{"id":14792,"date":"2022-09-06T15:24:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-06T15:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shrm.org\/hr-today\/news\/hr-magazine\/fall2022\/pages\/meeting-employees-needs-on-benefits.aspx"},"modified":"2022-09-06T15:24:46","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T15:24:46","slug":"inching-forward-on-benefits-meeting-employees-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/squarehr.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/06\/inching-forward-on-benefits-meeting-employees-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Inching Forward on Benefits: Meeting Employees\u2019 Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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?W<\/span>hen Tyson Miller\u2019s stepfather passed away last year, he wasn\u2019t handling it well. \u201cI haven\u2019t dealt with much death,\u201d says Miller, an employee at Chegg, an education technology company with 1,700 employees headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. \u201cThe HR rep connected me to counselors via Ginger.io. I used it in a time of crisis, and it was extremely helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chegg\u2019s mental health benefits offerings, including behavioral coaching service Ginger.io and guided meditation app Headspace, have made a difference in Miller\u2019s life. \u201cI\u2019ve been leaning on those two quite a bit in times of need,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Chegg\u2019s chief people officer, Debra Thompson, says, \u201cWe provide generous medical benefits, but we\u2019ve also added mental health benefits, such as addiction treatment from Quit Genius.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many other U.S. employers are also increasing the availability of mental health benefits in response to a rising need for such services among employees. According to the Society for <\/em>Human Resource Management\u2019s (SHRM\u2019s) 2022 Employee Benefits Survey<\/a>, 91 percent of organizations offer mental health coverage, up from 85 percent in 2021.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe pandemic forced employers to look closely at the accepted norms in benefits and compensation,\u201d says Leslie Aument, SHRM-SCP, head of people for Kojo Technologies, a construction materials procurement platform with 95 employees in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

While some companies seem to be catching on to what workers need, others remain out of touch and slow to respond to developing trends. According to SHRM\u2019s 2021-2022 State of the Workplace Study<\/a>, fielded late last year, 84 percent of employers are grappling with labor shortages, which begs the question: What do employees want?<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for HR professionals, there is no easy answer. Still, workers across all demographics consistently value benefits related to three vital needs: physical health, mental health and work\/life balance.<\/p>\n

Physical Health<\/p>\n

Benefits related to physical health top the list of what employees want, regardless of age or career stage. But  employers should avoid implementing a one-size-fits-all benefits program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to provide employees with as much choice and flexibility as possible,\u201d Thompson says. \u201cEmployees want an employer that truly cares about their holistic health\u2014not just their medical, dental and vision. Employees appreciate benefits that meet them where they are in their life stage, [so HR should] find out what matters and figure out how to offer it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That means including options. \u201cThe expectation of health coverage is a given; however, individuals are looking for additional benefit choices,\u201d says Maree Whitlow, vice president of human resources for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in Dublin, Ohio, a nonprofit with 60 employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt depends on where employees are in their own lives,\u201d adds Christina Balint, corporate HR manager at Universal Metal Products Inc., a manufacturer with 287 employees in Wickliffe, Ohio. \u201cSomeone with a family, for example, will have a greater desire for traditional PPOs [preferred provider organizations], ancillary lines of coverage like dental and vision, and possibly FSA [flexible spending account] programs. Someone working beyond retirement age may be more interested in long-term-care coverage and low-cost life insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Whitlow says the most popular benefit at the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is the company-sponsored health reimbursement arrangement card. \u201cThis helps reduce out-of-pocket expenses for employees by providing them with a pre-loaded debit card, which covers 90 percent of the annual deductible of medical expenses,\u201d she says.One notable benefit that employers increased during the pandemic and that now appears to be a permanent fixture is telemedicine. According to SHRM\u2019s Employee Benefits Survey, 73 percent of organizations offered telemedicine in 2019, but 93 percent offer it in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cTelemedicine has entered the same sphere as sick leave in prevalence,\u201d says SHRM researcher Derrick Scheetz. \u201cSo many people have utilized this resource, it has become an expected offering.\u201d <\/p>\n

