employee benefits
October 23, 2023
Report Shows Top Priorities and Challenges for 2024 Open Enrollment
New research from digital media company Arizent revealed employee benefits leaders’ biggest challenges and strategies for increasing benefits utilization. These findings can help shape employers’ 2024 open enrollment plans. While employers already invest significant time and resources researching and designing their benefits plans, many feel like there is still work to be done to ensure...
October 10, 2023
Getting the Most Out of Your 2024 Open Enrollment Communications
Open enrollment is a crucial period for both employers and employees. It’s when employees can make important decisions about their benefits and an opportunity for employers to engage with their workforce effectively. As organizations continue to adapt to evolving workforce needs and changing regulations in 2024, open enrollment communication becomes more critical than ever. This...
September 27, 2023
Inclusive Mental Health Initiatives: A Powerful Differentiator for Employers
Mental health is not just a public health issue. It is also a workplace issue. Employers who cultivate a company culture that proactively supports mental wellness can gain a competitive edge in their ability to attract and retain talent. “An employer’s support of mental health in the workplace can be a differentiator in today’s challenging...
September 12, 2023
Employer Tips for Dealing with Illness in the Office
With all the attention on return to office policies, employers should reassure workers that they can stay home if need be, especially as cold and flu season approaches. Despite an increase in attention to wellness, the majority of employees are still struggling with the notion of taking time off for an illness, according to a...
August 30, 2023
How Voluntary Benefits Help to Expect the Unexpected
In life, we need to expect the unexpected. One could argue that this is an apt description for voluntary benefits, which were long viewed by brokers and employers as a labor-intensive afterthought. Individually underwritten policies like accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, identity theft, pet protection and numerous other coverages offered through payroll deduction weren’t seen as strategic...
August 8, 2023
2024 Open Enrollment: The Power of Early Preparation
The labor landscape was undoubtedly a roller coaster in the first half of 2023, and employers are still along for the ride. During the past year, the market experienced a record number of employee quits, a jump in talent shortages and increased workplace demands from workers—many of whom had the upper hand in employment negotiations....
July 25, 2023
Creating a Mentally Healthy Workplace
Work environments can significantly impact the mental health of employees. In fact, research by the American Psychological Association found that 2 in 5 employees report that work negatively affects their mental health. Workers’ poor mental health can, in turn, negatively impact employee communication, performance, morale and productivity. According to a recent report by Mental Health...
July 13, 2023
Health Care Costs Projected to Grow 7% in 2024
Health care costs are expected to grow 7% in 2024 due to rising pharmaceutical expenses driven by specialty drugs and insurers increasing rates in response to inflation, according to an annual report from professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). This trend is higher than 2022’s and 2023’s projected medical cost rates, which were 5.5% and 6%,...
July 12, 2023
Tackling the Talent Crunch: 3 Benefits That Improve Retention
The abundance of job openings, combined with a scarcity of available workers, has created a serious talent crunch that continues to raise the bar on retention. It also has sparked lively discussions between employers and their advisers about pursuing innovative strategies to win the talent war. The U.S. is in the midst of a historically tight...
June 20, 2023
4 Ways to Make the Workplace Physically and Emotionally Safer
Most employees would not list working as a top source of enjoyment, but don’t make it worse than it needs to be. A toxic workplace was the top reason given by employees who resign from their jobs, according to a recent report from FlexJobs. And while the causes for that are often a lack of work-life...