Employer-provided quality-of-life benefits, March 2016

Employers working toward more family- and environmentally-friendly work arrangements with their employees provide quality-of-work life benefits such as childcare, flexible workplace, subsidized commuting, and wellness and employee assistance programs. In March 2016, 54 percent of civilian workers had access to employee assistance programs. In that same period, 41 percent of workers had access to wellness programs, followed by childcare (11 percent), subsidized commuting (7 percent), and flexible workplace (6 percent).

In March 2016, the percentage of workers with access to quality-of-life benefits increased as their average wages increased. The percentage of workers with access to employee assistance programs ranged from 35 percent for the lowest paid 25 percent to 72 percent for the highest paid 25 percent. Those workers with access to childcare ranged from 4 percent for the lowest paid 25 percent to 19 percent for the highest paid 25 percent.

The percentage of workers with access to quality-of-life benefits was also higher for those who worked in larger business establishments. In March 2016, the percentage of workers with access to employee assistance programs ranged from 27 percent for those who worked in business establishments with 1 to 49 workers to 85 percent for those who worked in establishments with 500 or more workers. Those with access to childcare ranged from 4 percent for those who worked in business establishments with 1 to 49 workers to 24 percent for those in establishments with 500 or more workers.

These data are from the National Compensation Survey - Benefits program. For more information, see National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2016. For an explanation of quality-of-life benefits, see the Glossary of Employee Benefit Terms.