization.'' -DIANE E. LEWIS
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
E-Mail This Article