This year benefits and HR issues are anything but status quo. The health care landscape is shifting, the economy is still in the midst of recovery and the workforce is rapidly changing. To help you to track what’s coming next, here are five key benefits and HR trends to watch in 2014.
It’s no secret that the U.S. workforce is getting older. According to projections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), through 2020, the share of the U.S. workforce that is aged 55 years or older will increase by 3% annually. By 2020, BLS projects that one in four workers will be in this category of “older workers,” up from one in seven in 2000 and one in five in 2010.
I need to warn you that this article is going to contain a shocking observation. One that might shake some of you to the core of your being and erode your confidence in humanity, although it’s possible that a very small percentage of you have figured it out on your own due to life experience. So if you are easily discouraged, turn back now. I’m getting ready to reveal it.
When it comes to your wellness program, you’ve probably spent a lot of time creating goals, developing incentives, and getting executive buy-in. But the key to success is thoughtful and strategic communications. You don’t want to be the best benefit that nobody knows about.
You get a message from your employee stating that he cannot make it into the office. His mother is in the hospital after falling in her home.
Why is it that we may eat well, exercise and still struggle with our weight and health?
Stress is a normal part of life; it keeps us challenged, moving forward and focused on our goals. However, we all have heard of, or know someone, who is on stress/sick leave. Maybe it’s you. Overstress seems to be the ‘disease’ of our fast-paced, frazzled times and many live as though they are careening through their days on a high-speed, runaway roller coaster. Many are under the illusion that ‘busyness’ is being productive. In our work-oriented society, it was always considered a crime to be idle, to daydream, to (heaven forbid) look out the window.
It is not surprising that people are stressed these days and are having a difficult time managing that stress. The degree of busyness in day-to-day life is ever-increasing, the list of expectations is never ending and the number of tasks and requests seems both impossible and non-stop. Much of the technology introduced to make our lives easier and more manageable appears to have the opposite result.
It is very common for employers to become frustrated at lack of participation and engagement of their employees when it comes to wellness programming. Employees want to participate but they might not get involved in a program if it is not set up properly. There are several different approaches to take to get your employees to “buy into” wellness, resulting in a win-win, numerous benefits for both the employee and employer.
Benefits administration solutions cover a wide range of options and include a variety of activities such as outsourcing services, plan design consulting, and technology enrollment services. So how do you know what is right for your organization? You can start by determining your needs and finding the right partner.