Tyler Johnson November 8, 2020
BUS311 – 1900 Prof. Brielle Buckler
Assignment 9 – Benefits
For this assignment, I interviewed two of my friends: Rebecca and Nicole.
Rebecca’s Interview
Q: Where do you work, when did you start, and what made you want to work there?
A: “I work at a postgraduate center for mental health as a program director. I began working there in March of 2020. I only began working there because the agency that I was previously working for was closing down.”
Q: What benefits do you receive at your job?
A: “I receive medical insurance, partial dental insurance, an unmatched 403(b), and free counseling services.”
Q: Which of your benefits is most favorable to you?
A: “The medical insurance is most favorable to me because I have a lot of medical issues and I am not sure that I would be able to pay for proper quality medical treatment if not for my job insurance.”
Q: Are you satisfied with your current job benefits? If not, what would you change or add?
A: “No, I am not completely satisfied with my benefits. First, I would add FULL dental and vision. Paying out-of-pocket for these things becomes tiresome. I would also make them match my 403(b). Furthermore, I would add tuition reimbursement. Upward mobility in this field relies on continued education. The salaries that they pay us don’t allow us to pay bills, take care of ourselves, and obtain further education. There’s always a sacrifice. Finally, I would add commuter benefits.”
Nicole’s Interview
Q: Where do you work, when did you start, and what made you want to work there?
A: “I work at NYC Parks. I started working there in October 2013. At the time of my hiring, I had a goal of working somewhere that would help me contribute to the concept of social well-being. I looked to Parks as a place where I was able to connect people to resources to improve their physical, mental, and social health.”
Q: What benefits do you receive at your job?
A: “My job offers pension, 401K, commuter benefits, counseling, free in-house courses & certification, health insurance, dental, and discounts for entertainment and hospitality services.”
Q: Which of your benefits is most favorable to you?
A: “Before this pandemic, my most favorable benefit was the commuter benefit. The benefit was taken out of my pay pre-tax, so I could see a significant difference in my take-home pay. Now that I work remotely, I don’t use it.”
Q: Are you satisfied with your current job benefits? If not, what would you change or add?
A: “I’m mostly satisfied with the offerings. I would, in fact, add paid lunch, improved maternity/paternity leave, more career development opportunities, and more information and help regarding signing up for benefits.”
Both of these interviews were very interesting. Rebecca’s situation shocked me. I’ve known her for a while and I know how risky it is to work with mentally ill individuals. One would think that such a high-risk job would be afforded any benefit possible. Aside from passion, there’s not much incentive for people to put themselves in that position. I was also very surprised to learn that her workplace doesn’t offer tuition reimbursement, especially when their employees are constantly handling delicate situations in which mental health education, which is always evolving, can be the key to escalating or deescalating these situations.
Nicole’s situation is much more familiar to me because I am a fellow city worker. I have very similar benefits. On thing that resonated with me was when she stated that she would like more information and help regarding signing up for benefits. During my onboarding process, I was given little to no direction regarding signing up for anything. I found out about most of these things from senior coworkers. I think there should definitely be a program or orientation that has a segment to guide us so that we can utilize our benefits.
