Addressing the wellbeing concerns of employees continues to be a top priority this year. Although wellness programs existed before the pandemic, the global health crisis has made many employees prioritize their health even more.
To remain proactive and continue to innovate, a more holistic focus on wellbeing will be needed. Stress, isolation, and financial worries all affect a person’s sense of wellbeing and contribute to the continuing epidemic of anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. Employers need to review, update, better integrate, and promote wellness resources for mental, financial, and physical health, and even other dimensions such as social, environmental, or spiritual.
81%
81% of individuals say they will be looking for workplaces that support mental health when they seek future job opportunities (APA).
Mental Health
As employees process ongoing concerns about the pandemic, economic downturns, and other stressors, mental health continues to be a crisis that employers must address. Dealing with stress will be a top issue for employers of all sizes this year, so companies should strongly consider incorporating mental health care coverage into their benefits packages.
To enhance mental health among your workforce, employers should provide work that prevents workers from experiencing excessive stress and mental health risks, protect and promote mental wellbeing, and support full and effective participation in the workforce that is free from stigma, discrimination, or abuse. With benefit solutions that prioritize mental health, you can attract and retain top talent, improve health outcomes, reduce rising health care spend, and drive employee engagement.
Solutions that provide access to teams of multidisciplinary behavioral health clinicians to offer guidance, education, and a safe place to be vulnerable will help break down barriers, reduce stigma around experiencing mental health challenges, and help people get the right care.
- Corporate Culture. Foster positive social interaction and relationships by creating cultures of inclusion, belonging, communication, collaboration, and teamwork. Erase the stigma around mental health by creating a culture where people feel comfortable discussing their mental health challenges without fear of scorn or retribution. Behavioral health anti-stigma campaigns can be helpful.
- Leadership Training. Teach managers and employees to recognize signs of distress, respond compassionately, and encourage their colleagues to take advantage of mental health resources. Training leaders to focus on the creation of safe and inclusive work environments can inspire them, by helping them to understand the impact an inclusive team has on performance and employee satisfaction.
Employee Assistance Programs, Employee Resource Groups, mindfulness apps, or lifestyle and wellness subscriptions can help showcase your focus on mental health and self-care to your employees.
Providing a living wage, engaging employees in decisions, building a culture of recognition, and offering benefits such as free therapy and counseling, mental health days, and birthday leave can help your employees feel better recognized and more appreciated. Knowing that you value them as individuals, and appreciate their work, will contribute to their wellbeing.
Employers should have a system for checking in on employees to monitor for stress and burnout. It’s important to have a strategy around reducing burnout and mental health distress when you are thinking about supporting your employees. Look for solutions that can identify employees at risk for behavioral health issues early on in their health journeys, whether they present symptoms or not. To understand your areas of opportunities, try to include workplace well-being questions in employee surveys.
Employers can prioritize physical and psychological safety at work by enabling adequate rest, normalizing mental health support, and having DEI and accessibility policies in place.
Mental health visits are up, but ongoing provider shortages are leaving many employees without timely access to care. Telehealth can be a massive help in getting employees and dependents the mental health assistance they need. Offering virtual care solutions as the predominant delivery system for mental and behavioral health treatment provides greater access to wellness programs and awareness about the importance of mental health.
Investing in these spending accounts will fund the resources employees need and allow them to connect with providers in any network. With the nation’s current shortage of mental health providers, the ability to be flexible and connect with a provider regardless of coverage can be a big motivator for employees.
Consider giving workers more autonomy, making schedules as flexible and predictable as possible, focusing on reasonable workloads, increasing access to paid leave, and changing overtime regulations.
Work to create more opportunities for employees by offering training, education, mentoring, clear pathways for career advancement, and relevant and reciprocal feedback. Benefits like career development, skills coaching, and therapy can be a great combination to make employees feel supported in their role.
Working parents have a never-ending list of tasks related to health care, insurance, school, and caregiving—all of which take a toll on their mental health. Many are not only dealing with work and personal stressors, but they worry about caregiving for family, are concerned about their children’s development and learning gaps, and some even have fears of the recession and national or global issues. This heightened level of stress, worry, and mental load can significantly impact engagement, productivity, absenteeism, and presenteeism. That is why investing in a single, integrated solution that takes a holistic approach to addressing the needs of working parents is critical.
