11th Annual Workplace Benefits Study Research Methodology

The 11th Annual Workplace Benefits Study was fielded in February and March of 2022 and consisted of two online surveys: one among benefits decision-makers (employers) and another among working Americans (employees), allowing us to explore benefits issues from both perspectives. Survey data collection and tabulation were managed for Guardian by Zeldis Research, an independent market research firm located in Ewing, NJ.

Employer survey

Employer results are based on a national online survey of 2,000 employee benefits decision-makers. Respondents include business executives, business owners, human resources professionals, and financial management professionals. The survey covers all industries and is nationally representative of US businesses with at least five full-time employees. Data shown in this report have been weighted to reflect the actual proportion of US businesses by company size based on data from the US Census Bureau. The margin of error at the 95% confidence level is +/- 2.2%.

Employee survey

Employee results are based on a survey conducted among 2,000 employees age 22 or older, who work full-time for a company with at least five employees. The survey sample is nationally representative of US workers at companies of at least five full-time employees. Data shown in this report have been collected in a way to reflect the actual proportion of US workers by gender, region, race, ethnicity, education level, household income, age, and employer-size, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. The margin of error is +/- 2.1% at the 95% confidence level.

1 Caregiving in the United States 2020, AARP, May 14,2020

2 Ibid.

3 Workforce 2020: Meeting the benefits needs of today’s diverse workforce in a changed world, Guardian Workplace Benefits Study, 8th Annual, July 2020. All data is from this report unless otherwise indicated.

4 Guardian Workplace Benefits Study, 2022

5 Ibid.

6 New era, new values: Workers seek empathy and flexibility in a post-pandemic work world, Guardian Life, September 2022

7 Projected Future Growth of Older Population, Administration for Community Living, May 4, 2022.

8 Guardian Workplace Benefits Study, 2022