News Release
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Terry Birdwell - Manager, Corporate Communications
800-888-4184 ext. 271
515-237-0271
Media@ARAGgroup.com
ARAG® Study Reports Seven Out of 10 Employees Suffer Personal Legal Woes; Negative Impact Seen in Job Performance, Productivity and Morale in Workplace
Des Moines, Iowa – An alarming number of U.S. employees spend valuable time during their work days dealing with more than just regular job duties. For many workers, their family, financial, home or automobile legal woes compete for time and attention – resulting in lower job performance, productivity and morale.“Workplace effectiveness often drops when employees are preoccupied with legal and financial concerns,” says Cameron Sutton, President and Chief Executive Officer, ARAG. “The impact, the frequency and the complexity of legal woes can adversely affect employees and the organizations for which they work.”
A recent ARAG-commissioned study measured the impact of employee legal woes, the use of legal services and employee attitude toward legal services. The study, entitled “Measuring the Effects of Employee Financial & Legal Woes,” was conducted by Russell Research, which interviewed more than 1,000 full-time employees, representing a nationwide, demographically-dispersed base.
Among the key results of the ARAG Legal Woes study:
- Seven out of 10 surveyed employees experienced one or more legal woes during a 12-month period.
- They spent, on average, 57 hours while at work, dealing with legal woes.
- Four of 10 employees said legal woes had a negative impact on work performance (focus, stress, efficiency or effectiveness on the job).
- The most common legal woes involved issues of family care, credit trouble, child custody, consumer fraud, home or automobile purchase or repair and estate planning.
The Legal Woes Study indicated that one out of eight employees worked for an employer that offers legal plans at work while seven out of 10 said they believe legal plans would be useful in resolving personal legal needs.
Because legal woes take a heavy toll on workplace productivity and can affect business profitability, Sutton stated that concerned employers are looking for effective ways to address this issue and many are considering the addition of legal plans to their benefit packages.
For further information about the ARAG study on “Measuring the Effects of Employee Financial & Legal Woes,” contact Media@ARAGgroup.com.
