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Survey Says: Nothing Is Certain but Death, Taxes and Coffee
New surveys reveal some surprising findings about taxes, hiring and the role of coffee in the workplace.
Posted 3/ 29 11 at 6:00 PM | Business Trends, Money, Management, Leadership, Taxes & Accounting, Legal Issues
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Are you ready for tax time? Apparently, most business owners are. But they're not quite as sure about the economic recovery -- and they're taking it out on their employees by slashing benefits. However, there's one, um, perk that few employers dare to cut. Here's a closer look at some of the latest small-business surveys.Taxing Matters
Are you getting a refund on your business income taxes this year? More than 40 percent of small and midsize businesses owners in the latest Office Depot Small Business Index Survey say they are not. Maybe they're just confused about the tax code. Fewer than half say they understand the tax changes in their states. Surprisingly, the area causing the most confusion is not health insurance reform -- it's capital gains.
And if your business waits until the last possible minute to file income taxes, you're in the minority: An impressive 82 percent of small businesses submit their taxes by the end of March. (I wish I could be that on top of things with my personal taxes.)
Bosses Cut Back on Benefits
Based on the data in a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, business owners still have mixed feelings about economic recovery. In the last six months, 20 percent of employers say they've cut employee benefits -- the highest level since late 2008. The areas most often cut were health-care coverage for employees (91 percent) and for spouses and dependents.
On a more positive note, in the past six months, 38 percent of companies have rehired employees they had laid off during the recession. But that trend could be short-lived. If the economy doesn't improve, 46 percent of companies say they are "very" or "somewhat" likely to implement a hiring freeze.
Coffee Clash?
One benefit you don't want to take away is that free pot of coffee brewing in the break room. Nearly 40 percent of U.S. office workers say they couldn't make it through the workday without coffee, according to a recent survey by Alterra Coffee Roasters. Sixty-five percent of workers drink coffee at work (on average, three cups a day), and 30 percent say the brew helps them focus and be more productive.
Office coffee can be a source of bonding or battles among employees. Two in five workers enjoy talking with coworkers around the coffee maker. But 21 percent say coworkers who make a mess in the coffee area cause friction, and 25 percent say there's someone at the office who never steps up to make a fresh pot.
I don't drink coffee myself, but I've worked with plenty of coffee addicts in my life, so my advice to business owners is this: No matter how much you have to cut the budget, don't eliminate the coffee, or things could get mighty ugly.
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a content and consulting company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Follow Rieva at Twitter.com/Rieva and visit SmallBizDaily.com to sign up for her free TrendCast reports.
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Comments (Page 1 of 1)
My employer hasn't given us free coffee for close to 10 years ... I work in the financial industry, need I say more?
Hey shootingaction you must not have bribed the right person at AOL. cbrhed above sents spam on just about every thread AOL has and if you will notice their spam doesn't even have the stars, thumbs up or down, report this, or reply buttons. Of course, what bribes you did pay will allow your spam to never be removed from an AOL thread. AOL is definitely loyal. Once they've been bought, they stay bought.
Cqdeed. Aol cares nothing for getting rid of spammers. Can't post comments on AOL? AOL CENSORS comments reguardless of content. They do nothing to resolve the problem.
management keeps preaching to us we should be thankfull we still have jobs due to the economy., However management and the office personnell piss away a fortune of the stock holders money on perks and totally unnecessary crap. DRIVERS AND YARD PERSONNELL MAKE THE READI-MIX COMPANY THE MONEY AND WHAT THEY ARE NOT MANAGEMENT AZZHOLES AND OFFICE PEOPLE, THEY DON'T DO CRAP EXCEPT PISS AWAY MONEY.
Many of the places I've worked at di not have free coffee. A few had the dreadful vending machine coffee and a few others had a "coffee fund" that the coffee drinkers would contribute to. I didn't mind paying my fair share for some Java, it was far less than what the coffe shops charge!
When I was a recieving manager for a company, I always had a pot of coffee going. The warehouse workers were allowed to have the coffee, for that matter anyone was. I had an empty coffee can for contributions. I only asked that they contribute once a day, but most of the guys put money in every time they had a cup. Usually a quarter. If a trucker ask for a cup, he or she was never turned down. I would go out and purchase the coffee, milk and sugar. I even had a small refrigerator for whatever. A happy crew is a productive crew.
I've worked for the same Fortune 100 company for 30 years, and haven't seen the first free cup of coffee yet. If we want coffee, we go down to the cafeteria and pay for it.
They don't provide coffee to be kind, they do it to get you awake and focused. Heck, they'd give you meth if they could just to get more out of you.
Redi-Mix , I work for a very large redi-mix concrete company here in Florida and we have the same problem here. Management is a joke the way they spend money on themselves and threaten us all the time saying if we don't like it thousands of other are lined up just waiting to take our jobs. Working conditions in our concrete/building supplies co have become deplorable. If only the stockholders knew .... eh phil ?
Redi-Mix , I work for a very large redi-mix concrete company here in Florida and we have the same problem here. Management is a joke the way they spend money on themselves and threaten us all the time saying if we don't like it thousands of other are lined up just waiting to take our jobs. Working conditions in our concrete/building supplies co have become deplorable. If only the stockholders knew .... eh phil ?
I like a certain brand of coffee, which contains chicory. Most people don't like it, so I won't drink the coffee at work. I also like real half-and-half, not the powdered junk break rooms typically have. Therefore, I make my own coffee at home, and bring it to work in a thermos. This way, I don't even have to leave my desk.
The end result of " Trickle Down Economics" !!,
I have worked since I was twelve and in those fifty years of solid employment NOT ONE of my employers paid for coffee. The employees ALWAYS kicked in to share the cost--and that included my US Navy tours.
I had to give up coffee at awork ... it was keeping me awake on the job ...
Domestically and internationally...Obama has been an absolute FAILURE of Carterian proportions.
We don't get coffee - I brought in my own Keurig single serve coffee maker. Where I work, if your spouse also works there, one of you is forced to give up your medical to be the dependent on the other's plan, but the boss does pick up the amount you have to pay for the spouse's part. However, someone said that they are going to "save money" and stop that practice. If they tell me I can't have benefits because my husband works here, I'm going to be one upset worker.
I worked for BellSouth for 30 years. We had coffee, microwaves, icemakers, refrigerators and condiments. The official word of the AT&T takeover came to everyone via e-mail at the exact same time. This was about 10:45am. When I went home at 4:30, all of this had been removed.