- Consider benefits such as holistic leave, remote work, flexibility for caregivers, backup childcare services, personalized work schedules, compressed workweeks, and reproductive health benefits.
- Provide employees with the ability to connect with a team of live, Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) for behavioral health support and behavior plans.
- Find support for both neurotypical and neurodiverse children anytime, anywhere — including outside of work hours, without a diagnosis.
- Search for a single platform for parents, children, and families with education and training on mental health, parenting skills, social and emotional learning, and foundational skills that are available in multiple languages.
84%
84% of employees say that financial wellbeing benefits have a large impact on their overall wellbeing, job satisfaction, and engagement (Sofi at Work).
Financial Health
Inflation and a roiling economy have made financial wellbeing a big wellness priority this year. Employees are paying more for groceries, homes, childcare, medical procedures, and behavioral therapy. And they are turning to their employers for covered or subsidized services to help with such needs. A financially secure workforce will be more productive and loyal, so employers must ensure that they have benefits and programs in place that focus on financial wellness for their employees.
Help with education and awareness of existing benefits and encourage internal policies to help lessen the stress for employees, allowing them time away from work to sort out financial issues or help with caregiving needs that will otherwise entail expenses.
Sticking to a hybrid or remote-first arrangement can be financially beneficial for employees, who could save thousands annually on commuting and other lifestyle costs.
Beyond salary boosts, review your benefit offerings to see if you can provide discounted childcare, virtual care and telehealth services, free or low-cost disability and life insurance, low or no deductible medical plan options, and basic financial planning tools to help employees manage their budgets.
Prioritize and support financial wellness with benefits such as emergency savings, student loan assistance and other loan programs, Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs), financial counseling, and retirement planning.
With tax-free benefits and ease of use, FSAs are an excellent way for employees to save money on much-needed medical supplies (such as over-the-counter medications and bandages), equipment (such as crutches and hospital beds), and services (such as doctor visits and vision care).
Offering a robust retirement plan is critical to the long-term financial wellbeing of employees. Be sure to talk to your workforce to determine which plan will work best to take care of your employees. Choosing the right plan for your company can not only be a valuable recruitment and retention tool that improves employee engagement and morale, but it can offer benefits like tax incentives and small business funding options from banks and other institutions. Partnering with an experienced third-party administrator or consultant can also help you understand how your plan choice will affect your business and your employees.
- Traditional 401(k): For employers of any size with flexibility in employer and employee contributions up to IRS limitations
- Roth 401(k): For employers of any size that want to combine traditional 401(k) and Roth contributions to allow employees to contribute both pre- and after-tax income
- Solo 401(k): For business owner-operators without any employees (other than a spouse)
- Safe Harbor 401(k): For employees with an ownership stake in a company on the condition that employer contributions are fully vested at the time of contribution
- Simple 401(k): For businesses that (1) have no other retirement options, (2) have fewer than 101 employees, and (3) adhere to strict contribution and vesting requirements
- Pooled Employer Plan (PEP): For businesses of any size that wish to pool assets with other employers into a plan administered by a specialized third party (Pooled Plan Provider; P3) to mitigate risk and simplify administration
- Profit-sharing 401(k): For employers that want to base their contributions on company profits
- 403(b): For non-profit organizations and certain government businesses in lieu of a 401(k)
48%
48% of 9,000 workers surveyed said their wellbeing declined in 2022 (Gympass).
Physical Health
In the wake of the pandemic, many employees are looking for more guidance and support to help them get back on track with their fitness and wellness goals. Over the last two years, people have developed some unhealthy habits after living a more sedentary lifestyle and are wanting a stronger sense of community for support after such isolating times. Employees are seeking a more holistic approach to their health, and employers must adapt their benefits to these demands.
Whether it’s focused on sleep nutrition, stress management, or fitness, personal training and small group training is a top wellness benefit to offer. A more intimate training environment will provide employees with the guidance, support, and a sense of community they are craving.
Employees are accessing personalized data from wearables to help increase the efficiency and results of their tailored physical workouts.
Offering “hybrid memberships” for your fitness program will make it convenient for employees to get in a workout at their gym, at home, outdoors, or on the road when they’re traveling, all with the convenience of one membership. Today’s employees want and expect a seamless connected fitness experience that fits their lifestyle. These more inclusive memberships provide variety and convenience for employees, while keeping them connected to each other and providing engagement.
SOURCES: BenefitsPRO; Employee Benefit News; Zywave
