Blue Ridge ESOP Associates Industry News

Today, ESCA released a survey by John Zogby Strategies that finds employees who work at private, employee-owned companies are more confident about their jobs and less anxious about their financial futures than other workers.

The survey underscores a key benefit of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), which economic research has shown provide more retirement savings, higher wages, and job stability for workers across industries. The survey also finds these employee-owners worry far less about being able to cover expenses – like mortgage and rent payments, student loan costs or other unexpected bills – than does the rest of the population.

“Businesses, workers, and policymakers alike recognize that employee ownership is a proven solution to Americans’ persistent economic anxieties,” said ESCA Chairman Denny Scott, Chief Financial Officer at Burns & McDonnell, a 100 percent employee-owned business. “By giving employee-owners a stake in their companies’ successes, ESOPs provide workers with peace of mind and knowledge that they can provide for their families for years to come,” he added.

Key findings of the survey, which was benchmarked against an October 2016 Marketplace- Edison Research “Economic Anxiety Poll” to establish a clear comparison, include:

• Employees at ESOP companies feel more financially secure and less anxious than do other U.S. workers. Twenty-six (26) percent of people surveyed report feeling financially insecure compared to just 18 percent of employee-owners.

• ESOP employees say they‘re better prepared to cover life‘s ordinary and unexpected expenses than do other workers. Only 4 percent of employee-owners claim they are seriously concerned about making rent payments, compared to 38 percent of non-ESOP workers. Likewise, employee-owners are more than 57 percent less likely than their peers to have serious concerns about paying unexpected medical bills.

• Employee-owners’ worries about retirement are less intense than other American workers’ anxieties. Employee-owners are 30 percent less likely to claim they worry “a lot” about their retirement than do other workers.

• ESOP employees are far more confident about keeping their jobs than other workers are. 55 percent of employee-owners report they have no worry of losing their jobs, while only 44 percent of other workers have the same confidence.

• Over the past 12 months, employees at private ESOP companies were more than twice as likely to believe their financial outlook had improved compared to the overall workforce. Two-thirds of ESOP workers consider their personal financial situation better than a year ago, compared to only 30 percent of workers in other companies.

“The data is clear and compelling: employee-owners see and feel the benefits of their ownership interests, and that makes them far more confident in their jobs and financial futures than the rest of us,” said John Zogby. “It’s striking that across the board, whether it’s job security, paying for school or a mortgage, or just feeling they can advance financially, employee-owners are simply more confident than others,” he added.

Click the following link to view the entire report: http://esca.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FINAL-JZS-ESCA-Survey-Report_Analysis-20170504.pdf