TEACHER LESSON PLAN Lesson 3-2: Job Benefits and Costs LEARNING OUTCOMES OVERVIEW WHAT YOU WILL NEED PREPARATION NOTES:

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1 OVERVIEW What do you consider when looking for a job? Pay? Hours? Schedule? Location? If you have a choice between two jobs that pay nearly the same, what criteria do you use for a decision? Although a job provides you with income, working can also impact your spending. When you have choices about job offers, you will want to weigh the benefits of each option with what you are willing to give up. All of this will help you assess job options to make decisions that match your work preferences and financial plan. LEARNING OUTCOMES In this lesson students measure the value of employee benefits. Along the way they will: Identify common types of employee benefits. Give examples of hidden costs of employment. List criteria to consider when making decisions about where to work. Students will use what they learn to assess the benefits and costs of job options. PREPARATION Order a Module 3 Student Guide for each student. (The Guide is also available online to download.) Preview the lesson PowerPoint presentation, learning tasks, and Module 3 Student Guide, particularly pages Print or download the Student Learning Plan for this lesson so each student has a copy. WHAT YOU WILL NEED Module 3 Student Guide (pages 25-29) PowerPoint Presentation 3-2 Student Learning Plan 3-2 Task: Which Summer Job? Task: Benefits Analysis (extension) Task: Hidden Costs of Employment (Scenarios) Task: Work Setting Preferences (optional) Activity 3.9: Compare Employee Benefits Activity 3.10: The Costs of Working Challenge Assignment 3-B: Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down? Clock, prize (optional) for Task 4 NOTES: Approximate time: 45 minutes (minimum) - 90 minutes (with extension activities) Additional Resource: College CashCourse, (worksheets: Job Priorities, Job Comparison). Students and Instructors who are not affiliated with a college or university can register as Other to access CashCourse and utilize the site resources. High School Financial Planning Program 1 June 2014

2 1. Where have you worked? Why did you choose that particular job and business? PROCEDURE Time Estimate: 5 minutes [Slide 2] Introduce the lesson by asking students to share (either with the whole class or with a partner) where they work or have worked. Gather information about why students choose to work specific jobs or for specific employers. As appropriate throughout the lesson, reference these examples to relate to student situations. [Slide 3] Preview the Learning Outcomes in the Student Learning Plan. By the end of this lesson, the students should be able to weigh job benefits and costs to assess employment options. Module 3 Student Guide Student Learning Plan S 2 Your Job Choices 3 Preview 2. Both Kevin and Gina are lucky they already have jobs. Summertime and the holidays often provide teens with their first working experience. Complete the Which Summer Job? task to recommend the best job option for another teen. TIME: 10 minutes Arrange for students to work in pairs or small groups to complete the Which Summer Job? task. Arrange for students to read about Nicholas s two summer job options. Tell students to be prepared to share the team s recommendation and reason for the recommendation. Compare how many students selected the gym versus the pool. EXTENSION: Have the students create a third job offer for Nicholas at a local fast food restaurant or sit-down restaurant. Students need to consider details for each benefit category. 4 Help Nicholas Decide Task: Which Summer Job? 3. What s it worth? Compare the value of different benefits for two hypothetical job offers with the same salary as you complete Activity 3.9: Compare Employee Benefits. Be ready to share with the class which offer you would take and why. : TIME: 10 minutes [Slide 5] Provide an overview of typical types of employee benefits and how the benefits add value to the work pay. Consider sharing personal examples of types of benefits you have received on current and past jobs. Invite students to share examples of benefits for their own jobs. Point out that the benefits (compensation package) provided by employers vary from job to job. Facilitate a discussion about why employers do or do not choose to provide benefits to their employees. (Student Guide, pages 25-27) Pages Employee Benefits Add Value to Jobs ACTIVITIES Task: Benefits Analysis Activity 3.9: Compare Employee Benefits calculators High School Financial Planning Program 2 June 2014

