In a 1997 survey, the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) reported that among 1,100 public companies concentrated in the electronics industry 53% provided options to all employees. Of companies with 500 to 999 employees, the study found that 51% offered options to all employees, as compared with 30% in 1994. 43% of companies with 2,000 to 4,999 employees offered options to all employees as compared with 10% in 1994. Similarly, 45% of companies with more than 5,000 employees offered stock options to all employees, up from 10% in 1994 (Employee Stock Options Fact Sheet, National Center for Employee Ownership, 1997).

A 2000 survey by the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals and PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that 44% of 345 large domestic companies with stock option plans made grants to all employees, including hourly employees (The 2000 Stock Plan Design and Administration Survey, National Association of Stock Plan Professionals, 2000).

According to a 1999 William M. Mercer survey of 350 major industrial and service corporations, 39.4% of those surveyed had a broad-based (at least 50% of employees being eligible) stock option plan and 18% made grants under such plans. These figures compare with 17% of companies offering broad-based stock option plans and 5.7% making grants in 1993 (Broad-based Stock Options - 1999 Update, William M. Mercer, Inc., 1999).

From a 1998 Hewitt survey, over 66% of large companies gave options to some portion of their non-executive workforce. Of this group, 26% granted options to all their workers and another 15% gave options to at least half the employees (1998 Hewitt Survey Findings: Broad-based Stock Ownership Opportunities in Large U.S. Companies, Hewitt & Associates, 1998).

From a 1999 survey of large employers by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, 19% of employees were eligible for stock option grants (1999/2000 Survey of Top Management Compensation, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, 1999).

According to the NCEO, more than 6 million non-executives receive stock options. The trend is towards more non-managers receiving stock options. In the biotechnology and computer programming industries, stock option holdings were more widespread among rank-and-file employees (55%) than among managers (45%) (Current Practices in Stock Option Plan Design, National Center for Employee Ownership, 1998).

In the same NCEO survey, the average option grant value was $37,000 for professional employees, $41,000 for technical employees, and $12,500 for administrative employees.