To stand out from other organizations, employers may need to get creative when it comes to offering physical health benefits. For instance, in January, as a result of a request from Chegg\u2019s women\u2019s employee resource group, the company began offering Carrot, a fertility benefit. Says Emma McCulloch, senior director for corporate communications at Chegg, \u201cIt isn\u2019t a broad-spectrum benefit, but for the few people who need it, it\u2019s vitally important and life-changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mental Health<\/p>\n

Pandemic-related measures such as videoconferencing, mask wearing, vaccine mandates and COVID-19 testing can be wearisome. Meanwhile, ongoing pandemic-related health risks have had a dramatic impact on workers\u2019 mental health. One in 4 workers reported being highly stressed and workers under the age of 35 ranked mental health as their top concern, according to Mercer\u2019s 2021 study<\/a> of 2,000 U.S.-based employees.<\/p>\n

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T.J. Regional Health provides broad support through benefits. \u201cOur employee assistance program [EAP] offers a wide variety of services,\u201d says Rachel Forrester, SHRM-SCP, total rewards manager for the rural health care organization headquartered in Glasgow, Ky. Those services include financial planning, child care and education services, health and wellness seminars, and free counseling. \u201cWith the pandemic, our EAP has had a drastic rise in participation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Another emerging trend appears to be an increase in paid time off apart from traditional sick days. About 20 percent of companies in SHRM\u2019s Employee Benefits Survey pay employees to take days off for mental wellness. (This is the first year SHRM has asked about this benefit.) For example, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption \u201coffers three personal days, which can be used at a moment\u2019s notice for mental health days,\u201d Whitlow says.<\/p>\n

Work\/Life Balance<\/p>\n

The labor shortage has left many employees with heavier burdens than in previous years, and remnants of pandemic protocols continue to cause exhaustion and confusion.<\/p>\n

Constant stress leads to burnout. In a McKinsey & Co. study<\/a> from earlier this year, 28 percent of employees said they felt burned out \u201csometimes, often or always\u201d and 32 percent said they felt \u201cmoderate distress.\u201d Respondents who experienced burnout symptoms were six times more likely to report an intent to leave their jobs in the next three to six months.<\/p>\n

To cope with this stress, more employees seek to improve their work\/life balance. They want more parental leave, ample paid time off, caregiving assistance, and flexible hours and work locations.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to the pandemic, workplace flexibility has become a crucial benefit for employees, as well as generous paid time off,\u201d Whitlow says.<\/p>\n

Parental leave.<\/strong> \u201cWe\u2019re seeing an uptick in the demand for more paid time off and paid family leave,\u201d Balint says. <\/p>\n

However, many companies are pulling back on paid-parental-leave policies. According to SHRM\u2019s Employee Benefits Survey, the number of organizations offering paid maternity leave dropped from 53 percent in 2020 to 35 percent in 2022. Those offering paid paternity leave dropped from 44 percent to 27 percent over the same period.<\/p>\n

Thus, it seems as though the increase in parental leave during the height of the pandemic may not be a permanent fixture.<\/p>\n

Paid time off.<\/strong> Paid vacation time and sick leave are almost universal and have held steady as benefits offerings for years. But this year, it seems like more employees are using their vacation time now that tourist destinations have reopened. HR professionals can support this healthy behavior by reminding managers of the need to respect employees\u2019 time away from their phones and work responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Employers have significantly increased paid time off in one area: floating days for religious holidays that are not already federal holidays, such as Rosh Hashana and Kwanzaa. \u201cThe number of employers offering paid days off for religious holidays has been increasing steadily,\u201d says SHRM researcher Daniel Stunes.<\/p>\n

Child care and elder care assistance.<\/strong> To meet the challenges of work\/life balance, employees are also seeking help with child care and elder care demands. <\/p>\n

