More than one-quarter of employed adults say that morale hasdeclined in last year. And a majority of employees would bolt theircurrent employer if offered comparable pay and benefits elsewhere,according to a new report.

Unum Group Corp., Chattanooga, Tenn. (NYSE: UNM), publishedthese findings in a summary of results from the company's fourthannual survey of American workers. Conducted online by HarrisInteractive, the survey polled more than 1,100 employed adultsfollowing the 2011 benefits enrollment period.

Twenty-eight percent of employees surveyed by Unum say thatmorale at their companies has declined in last year. The reportalso finds that just 55% of workers would choose to stay with theiremployer if they were offered the same pay and benefits elsewhere,a 7-point drop since 2008.

Despite modest gains in employment and a more stable workenvironment, only 52% of the workers surveyed rate their employeras a very good or excellent place to work.

The report adds that one in three employees do not feelfinancially secure. And more than one in four say they feel lessfinancially secure compared to last year at this time.

Almost half of those polled are not confident they have enoughmoney to cover future expenses.

“In this climate, the need for effective benefits education isgreater than ever,” says Barbara Nash, vice president of CorporateResearch at Unum. “Our research shows that a good benefitseducation experience is a highly effective, low-cost way foremployers to demonstrate their concern for employees and theirwell-being.”

Unum's research finds that employers continue to spend toolittle time and fewer resources on helping employees understandtheir employeebenefits:

• 28% of employees who were asked to review their benefits in thepast year say the benefits education provided by their employers isfair or poor.
• Only half of those employees say they received printedinformation or brochures, down from 70% in 2008.
• Just over a third of those employees were offered a chanceto attend an information and question-and-answer session aboutbenefits, down from 52% in 2008.
• The percentage of employees who had access to a toll-freenumber to speak with a benefits advisor dropped sharply, to29% in 2011 from 47% in 2008.

Unum's research also shows a high correlation between effectivebenefits education and a workplace satisfaction.

More than 8 in 10 (82%) of employees who rated their benefitseducation highly also rated the employer an excellent or very goodplace to work. Conversely, only 27% of employees who rated theirbenefits education as fair or poor also say their employer was anexcellent or very good place to work.

And some 79% of those who rate their benefits education highlysay they would choose to stay with their current employer even ifthey were offered the same pay and benefits elsewhere.