Help Is on The Way – Modern Extras To Improve Employee Well-Being

The pandemic has redefined employee loyalty. Gone are the days when employees are satisfied with mere traditional benefits – and employers know this. Nearly all (94%) employers consider voluntary benefits as a key talent engagement and retention strategy over the next three years¹.

This begs the question – how can employers stay competitive with their benefits offerings? By creating a culture of care. What employees want today is a company that recognizes their dynamic needs – mental, emotional, physical, and financial – through holistic and personalized well-being benefits programs.

Here, we look at three different types of in-demand benefits that will help position you as employer of choice.

1. Digitally Enabled Mental Health Services

Mental health dominated headlines during COVID-19 and remains top of mind for HR leaders. Unfortunately, there is still a gap between employer recognition of the importance of mental health care and employees viewing the care provided as helpful². 

Employers need to understand that primary healthcare plans often come with high deductibles, high out-of-network costs for therapy, and limits to coverage. To reduce these barriers to care, employers can include telehealth services – like online coaching or cognitive behavioral therapy – in their benefits offerings. Internet-based mental health care provides on-demand access, easy scheduling, and other convenience features that make behavioral care more accessible and affordable.

The benefits of prioritizing mental health are wide and varied – from increased productivity and retention to decreased health care and disability costs. In fact, some studies show that treatment of depression reduces absenteeism and presenteeism by 40% to 60%³.

2. Discounted Apps For Well-Being

Not everyone needs a therapist, and many require support from everyday needs instead. The pandemic saw a boom in wellness apps – think exercise motivation, mindfulness training, or meditation – so much so that there are as many as 20,000 mental health apps in the market today⁴.

Easy to access and requiring little effort to use, well-being apps seamlessly integrate into day-to-day habits. Best of all, they are effective – mindfulness and meditation apps are shown to decrease depression and increase positive emotions after just 10 days of use5.

With access to a slew of well-being apps, employees can personalize their usage based on their personal goals. Need a guided meditation to calm a chaotic mind? Check. Need a quick vinyasa flow routine to release some body tension? Check. On top of that, benefits that incorporate a human connection help foster a sense of community – a plus point for mental wellness – in a hybrid working environment.

3. Financial Health Support

Many HR leaders are dubbing financial wellness benefits the biggest trend in 2022. Between the impact of COVID-19 and the Great Resignation, employees are simply under more financial stress. SHRM’s Financial Wellness Benefits Report finds that 31% of working Americans feel finance-related anxiety during COVID-19⁶. On the contrary, only 1 in 4 of HR professionals surveyed said their organization expanded existing benefits to help their employees manage financial stress, according to the same report.

Employees are now looking to their employers for more support – and companies would be wise to step up. However, don’t expect to organize a one-day financial planning workshop and call it a day. Employees desire robust financial literacy skills for financial health in the long run, according to SHRM’s report. Hence, emphasis needs to be placed on curating a holistic program that includes educational resources as well as pragmatic tools. Think financial planning for long-term security, personal loans, emergency savings funds, and more.

No matter what their financial goals, you can support your employees’ wellness journey with voluntary benefits geared towards financial security. And when your employees feel more financially secure, they are more likely to stay on and continue adding value to your organization.

Gaining Competitive Advantage With Happier, Satisfied Employees

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to employee well-being. And it can be daunting to choose the right benefits mix to meet the diverse needs of your employees. That’s why Corestream offers a wide variety of voluntary benefits under one single administrative platform – at no added cost. With a robust voluntary benefits program, you fill the gaps of traditional benefits and allow your employees to choose the support they need most.

References

¹ Willis Towers Watson (2021) Findings from 2021 Emerging Trends in Health Care Survey. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.wtwco.com/en-US/News/2021/05/pandemic-accelerates-employer-voluntary-benefit-offerings-wtw-survey-finds

² Buck (2022) Employee Wellbeing & Voluntary Benefits Survey. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://buck.com/report-2022-wellbeing-and-voluntary-benefits-survey/

³ National Library of Medicine (2018) Mental Health in the Workplace: A Call to Action Proceedings from the Mental Health in the Workplace: Public Health Summit. Retrieved May 10, 2022 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5891372/

⁴ American Psychological Association (2021) Mental health apps are gaining traction. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/01/trends-mental-health-apps

⁵ Harvard Health Publishing (2018) Mindfulness apps: How well do they work? Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/mindfulness-apps-how-well-do-they-work-2018110615306

⁶ Society of Human Resources Management (2021) Unlock the Full Potential of Financial Wellness Benefits Survey. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/Pages/Unlocking-the-Full-Potential-of-Financial-Wellness-Benefits.aspx