3 Arrange for students to work in pairs or small groups to complete Activity 3.9: Compare Employee Benefits. Make sure each pair of students has at least one calculator available. Read the directions to the students. Figure out how each benefit will add to or take away from your annual salary. If you have extra time, see if you can forecast how each benefit could impact your bottom line after ten years. After you consider the different benefits, decide if you would accept Offer A or Offer B. As students work, circulate among the students. Be ready to explain the different benefits and their importance to students. Help any pairs of students who may be struggling with the mathlike word problems. After five minutes or so, ask students to share their answers, explaining which offer is better for each benefit. Ask several students to volunteer which offer they would accept and why. EXTENSION: As a follow-up, ask students to consider the longterm impact (meaning, ten years from now) for each benefit. Some impacts can be measured in dollars; others can be measured by more indirect measures such as quality of life. Or, distribute the Benefits Analysis task for students to predict the long-term impact of various employee benefits. 4. How many hidden costs can you find in an employment scenario? Complete Activity 3.10: The Costs of Working to list any extra expenses you have had due to work. TIME: 15 minutes Ask students to share what they find inconvenient about working. Note any themes that emerge such as hours or scheduling issues. Select responses as examples of costs related to the job as you transition into the next task. Divide the class into groups and assign each group one of the employment scenarios from the Hidden Costs of Employment scenarios task. Allow three minutes for students to read the scenario and brainstorm as many costs as they can think of that the students in the scenarios might encounter for their respective jobs. When time is up, have the students report back on how many costs they thought of for their scenario. Have students list out the costs to the class; you get final say as to whether a cost is legitimate or not. If you desire, award a group winning status and a fitting prize. Pages What are Hidden Costs of Working? ACTIVITIES Task: Hidden Costs of Employment scenarios Activity 3.10: The Costs of Working Stop watch (optional: prizes) Internet (optional) High School Financial Planning Program 3 June 2014

4 [Slide 6] Give examples of additional costs to fill in gaps that were not addressed during the previous task. Assign students to complete Activity 3.10: The Costs of Working, either in class or out of class. This is a good time to explain that not all costs are monetary. In some cases, opportunity costs involve the next best option that was given up when a choice is made as in the case of Uncle Frank s employee (Student Guide, page 29). EXTENSION: Using the Internet, have students research the actual costs for each scenario. [Optional] Review a list of Work Setting Preferences, and circle the ten that are most important to you. Based on your preferences, write a paragraph that describes what a day working at your ideal job would be like. TIME: 15 minutes [Optional in this lesson or complete in Lesson 3-4] Have students complete the Work Setting Preferences task to indicate what is important to them when working. Assign the students to write a paragraph that describes their ideal job or employment opportunity. Remind students to use proper writing techniques, such as creating a topic sentence and supporting that sentence with specific examples and details. Pages Task: Work Setting Preferences 5. Complete Challenge 3-B: Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down? to identify potential job options that match your preferences. PROCEDURE In- class or out-of-class assignment Assign the students to complete Challenge 3-B: Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down. This Challenge is appropriate to assign with this lesson or after completing Lesson 3-4. Resource: This is a good time to introduce students, particularly students in Grades 11-12, to the college CashCourse website, Here they will find helpful resources such as a Job Priorities worksheet and a Job Comparison worksheet. Students and Instructors who are not affiliated with a college or university can register as Other to access CashCourse and utilize the site resources. Page 32 7 Challenge Assignment Challenge 3-B: Thumbs Up REFLECTION What employee benefits are particularly important to you? In-class or out-of-class assignment Ask students to list the employee benefits that are particularly important to them now. Have them think about the additional benefits they might want when considering future jobs when they are living on their own. 8 - Reflection High School Financial Planning Program 4 June 2014

5 TAKING IT HOME Out-of-class assignment Pages Ask an adult about any employee benefits s/he receives with the job. Assign the students to talk to an adult about any company benefits he or she may have. Ask if the adult had a choice over any of the benefits and, if so, what influenced his or her final decisions. FURTHER STUDY In-class or out-of-class assignment Internet Gather information about benefits offered by a company of your choice. Assign students to search company websites (or interview local employers) to gather information about benefits that are offered to employees. Estimate the approximate worth of those benefits. Calculate the total worth of an entry level job (salary plus benefits). Sources of company information: Monster.com, Salary.com About.com s Job Searching TAKING IT HOME Talk to an adult about any company benefits he or she may have. Ask if this person had a choice over any of the benefits and, if so, what influenced his or her final decisions about the job and benefits. REFLECTION What employee benefits are particularly important to you now? When you are living on your own, what additional benefits will you want when considering future jobs? FURTHER STUDY List at least three companies or organizations for which you would consider working. Go online and search for the companies websites (or interview a local employer) to learn about the employee benefits the company provides. Pick the company for which you were able to find the most benefits information and list out those benefits. Estimate the approximate worth of those benefits. Calculate the total worth of an entry-level job (salary plus benefits). High School Financial Planning Program 5 June 2014