With the current unemployment rate verging on 10%, and employers cutting costs as much as possible, part-time employment is being explored by individuals and companies alike.

"More and more employers are looking at new business designs," explains Dr. Ronald Leopold, VP of institutional business for MetLife. He indicates that increasing the size or scope of their part-time workforce could be part of that design.

Older workers delaying retirement likely will pursue part-time work as an intermediate step. Employers who don't want to let go of large segments of their workforce, Leopold notes, "have had to make tough decisions, such as shifting full-time workers to part time."

Both of these shifts, he adds, "can be sweetened by the inclusion of benefits."

Leopold emphasizes that "there is a need to recognize why benefits are a good strategy overall," not just for part-time or full-time employees. Benefits have a documented positive impact on "retention, attraction and productivity."

MetLife's 7th Annual Employee Benefits Trend Survey reveals that in the current economic climate, 56% of employees appreciate their benefits more than ever before.

Additionally, the survey reveals that 41% of workers overall and 52% of workers at employers with more than 2,500 employees "strongly consider their workplace benefits to be the foundation of their financial safety net."

Although benefits are becoming more important to employees, employers are underestimating their importance.

Benefits foster loyalty

MetLife finds that seven in 10 employees say retirement benefits are, "a significant influencer of loyalty, but only four in 10 employers realize this. The same split exists when respondents were asked about nonhealth benefits such as life insurance, dental and disability.

Leopold points out that benefits can have an even greater impact on the loyalty of part-time workers because benefits generally are considered to be "above and beyond" what is expected from an employer.

Anita Verheul, executive VP within the employee benefits practice at William Gallagher Associates, says that although it might seem "counterintuitive" to provide part-timers with benefits during a time when employers are looking to save money, such offerings may offer employers an advantage in gaining loyalty among part-time employees - who, she notes, generally are difficult to influence when it comes to loyalty.

Ultimately, whether or not an employer decides to offer benefits to part-time employees depends on a cost-benefit analysis.

Verheul explains that employers have to consider "how much money the company has to spend and what the goal is." Employers also have to ask, "What is the cost of turnover vs. the cost of attracting and retaining employees?"

Being 'Brown' has benefits

UPS is one such company known for extending benefits to part-time employees.

Part-time employees are a necessary part of the UPS workforce, since, as B.J. Dorfman, a health care manager with UPS, explains, "employees are needed in 4-5 hour bursts, early in the morning to load the trucks, in the evening and a shift at night."

Although Dorfman acknowledges that despite the benefits package, employee turnover still is higher among its part-time staff than full-time ones, but emphasizes that the company's main goal is "to attract and retain good people."

In its 2008 benefits contract UPS "established a waiting period of 12 months for new hires to receive benefits and a waiting period of 18 months for their dependents," says Dorfman, in part to encourage a more long-term commitment to the company.

Dan McMackin, a public relations official with UPS, says these benefits help to "make the job sticky," allowing UPS to attract young workers and maintain the "promote from within" ethic that the company prides itself on.

McMackin himself is an example, as he started working at UPS as a teen and worked his way up. He credits the company's benefits offerings as one of the reasons that he "feels good about working here."