Break from the Grind April 23, 2019

Women Find More Fault With Their Jobs Than Men Do

A majority of office workers grade their job a B-, but women scored their office jobs a full letter grade lower than their male counterparts in topics like potential for internal growth, company morale and benefits, a survey found.
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A majority of office workers grade their job a B-, according to new research commissioned by Kforce, a staffing services and solutions firm.

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Workers grade their jobs as deserving a B (85%) in terms of their day-to-day tasks. Respondents also voted a B- (81%) in work-life balance, and similarly a B- (81%) in company morale and a B- (81%) in their benefits package.

However, the survey found that women scored their office jobs a full letter grade lower than their male counterparts in topics like potential for internal growth, company morale and benefits. And, 58% of men say they love their job, compared to 47% of women.

The biggest weaknesses of the average office job, according to respondents, are communication (31%), employee retention (31%) and staff diversity/inclusion (28%).

Two-thirds (67%) of Americans polled believe it’s very important to love their job, and nearly half would take a pay cut to pursue a job that matched their passion. Among those who would take a pay cut, they are willing to leave as much as 29% of their salary to take a job they love. However, 40% of job seekers claim that the biggest hold-up in pursuing a job they love is available opportunities.

The survey was conducted by OnePoll among 2,000 full-time office workers across all industries.
Compliance April 23, 2019

Council Recommends Reissuance of Retirement Plan Fidelity Bond Rules

The ERISA Advisory Council explains that it is making this recommendation because it found evidence of noncompliance, especially in the small plan market, with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requirement that retirement plans are to be covered by fidelity bonds.

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Citing evidence of noncompliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requirement that retirement plans to be covered by fidelity bonds, the ERISA Advisory Council is recommending that the Department of Labor relaunch the updated rules it published in Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2008-04, this time focusing directly on plan sponsors and other plan officials and plan service providers as the targeted audience.

In its report to Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta, the Council says the instances of noncompliance are concentrated in the small plan market, and it attributes this to a general underdeveloped awareness and misunderstanding of the fidelity bond rules by sponsors of small plans and the commercial service providers that serve the small plan market.

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The Council suggests that the best vehicle for this new publication would be an Interpretive Bulletin because it would be published in the Code of Federal Regulations and not require a full Administrative Procedure Act process that a revision of the current Temporary Regulations would entail.

The Council also recommends that the DOL add a “Fidelity Bond Summary” to its sub-regulatory guidance and include a sample in its report.  “Such a summary would serve to demystify fidelity bonds for purchasers, by explaining the basic requirements, and by helping them to distinguish among the various insurance products that are typically sold in conjunction with fidelity bonds, but that are not subject to statutory mandates under ERISA or the Department’s rules and regulations,” the report says.

The Council is not recommending any amendments to ERISA or regulations concerning fidelity bonds.

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