HR Daily Advisor Corporate benefits departments are shifting, growing and responding to the needs of their employees by outsourcing more time-consuming benefits functions, according to a new survey conducted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The survey, Corporate Benefits Departments: Staffing and Operations, revealed that companies report outsourcing 40 percent of their benefit functions.

Tracy Benson, Harvard Business Review A 2015 Gallup Poll found that Millennials are the least engaged cohort in the workplace, with only 28.9 percent saying that they are engaged at work. This, combined with high turnover rates and greater freelance and entrepreneurial opportunities, means that if companies want to retain these valued workers, they will have to double their efforts to meet Millennials where they are.

Sheryl Smolkin, Employee Benefit News Motivated by the need to meet the changing needs and lifestyle of an increasingly diverse workforce, the vast majority of U.S. employers believe voluntary benefits and services will be important to their value proposition over the next three to five years.

Catherine Conlan, Monster Following up on his signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, President Obama has now introduced a pay parity rule that will require companies with at least 100 employees to disclose how much people are paid alongside already required reports on gender, race and ethnicity. Slated to take effect this September, the new rules could prove particularly revealing in health care, which has a history of inequities.

Jeff Haden, CEO.com Open just about any business magazine and you’ll find lavish photo spreads depicting bean bag chairs, foosball tables, video games...all the perks conventional wisdom says employees care about. Once again, though, conventional wisdom is wrong. The most meaningful perk is employee recognition.

Lena J. Weiner, HealthLeaders Media Workplace wellness programs that encourage and incent employees to adopt healthful habits are widely popular with hospitals and health systems. Upwards of 80 percent of large organizations offer some sort of wellness program. But their effectiveness is up for debate. Until recently, there was little research on financial incentives to boost physical activity, but a recent study suggests that greater accessibility and proper framing of incentives can lead to greater effectiveness.

Richard Stolz, Employee Benefit News Alicia H. Munnell, a leading figure in government and academic circles focusing on retirement issues, shares her insights on retirement-related topics such as age discrimination, personal savings rates, 401(k) auto-enrollment and more.

Marlene Y. Satter, BenefitsPro When it comes to retirement, women are in even more trouble than men, says a new study. Numerous studies indicate that a retirement crisis is pending, with most Americans having saved barely enough to get through a single year — much less all the years of an entire post-employment retirement and all the health care costs they’re likely to bring.

Chad Brooks, Business News Daily The prospect of getting healthier and losing weight often fails to convince employees to participate in their company's wellness programs. The key to getting employees in better shape lies in how invested managers are in the process, suggests a new study from the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab.

Sarah Grant, Bloomberg Active design, the latest trend in office planning, uses workspaces to nudge workers into making healthier choices. That means bathrooms that may feel unduly far from one's desk, or a staircase that's easier to access than the escalator. Companies have increasingly enrolled their employees in voluntary, and not-so-voluntary, initiatives to promote good health and fitness, but active design requires no buy-in.

Deanna Hartley, The Hiring Site With the switch to Daylight Saving Time this week, everyone’s griping about losing a precious hour of shut-eye — something that isn’t out of the ordinary for workers in the U.S. About 58 percent say they are not getting the sleep they need, while slightly more can see the toll sleep deprivation takes on their performance in the workplace, according to a new survey.

Raquel Baldelomar, Forbes As many workers can attest, the typical workweek is no longer 40 hours. Adults in the U.S. reported working an average of 47 hours per week, according to a Gallup survey, and four in 10 employees claimed to work at least 50 hours per week. It seems almost inevitable that many of these employees and business executives will suffer from job burnout at some point during their career.

Lena J. Weiner, HealthLeaders Media A little TLC and some extra cash can make a world of difference to employees in crisis. Here's how one organization goes above and beyond for its workers. While many hospitals offer an EAP or similar program, few offer employees the level of crisis assistance that Scripps' work life program does, working alongside the traditional EAP to provide more personalized care for employees—especially in a crisis.

Philip Betbeze, HealthLeaders Media Health care provider organizations have increased their embrace of population health management, according to HealthLeaders Media research. The choice of strategic pathways determines how a provider organization builds and executes a population health strategy and is tightly bound with the governance process. Organizations are at different levels of sophistication in understanding what a PHM strategy requires, so leaders must think clearly about their strategy and ensure that tactics follow suit.

Chad Brooks, Business News Daily Creating a corporate culture grounded in mindfulness not only improves employees' focus but also helps them better cope with stress and co-workers, according to a study published recently in the Journal of Management.