Employees value their workplace benefits even more than they have in the past, despite employers' tendency to shift more of the cost burden to their workers' shoulders, according to Guardian's 2014 Workplace Benefits Study.

In the survey released this week, Guardian scored the value workers place on their benefits package on a scale of one to 10. The average score increased to 7.1 in 2014, up from 6.8 two years ago.

However, almost half of employers said they're planning on asking employees to pay more for benefits in anticipation of the Affordable Care Act. Although over half of employers said they've successfully prepared for a post-ACA benefits era, less than a quarter are prepared to discuss changes with their employees.