Rising prices distracting work force, survey finds
Many employers choose to help workers battle costs
Rising prices distracting work force, survey finds

By Debbie Blossom

Published: July 27, 2008

American workers juggling skyrocketing food costs, record gas prices and escalating health care expenses are feeling the angst of making ends meet.

And one researcher believes the increasing cost of almost everything is leaving this country's work force distracted and tense, and preoccupied with the economy instead of their jobs.

In May, when gasoline prices had hit about $3.50 a gallon and the cost of some food had doubled, Florida State University management professor Wayne Hochwarter surveyed more than 800 full-time workers who drive personal transportation to work to gauge their concerns.

Some results: One-third said they would quit their job for a comparable one closer to their home, 39 percent agreed that gas prices were lowering their standard of living and 45 percent reported that rising prices had caused them "to fall behind financially.”

For employers, helping employees battling the cost of living has become a benefit more are choosing to offer, or at least start thinking about.

More than half of human resource executives in a survey by global outplacement consultancy firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said their companies offer some type of program designed to alleviate increased commuting costs. The most popular program, used by 23 percent of surveyed companies, is a condensed workweek which typically consists of four 10-hour days.

In Oklahoma, employers say that the cost of living today is behind changes for their employees.

At Tulsa-based Selco Cos., production at the custom watch and clock maker recently shifted to a four-day work week to help employees grappling with gasoline prices.

Production manager Tim Allen made the decision after listening to employee lament about the price of simply getting to work, and after hearing about other company's efforts.

"A lot of us, including me, drive 30 miles one way to work,” Allen said. "They are stressed, and I've been there, so I starting thinking ‘what can we do?'”

So far, a shorter week is proving to be a successful shift.

"The company is winning because my employees are happy,” he said. And there is a green effect, too, Allen said. Along with employees decreasing gas costs, the company is using less electricity.

Public relations firm Saxum Communications is now covering a larger percentage of staffers' insurance costs in an effort to boost employees' discretionary income, said human resources manager Sara Walker.

"In our business, we thought increasing our benefits would be a good way, long term, to help,” Walker said. "Most of what we do needs to be done in person,” and employees spend a lot of time driving to events and meeting clients. Productivity isn't suffering, but the price of gas "is brought up every day,” she said.

Claimetrics Chief Executive Marshall Snipes hasn't yet decided what the claims management firm he heads will do to help employees deal with everyday costs.

"We are concerned about it, but it's not affecting morale at this point,” said Snipes, who has met with his executive team to discuss the situation. "But clearly employees are talking about it.”

Increasingly expensive commutes also affect the recruitment of new employees, staffing companies said.

"On the candidate side, more people are conscientious about location,” said Jesseca McCalla, a division director for Robert Half Finance & Accounting in Oklahoma City. "That factor has become much more important,” with some candidates even turning down jobs because of location.

People also don't want to drive longer than 20 or 30 minutes to a job, and they will consider less pay — up to $3,000 annually — for positions closer to home, McCalla said.

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