Employers as social institutions??

[Shy Tall Guy]

My last employer had a vacation/holiday policy that I really liked; rather than having 10 days of vacation a year and 10 days of holidays a year, this employer had no holidays, but 20 days of "Paid Time Off" and each employee could use these days however they chose to use them (coordinating with their supervisor). This was great as it was very flexible and in effect gave us twice as much time off when we wanted it.

I got to thinking about this and I wondered how people would feel about an employer who abolished all of the social institutions that employers have added to our workplaces over the decades.

All else being equal, would you prefer to work for an employer that said, "Hey! No paid vacation time, no paid sick time, no paid health plans, no paid health club memberships, etc." - instead, the employer would take the real cost of all of these benefits and put them into your pay check (tax-free), and let you decide how you would spend that money?

You could still take as much or as little vacation time as you could before (possibly more if you wish, can afford it and can coordinate with your supervisor) - you just don't get paid for it. Instead, each pay check is incrementally larger. Same with sick time (something I rarely use), etc.

As for group benes; you could still use your employer as a gateway to group discounts for health insurance and as a legal tax portal to retirement plans - but you can optin/out as you see fit. Personally, there have been times when I wouldn't mind having the $300-$400 a month that my employer paid for my health insurance.

How about you? Do you want to have more control over your benes? Or do you just want to have your employer decide all aspects of these benes?

 

[SINthysist]

Other.

Self-Employment that's the ticket.

Prefer to have all my money for investment. That way I have the assets to cover any eventuality and my nest egg easily transfers from job-to-job.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Other.

Self-Employment that's the ticket.

Prefer to have all my money for investment. That way I have the assets to cover any eventuality and my nest egg easily transfers from job-to-job.

Well, that is basically the same as saying you want to just have the money and spend it as you see fit.

I feel I need health insurance, especially as I get older, but I only want it for catastrophic ailments, I don't need some HMO micro-managing my health and I would rather pay out of my pocket for my day to day health care as that costs much less than the premiums. OTOH, I recognize some people have ailments that, while not taking them off the job market, would bankrupt them if they didn't have health insurance.

I would like to have that 15% of my paycheck that goes into Social Security too, and be able to invest it elsewhere, such as in an IRA/401K. The best investment I ever made was going back to college after the military.

I guess it is always a struggle between those of us who are individualists and want to control such aspects of our lives, the people who want to have other people make such decisions, and those in power who want to increase their power over everbody.