Employers Get Creative to Ease Impact of Gas
Prices
August 26, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Organizations
are taking a variety of creative steps to help their
employees offset the high cost of gasoline, according to
Mercer's 2008 Gas Price Impact SnapShot Survey.
Within the next six months, almost one in four
employers (22%) are for the first time planning to offer
at least some of their employees the option of a four-day
work week, and 24% are planning to allow more employees
to telecommute, Mercer said in a press release. Thirty
percent of responding companies already implement
carpooling programs, while another 23% plan to do so in
the next six months.
To encourage ride-sharing, some companies offer
special parking privileges for carpooling, company-funded
vanpools, and van services from bus and train stations.
The survey shows 20% of companies currently provide
employees a subsidy for public transportation costs,
while another 8% plan to offer this option in the next
six months.
In addition, some organizations provide prepaid gas
cards for perfect attendance, gas card giveaways for top
performance, and subsidies for public transportation
costs.
"Making the most of creative alternatives to help
employees save on commuting costs is good management
practice, supports attraction and retention concerns, and
doesn't add significantly to corporate expenses," said
Mitch Barnes, principal at Mercer, in the press
release.
Other survey findings reveal that two-thirds (66%)
of responding companies plan to increase mileage
reimbursement amounts up to 20% for business-related
travel due to higher gas prices, while 41% anticipate
raising car allowance provisions up to 20%.
The survey includes responses from more than 300
organizations across the United States, and was conducted
in July 2008. A complete report will be available online
in mid-September free of charge at
www.imercer.com/snapshot
.
Rebecca Moore
editors@plansponsor.com