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| Ithaca, NY, January, 2011
– Although
health insurance is a commonly offered benefit, there is a notable lack
of
research on whether providing insurance affects workers' job behavior
or
performance. A new study from the Cornell
Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) examines the effects of
having health
insurance on four issues relating to workers' job characteristics: job
anxiety,
tardiness, absenteeism, and overall task performance. The study found
that
workers who have health insurance reported higher task
performance—meaning that
they were significantly more effective in the activities that support
their
company's overall mission than were the workers without health
insurance. On
the other hand, the presence or absence of health insurance had no
noticeable effect on employees' anxiety, tardiness, or absenteeism. The report, "The Impact of Health Insurance on Employee Job Anxiety, Withdrawal Behaviors, and Task Performance," by Sean A. Way, Bill Carroll, Alex M. Susskind, and Joe C.Y. Leng, is available at no charge from the CHR at http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/2011.html. Way is an assistant professor at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, where Carroll is a senior lecturer and Susskind is an associate professor. Leng is a degree candidate in the Sloan Program at Cornell. "The question of whether health insurance benefits contribute to employees' job-related performance and behavior has been largely lost in the debate on health insurance," noted Way. "We wanted to take a scientific look at whether having health insurance, or not having coverage, made a noticeable difference in employees' performance. We also took a particular look at one element of health insurance coverage, and that was coverage for mental illness. With regard to that coverage, we found a puzzling result with regard to tardiness." The research group conducted two related studies, both of which examined healthcare and senior-services customer-contact employees who had worked for at least six months at one of sixteen facilities operated by Massachusetts-based Berkshire Healthcare. In Study A, the researchers found that health insurance coverage had no significant impact on individual employees' job anxiety, absenteeism, or tardiness. However, health insurance coverage did have a significant, positive impact on individual employees' task performance. In Study B the researchers compared the impact of health insurance that included mental illness coverage and health insurance that did not include mental illness coverage on those same employee performance factors. Study B found that individual employees with health insurance that included mental illness coverage had significantly higher company-documented tardiness for the six-month period preceding the study than those with health insurance that did not include mental illness coverage. The researchers are continuing their study to compare later time periods with the six months in this study. Thanks to the support of the CHR partners listed below, all publications posted on the center's website are available free of charge, at www.chr.cornell.edu. About The Center for Hospitality Research A unit of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) sponsors research designed to improve practices in the hospitality industry. Under the lead of the center's 81 corporate affiliates, experienced scholars work closely with business executives to discover new insights into strategic, managerial and operating practices. The center also publishes the award-winning hospitality journal, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. To learn more about the center and its projects, visit www.chr.cornell.edu. Center Senior Partners: Hilton Worldwide, McDonald's USA, Philips Hospitality, SAS, STR, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, and TIG Global Center Partners: Davis & Gilbert LLP, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, Denihan Hospitality Group, eCornell & Executive Education, Expedia, Inc., Forbes Travel Guide, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Fox Rothschild LLP, French Quarter Holdings, Inc., HVS, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group, Jumeirah Group, LRP Publications, Maritz, Marriott International, Inc., Marsh's Hospitality Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Proskauer, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Schneider Electric, Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc., Thayer Lodging Group, Thompson Hotels, Travelport, and WATG Center Friends: 4Hoteliers.com • American Tescor, LLC • Argyle Executive Forum • Berkshire Healthcare • Center for Advanced Retail Technology • Cody Kramer Imports • Cruise Industry News • DK Shifflet & Associates • ehotelier.com • EyeforTravel • Gerencia de Hoteles & Restaurantes • Global Hospitality Resources • Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) • hospitalityInside.com • hospitalitynet.org • Hospitality Technology Magazine • Hotel Asia Pacific • Hotel China • HotelExecutive.com • Hotel Interactive • Hotel Resource • HotelWorld Network • International CHRIE • International Hotel Conference • International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) • iPerceptions • JDA Software Group, Inc. • J.D. Power and Associates • Lodging Hospitality • Lodging Magazine • LRA Worldwide, Inc. • Milestone Internet Marketing • MindFolio • Mindshare Technologies • PhoCusWright • PKF Hospitality Research • The Resort Trades • RealShare Hotel Investment & Finance Summit • Resort and Recreation Magazine • RestaurantEdge.com • Shibata Publishing Co. • Synovate • The Lodging Conference • The Wall Street Journal • TravelCLICK • UniFocus • USA Today • WageWatch, Inc. • WIWIH.COM |