A report from the 2024 Workplace Wellness Survey published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research finds U.S. military veterans reporting higher levels of financial, social, emotional, and workplace well-being than their non-veteran counterparts. Veteran workers are more likely to report intending to stay with their current employer for the immediate future.
The fifth annual survey examines worker attitudes toward employment-based benefits in the workplace, as well as a broad spectrum of financial and mental well-being, employment-based health insurance, and retirement benefit issues. The oversample of U.S. military veterans was included to better understand their opinions about their employer and how they value workplace-sponsored benefits, as well as the challenges they face balancing work, life, and their finances.
“In general, veterans differed in several ways from non-veteran workers,” says Jake Spiegel, research associate of health and wealth benefits research at EBRI. “They tended to be better positioned to weather short-term financial challenges, were more likely to be satisfied by their employer’s benefit offerings, and has a rosier assessment of their employer’s efforts to improve their financial well-being. However, veterans still face similar issues in the workplace as non-veterans. Veterans and non-veterans alike were similarly worried about the effects of employer implementing layoffs, reducing hours, or reducing wages. Also, they are just as likely as non-veterans to be concerned about their household’s financial well-being.”
Key findings from the report include the following.
- While veterans are less stressed by paying bills or the amount of debt they have than non-veteran workers, they are more likely to report being stressed by financially supporting loved ones and paying for caregiving services for either an adult or a child.
- About 6% of workers surveyed identify as veterans. A plurality of workers with veteran status served in the Army and nearly a quarter of veterans has a spouse or partner who is also a veteran or who is currently serving. Most of the veterans surveyed were separated from the military prior to becoming eligible for full military retirement benefits.
“While concern over workplace well-being has been trending downward in recent years, about half of American workers still report being either moderately or highly concerned about their household’s financial well-being,” says Greg Hershberger, managing director of healthcare and benefits at Greenwald Research. “Veteran workers are slightly more optimistic about their household’s financial well-being but face challenges of their own. Encouragingly, veteran workers overwhelmingly reported feeling comfortable informing their employers of their status as a veteran, which helps when separating from the military, as some employers express a preference for hiring veteran applicants.”