\u201cEmployers can retain employees by offering additional support benefits like onsite child care, backup care and elder care,\u201d says Priya Krishnan, chief client and experience officer at Bright Horizons, a child care provider with 26,000 employees worldwide, based in Newton, Mass. \u201cHigh-quality, onsite child care and backup child care benefits are at the core of what employees need to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remote work.<\/strong> Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently made headlines by requiring all employees to work from a company office a minimum of 40 hours per week. Many other employers are also demanding workers return to in-person workplaces and schedules, but employees are rebelling\u2014and many will walk away. According to Mercer\u2019s Inside Employees\u2019 Minds study, 44 percent of employees want full-time remote work while only 16 percent of employers plan to continue with full-time remote work.<\/p>\n

T.J. Regional Health is making remote work permanent for certain jobs. \u201cBefore the pandemic, we had limited opportunities to work from home. However, over the past two years, we\u2019ve transitioned many employees to remote work,\u201d Forrester says. Now, approximately 80 of the company\u2019s 1,400 employees are working remotely. \u201cWe\u2019ve received positive feedback from both managers and employees regarding productivity and job satisfaction,\u201d Forrester says.<\/p>\n

When job duties permit, most companies appear to have compromised with a hybrid approach that combines in-office and at-home work. SHRM\u2019s Employee Benefits Survey found that 63 percent of employers offer a hybrid model to workers whose jobs do not require face-to-face tasks.<\/p>\n

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At the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, for example, \u201cthe hybrid work environment captures the best of both worlds, allowing staff to have the flexibility they crave while continuing to build engagement and collaboration with co-workers,\u201d Whitlow says. \u201cStaff feel empowered to have weekly flexibility with their remote-work schedules.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kojo Technologies has chosen to be 100 percent remote for all employees. \u201cWe have a strong bias for asynchronous work and high trust in our remote environment,\u201d Aument says. \u201cThis empowers our employees to work when they want to get their work done. We aren\u2019t managing their time but [rather] their impact on our mission and their team. This flexibility is a huge benefit, and our employees truly feel they can take care of their life stuff when they need to, without having to clear their every move with their manager.\u201d <\/p>\n

To reinforce social ties, the entire company gathers in person at least once annually.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemote work is here to stay,\u201d Scheetz says. \u201cIf you\u2019re not embracing that as much as you can, you\u2019re already behind in terms of looking for talent. It\u2019s one of the premier pieces of taking care of your employees, and it has taken on a new level of importance never seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only that, but remote work also widens your candidate pool. \u201cYou\u2019re going to limit your candidate pool if you can only look in the immediate geographic vicinity,\u201d Scheetz adds.<\/p>\n

The Aftermath<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pandemic created a period of upheaval for employees, but it has also provided a moment of introspection, enabling them to take stock of what matters most and driving a \u2018Great Realization\u2019 to make dramatic career moves that align work with personal priorities,\u201d Krishnan says.<\/p>\n

For some employees, that has meant leaving their jobs. For employers, it has meant determining the areas where they were failing to meet their employees\u2019 needs. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re hearing now is employers clearly see the connection between supporting their workforce and succeeding in the marketplace,\u201d Krishnan says. \u201cThey\u2019re offering employees a variety of benefits to support the diverse needs of their workforces so their employees can thrive both personally and professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Forrester sees upside in the recent upheaval. \u201cThere have been plenty of challenges throughout the Great Resignation,\u201d she says, \u201cbut where there are challenges, there are opportunities. These opportunities allow us to be creative in what we offer to candidates and how we keep our current employees engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the war for talent, benefits can attract a greater quantity of highly qualified applicants and prevent current employees from jumping ship. \u201cBenefits show employees we care about them as people, and they must be diverse to meet the unique needs of every employee,\u201d Whitlow says.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re wondering what those needs are, ask existing employees. They already know what they want.<\/p>\n

Kathryn Tyler is a freelance writer and former HR generalist and trainer in Wixom, Mich.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Visit shrm.org\/benefits<\/a> to experience SHRM\u2019s 2022 employee benefits survey interactive online tool<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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